Commissioner Bob Hovis, representing the Crowders Mountain Township, was selected as vice chair. Hovis, who previously served as the mayor of Bessemer City, is in the middle of his second term on the board.  Brown and Hovis served in these roles in 2022, and were selected again in unanimous votes.

Also at Monday’s meeting, new Dallas Township Commissioner Cathy Cloninger and Sheriff Chad Hawkins took their respective oaths of office. Cloninger replaced Tracy Philbeck, who did not run for re-election, and Hawkins replaced Cloninger's husband, longtime Sheriff Alan Cloninger, who also chose not to seek re-election.

Brown and Gastonia Township Commissioner Tom Keigher, both of whom were unopposed, were also sworn in to new terms. Keigher is the longest active serving member of the board, now beginning his 7th term. He was first elected to the board  in 1998.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the five new and re-elected members of the Gaston County School Board (Josh Crisp, Lee Dedmon, A.M. Stephens III, Tod Kinlaw and Dot Cherry), Clerk of Court Roxann Rankin, and Soil and Water Conservation Supervisors Bill Ward and Dan Brandon took their respective oaths of office.

Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory provided the charge to the elected officials, while Superior Court Judge David Phillips and District Court Judge Pennie Thrower, along with Brown, conducted the ceremony. The newly elected state judicial officials – Superior Court Judge Justin Davis, District Attorney Travis Page and District Court judges Craig Collins and William “Gus” Anthony, III – will be formally sworn in to their roles in January.

Chad Hawkins, who has worked in law enforcement since 1994, was sworn as Gaston County Sheriff, succeeding Alan Cloninger, who had held the post for 18 years. Cloninger presented Hawkins with the badge he had been given by Leroy Russell when he became Sheriff.