On his last day at work, Gov. Mike Easley gave the acting head of the Department of Cultural Resources a new job.

Easley appointed Staci Meyer to the N.C. Industrial Commission. Meyer was the chief deputy and general counsel to the department who ran things when Secretary Libba Evans went on extended, unpaid leave.

Meyer spoke for the department in defense of two departmental trips to Europe that included first lady Mary Easley. 

Meyer told her staff of her appointment Monday. The commission oversees workers' compensation.

"I will strive to provide meaningful and effective service to the State through this appointment," Meyer wrote.

Gov. Mike Easley has nominated Susan Rabon to the N.C. Utilities Commission.

A Holly Springs resident, Rabon was a corporate lawyer in Wilmington before going to work as special counsel for the N.C. Department of Justice under then Attorney General Easley in 1993. She became chief of staff of the department in 1994.

Currently she works as senior assistant for administration in the governor's office.

Rabon graduated from N.C. State University in 1982 with a degree in political science and received her law degree from the University of Virginia in 1986. She clerked for N.C. Court of Appeals Judge Jack Cozort.

"Susan Rabon is an accomplished lawyer who has served our state with distinction and dedication," Easley said in a statement.  "Her integrity and knowledge of state government are unmatched. Her first priority has always been the needs and concerns of the people of North Carolina and I know she will take that same approach as a member of this commission."

The appointment will fill one of two openings on the board. Easley also nominated Crime Control Secretary Bryan Beatty today.

Both appointments will have to be confirmed by the legislature. 

Gov. Mike Easley has nominated Bryan Beatty to the N.C. Utilities Commission.

Beatty has served as secretary of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety under Easley since 2001, overseeing the State Highway Patrol, the Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement and the Emergency Management Division, among other agencies.

"Bryan Beatty's dedication and integrity is unmatched in government," Easley said in a statement. "No matter what job he has held, he has always put the best interests of the state of North Carolina and her people first. I know he will continue to do so as a member of this commission."

Beatty had been angling to continue as secretary or in another position under Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue, but recently announced that he would instead leave for a new post.

The Utilities Commission regulates the rates and services of the state's public utilities, including telephone, electric, natural gas, wastewater, buses and ferryboats.

The governor appoints all seven members to eight-year terms, but they must be confirmed by the legislature. Other members appointed by Easley are Howard Lee, Bill Culpepper, Lorinzo Little Joyner, Sam Ervin IV, Robert Owens, and Chairman Edward Finley.

The appointment will fill one of two openings on the board.

Ervin will leave the board to join the N.C. Court of Appeals on Dec. 31. Jim Kerr left the board on Aug. 31.

Hawley Truax is heading to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

The senior policy adviser to Gov. Mike Easley will now be working for the Winston-Salem-based nonprofit, which focuses on social justice, environmental and community projects.

Former Democratic labor commissioner candidate Mary Fant Donnan also works at the foundation.

Truax was one of two Easley advisers who got in trouble in 2007 for helping a longtime Easley ally arrange a private consulting business.

With Easley's second term drawing to a close, many of his top advisers are leaving for other jobs.

Former budget adviser Dan Gerlach now heads the Golden LEAF Foundation. 

ROCKY MOUNT - Dan Gerlach, a top economic adviser to Gov. Mike Easley, today was named president of the Golden LEAF Foundation.

At a meeting in Rocky Mount, the foundation’s board approved hiring Gerlach, with a goal of having him take over Oct. 1, Jonathan Cox reports.

"He's the kind of person that's very energetic and very well-attuned to getting things done," said Tommy Bunn, Golden LEAF's chairman.

Foundation officials said they were attracted to Gerlach because he has experience in rural areas, understands the legislature and economic development.

Gerlach interviewed for the job today in a closed session. He was one of five final candidates, after Golden LEAF received about 300 applicants.

The Rocky Mount-based foundation, created in 1999, administers installments from the national legal settlement that states reached with the major tobacco companies. The money, ultimately totaling more than $2 billion, is designated to help tobacco-dependent and economically distressed communities.

The board began looking for a new president earlier this year when Valeria Lee announced she was stepping down.

Senate leader Marc Basnight said in June that Easley asked him to encourage Golden LEAF board members to consider Gerlach for the post.