Winnebago County town leader named Oconto County administrator

The administrator of the Winnebago Town of Algoma is expected to be introduced to the Oconto County Board on Feb. 22 as the recommended new county administrator.

The board’s executive committee approved a resolution Feb. 15 appointing Richard Heath as county administrator, succeeding Erik Pritzl, who left a week earlier to become director of Brown County health and human services.

Heath has been town administrator in Algoma, just outside Oshkosh, since November 2019. His resume includes leadership positions at several organizations since earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1986 and a master’s in development studies from Ohio University in 1988.

He grew up in Plum City, and it was at UW-Green Bay where he met his wife, Cindy, a Suring High School graduate, Heath explained in his letter of introduction to the Oconto County Board.

“With my extensive background and familiarity with the county on both the professional and personal levels, I believe I can be a competent manager in the implementation of the county’s priority initiatives and a servant leader to the county’s staff,” Heath wrote.

His previous stops include about five years as executive director of the Clark County Economic Development Corp. and nearly 11 years with the Bay Lake Regional Planning Commission in Green Bay, where he worked with Oconto County officials on their Comprehensive Land Use and All-Hazard Mitigation plans.

Heath also was executive director of the Greater Prescott Regional Economic Partnership in Prescott Valley, Arizona, and was serving as associate director of strategic partnerships for Northern Arizona University when he was tapped to return to Wisconsin for the Town of Algoma.

“Since we have spent 15 years living outside of Wisconsin, it has provided us with a much greater appreciation of what it means to be a Wisconsinite,” Heath said. “Oconto County is diverse and attractive, and it offers a wide variety of amenities, events, and outdoor recreational activities. Cindy and I plan to make Oconto County our permanent home.”

wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com