Cameron McGill elected as new chairman

WHITE LAKE – There is a new chairman sitting in the middle seat for the Bladen County Commissioners as of a result of a new vote Dec. 1 in Elizabethtown.

Bladen County Commissioner Cameron McGill has assumed the role and is eager to step into the position and begin a new learning process.

“Over the last five years of serving in the role of commissioner it’s been such an honor to learn how the process works, and to be a part of the leadership team of the county,” McGill said. “Although it was not necessarily something I went looking for. In this situation, as far as the chair who is nominated every December, and the same time I ran for office that first time, I felt led. For the same reason, I agreed to be considered for chairman. I just felt led.”

McGill felt that it was a divinely appointed opportunity to help lead the commissioners as they serve the citizens of Bladen County.

“Going into Monday night I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, but I was at peace whether to remain a commissioner – serving, or if I would be given the opportunity to serve as chair. When I was nominated and voted in, I was very humbled and honored. The moment I changed seats with the chairman; I felt the weight of that responsibility.”

He said that the days prior to the first commissioners meeting in December he had time to reflect and determined that this is another blessing and not a greater burden.

McGill, who wears many hats in the community from pastor to commissioner to husband, confidant, counselor and friend has never shied away from championing his family, his church and his community. He has a no-nonsense approach to the issues that Bladen County has faced and has “dug in” and never backed away from adversity.

“Over the past five or six years, I have encouraged people to be open to whatever God would lead them to in the political world,” he said. “Because what we do is spiritual and the political is a byproduct of that. All that being said, this is new to me – but I’m learning. Monday morning as I was praying about the decision I would be making Monday night, I just felt very convicted that if I had the opportunity to serve as chair that I wanted to do it with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. And also do it for the Glory of God.”

With the new position comes a “recommitment” to service he said.

“I want to step up my game a little bit,” McGill said. “I want to do a better job serving. I was in Charlotte yesterday speaking at an event and one of the other speakers said something that really stuck with me. Something I hadn’t heard before. He said, ‘You know there are two words that we get from the same root from the same word that we derive from the word ‘politics.’ They are the words ‘policy’ and ‘politeness.’”

There is no doubt that McGill has spent the last few years learning in the trenches of adversity and government in Bladen County. Add to that his expertise in organization, planning, problem solver and his people skills and you have someone who there is no question about his appointment to the chair.

“I feel that I am being brought in to be in tune with the needs of the community and making sure that I’m leading the commissioners in not only a guiding way, but also a Godly way,” he said.

Some may wonder if a very successful pastor with a large church will be able to put enough attention into something as big as the new position, he has been given even in the light that his position as a Bladen County Commissioner has been a fruitful one.

“I realize that when I step into this, I’m not going to do it just to be able to say that I am sitting in the middle seat,” he said. “I’m going to go in with all my heart and give 100% as I have been doing. That’s not going to change. I know that this will not just be a position of authority, but one of responsibility.”

The commissioners meet every other week which McGill is very familiar with, but the chairman has a much greater day-to-day responsibility and his outreach to all the other committees will be greater as a liaison to the commissioners.

“I do feel that my job is going to be more manageable,” he said. “We now have the new county manager, Sam Croom. I won’t have to serve in the capacity that Charles Ray (Peterson) has had in having to wear both hats. I feel that the day-to-day, behind the scenes responsibility is going to be greater, but if you come and ask me this question next year at this time, I’ll be able to answer it a whole lot better as to what are the increased responsibilities.”

His personal and evangelistic speaking engagements have already been cut back due to his commitment to Bladen County. He has been both visible, prevalent and accessible in every county – and not just the county he lives in.

In an interview with the Bladen Journal in March 2025 McGill gave some insights as to his starting point and what he initially encountered.

“God sometimes shows up in ways that we are not expecting,” he said. “At that point, we’d been in Bladen County for 20 years, we knew the community well and I pastored the First Baptist Church of Dublin for 18 years. We started the Lake Church (White Lake) as a mission and at in 2019 we were here at Lake Church full-time.”

In 2020, both Charles Ray Peterson and James McVicker said they felt led to come and approach McGill about running for the commissioner seat that was empty due to the unexpected death of Russell Priest.

“I was very humbled and honored,” he said. “I was out just working on the pier and I don’t know if I ever really took them seriously. They told me they’d give me a little bit of time to consider it. Now, I’d helped Coach Priest’s funeral at the ball field and my boys grew up under his leadership.”

After McGill got home he told his wife, Tiffany that he was approached to run for the empty commissioner’s spot in a “you’re not going to believe this” moment.

“Tiffany just immediately responded,” he said. “’Well, maybe that’s why God sent us to Israel.’ I then responded that we have so much going on in our lives right now. We talked, and by the end of that day, I called Charles Ray back and I told him that if they really felt like I would be the right guy to run, I’ll do it. And then the reality set in. Running and winning are two different things. Everything we do we try to do with a Biblical perspective and it says that whatever you find to do, do it heartily unto the Lord.”

McGill decided not to stress about running political campaign per se, but decide to go into it as he does every other decision and subsequent path in his life. He decided to go into it with 100% effort – win, lose or draw.

When McGill came in to fill an unexpired term from 2020 – 2022, he got his feet wet and learned a lot about what the county needed. In 2022 he had won the hearts of the voters with his integrity, his wisdom, his love for community, his ability to not back away or back down from the issues and to speak out when his voice needs to be heard.

His current term runs until December 2026. If there are questions or comments, he is readily accessible at [email protected]

The March 11, 2025 interview can be seen by visiting: https://www.bladenjournal.com/news/107591/a-man-of-faith-a-voice-of-wisdom-to-bladen-county