Special to the Opelika Observer

The City of Opelika has named Ruth Blessing as the city’s new Human Resources Director. Blessing is replacing Lisa McLeod, who will retire Feb. 1, 2020, after 35 years with the city.

“While we are extremely sad to see Lisa retire, we are excited to have Ruth join our leadership team. Ruth brings strong management, analytical thinking and planning skills to the table,” said Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller. “Since she’s been with the city, she’s proven to be a great asset.”

Blessing will transition from senior accountant to human resources director, effective immediately. In her role as senior accountant, she worked hand-in-hand with the city controller on financial planning, policy, compliance and budget preparation. 

As HR Director, Blessing will be responsible for supervising staff, safety/risk management, policy and procedures, human resources processes, budgets, evaluations and reporting. 

“I appreciate the Mayor and Mr. (Joey) Motley giving me this opportunity. Opelika has wonderful employees and I am very excited about the opportunity to serve each of them through the Human Resources Department. Lisa McLeod has been a wonderful HR director for many years and each of us will miss her greatly,” Blessing said. “It’s an honor to follow her in this role.”

Blessing has more than 17 years of consulting, process improvement, internal audit and accounting in both the public and private sectors. She has extensive experience working with policy creation and implementation, process analysis and improvement, recruitment and retention, leadership development, financial accounting, budgeting and forecasts and federal grants. 

Prior to joining the city in 2017, Blessing spent seven years in Atlanta with Ernst & Young, LLP in their Business Risk Services and Resource & Production Management divisions and seven years in Auburn with Himmelwright, Huguley & Boles, LLC.

Blessing maintains a CPA certification and holds degrees in Accounting from Bob Jones University and Auburn University.