SOMERSET COUNTY- The County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) elected their 2026 officers and presented six county government awards during its 139th Annual Conference and Trade Show at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County August 17-20.
During the conference, members of the association elected Joe Kantz, Snyder County commissioner, to be their 2026 president. Kantz and other elected officers will begin their terms on January 1, 2026.
Other county officials elected to be leaders of CCAP include Dave Glass, Clearfield County commissioner, first vice president; Ann Coleman, Mercer County commissioner, second vice president; and Julie Wheeler, York County commissioner, treasurer. Sherene Hess, Indiana County commissioner and current CCAP president, will serve as the Association’s board chair in 2026.
Elected as district representatives to the CCAP board were: District 1 Representative Braxton White, Clarion County Commissioner; District 2 Representative Scott Hunt, Cambria County commissioner; District 3 Representative Amy Webster, Blair County commissioner; District 4 Representative Preston Boop, Union County commissioner; District 5 Representative TBD; District 6 Representative Lori Vargo Heffner, Northampton County council member; and District 7 Representative Brian Smith, Wayne County commissioner. Those elected will also begin their terms on January 1, 2026.
CCAP also presented the following awards for excellence and commitment to county government.
• Outstanding County Commissioner – Brian Smith, Wayne County
• Outstanding County Chief Clerk – Roni Shilling, Mercer County
• Outstanding County Solicitor – Robert Cravitz, Snyder County
• Friend of County Government – Joseph Saeler, Butler County
• Affiliate of the Year Award – John DiMattio, Erie County
• President’s Award – Lori Vargo Heffner, Northampton County
