Community Invited to Retirement Celebration for Benton County Commissioner Xan Augerot

Benton County will celebrate and thank Commissioner Xan Augerot next week as she retires at the conclusion of her second term in office. The community is invited to a dessert open house in her honor on Wednesday, December 18 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Board of Commissioners/Holmes and Shipley Room at 4500 SW Research Way in Corvallis.

Questions or requests for accommodation should be directed to Marriah De La Vega: marriah.delavega@bentoncountyor.gov.

A lifelong Northwesterner, Augerot has lived in Oregon for more than 20 years. She worked as the Executive Director for Marys River Watershed Council and as Vice President of Wild Salmon Center (Portland, Ore.). She has degrees from the University of Washington (economics, marine policy) and Oregon State University (geography). She was the lead author on a first-of-its-kind exploration of the social, cultural, ecological and policy aspects of salmon management, The Atlas of Pacific Salmon.  

Augerot ran for office because she wanted to ensure the environment was protected in the face of population growth. She was elected to the Benton County Board of Commissioners in November 2016 and took office in January 2017. She entered office focused on climate change and the need to ensure the workforce was able to serve an increasingly diverse population, but she quickly found new passions. 

Her portfolio at the County has included health care and public safety; she is also very engaged in housing, climate, equity and water issues. She serves on boards for Benton Community Foundation, Community Services Consortium, Association of Oregon Counties and on the Oregon Youth Development Council.

“Commissioner Augerot exemplifies what it means to be a public servant, and not just because she is incredibly hardworking,” said County Administrator Rachel McEneny. “One of her greatest strengths is her ability and desire to really listen, to hear and understand every voice. In her time in office she has read every correspondence from community members, listened to every comment, and drawn upon every available resource to solve large and small problems for the people of Benton County.”