Page 11 - BCAC Sisters In Motion Spring 2022

A TRIBUTE TO A SHERO
Former Broward County Administrator, Bertha Henry and other board members
END OF AN ERA: LONG-TIME COUNTY
Soror Bertha Henry with husband Bobby Henry, the Founder/Publisher of Westside Gazette
ADMINISTRATOR BERTHA HENRY RETIRING
STORY COURTESY OF WESTSIDE GAZETTE By Audrey Peterman Photo Credits: Soror Catherine Minnis
An era came to an end in Broward County on February 28th., 2022. On that day Bertha Watson Henry, who was officially appointed County Administrator in 2008, will exit the stage after a combined total of 24 years with the County, and gleefully embrace retirement.
“What’s the first thing you plan to do?”, I asked her. "I had planned to take a trip to New Zealand, the other side of the world. I had planned to drive to really see the country, visit the Maori people and enjoy the freedom to stay as long as I wish. Unfortunately, with the lockdowns, it has been delayed but remained high on the list for the country’s summer season later this year.”
A native of Miami, Mrs. Henry married her college sweetheart, Bobby Henry, heir to the Fort Lauderdale-based Westside Gazette newspaper in 1981. She secured her first position with Broward County in 1996, as Assistant to the County Administrator under the late Jack B. Osterholt. In 1998 she took on the job of Assistant City Manager of Finance and Administration for the City of Miami to help lead the City’s financial recovery. Mrs. Henry returned to her first love in the first year of the new century, serving as Deputy County Administrator.
In2008shetookthetopjob, followingayearasinterim.Atthetime,the31citiesthatmakeupthecountyalong the shores of the Atlantic had a combined population of 1.6 million and a county budget of nearly $2.0 billion. Her record is on the landscape where major landmarks bear her imprint and in the hearts of people whose lives have been enhanced by her presence.
In the meantime, Broward County began displaying extreme vulnerability to the effects of rising sea levels and other climate-related challenges. Since 2013 Mrs. Henry worked with the late County Commissioner, Kristin Jacobs, to establish the first regional climate change compact involving Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. Its science grounded work is being replicated around the country. Upon retirement, she leaves a county of 1.9 million souls; a budget of $5.8 billion; a vastly expanded infrastructure and a cutting-edge transportation system; and a stable tourism sector despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bless you, and Happy Retirement Mrs. Henry!
SISTERS IN MOTION PAGE 11
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