The U.S. Census Bureau today announced it has hired the management staff for a local census office in Fayetteville, N.C., which will be the hub of local census activity for the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal. The office will open in March.

Valencia Applewhite has been named the new Fayetteville Local Census Office (LCO) manager. She has 25 years’ management experience in U.S. Air Force training, communications security and telecommunications, including serving as a communications security manager at the Pentagon. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, Applewhite supported recovery operations. As the LCO manager, she will oversee all upcoming dress rehearsal operations including data collection, recruiting thousands of job applicants and setting up the LCO.

Michael Oglesby, a Fayetteville native and Air Force retiree, has been named the assistant manager for field operations. His civilian and military careers have included experience in previous census field operations and various security and communications-related positions. For the past five years, Oglesby has served as a security analyst and consultant with U.S. Army, Europe.

Alvin Howe, named the assistant manager for administration, is a highly decorated Army veteran with a diverse background in high-level administrative operations and extensive supervisory, management and customer service experience. In his previous position with an international discount electronics catalog, Howe managed a call center of more than 600 personnel. Howe has lived in Fayetteville since retiring from the Army in 1993.

;Rhonda-Lyn Millhouse has been appointed assistant manager for quality assurance. An Army veteran, Millhouse has more than 20 years of customer service experience in the retail, telecommunications and market research industries. During Operation Desert Storm, she ensured quality assurance provisions were met on a $23 million Meals Ready to Eat contract.

Queen Degraphenreid, a Fayetteville resident of 16 years, has been named the assistant manager for recruiting. She has served more than 25 years as an executive officer for numerous federally funded initiatives and community-based organizations. Degraphenreid was the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Dr. John Hope Franklin Humanitarian Award.

Laura McClettie has been named the partnership specialist for the LCO. Her career has spanned running a business, managing federal programs, helping to create a business incubator and serving as a community leader and organizer in North Carolina. She served as a partnership specialist during Census 2000, working with scores of community groups and organizations across the state.

The Census Bureau expects to hire about 3,000 personnel to staff the office, update address lists and conduct follow-up interviews during the dress rehearsal in Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond and Scotland counties.

For more information about the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal and current employment opportunities, call the local census office at 1-866-673-2008 or visit <//2010.census.gov/2010census>.

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The Census Bureau is conducting a dress rehearsal of the nation’s once-a-decade population count in San Joaquin County, Calif., and in a nine-county area surrounding Fayetteville, N.C. Conducting a dress rehearsal allows the Census Bureau to make final preparations for a more accurate, efficient and cost-effective 2010 Census.

All 2010 Census information collected by the Census Bureau – including data collected during the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal – is confidential by law (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). All Census Bureau employees, including the newly hired managers, have taken an oath to protect confidentiality and are subject to a jail term, a fine – or both – for disclosing any information that could identify a respondent or household.