Mr. Bledsoe is currently the Chief Information Officer for Catawba County. He is responsible for Information Technology, GIS and the 911 Communications Center, supervising a staff of 50 full-time and 19 part-time employees. He oversees development of new technologies and identifies, plans and implements tools to improve efficiency and service delivery

Before coming to work for Catawba County, Bledsoe was employed with IBM Corporation as a senior consultant. In that role he was Deputy Project Manager responsible for a team that was deploying a system to more than 2300 North Carolina Schools, the largest Student Information System implementation in the world and the largest IBM K-12 education project in the world.

Prior to IBM, Bledsoe worked for Catawba County Schools and retired as their Chief Technology Officer after 30 years of service. In that role he planned and implemented technology for the school system.

Bledsoe earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in mathematics from Appalachian State University in 1975, graduating cum laude, and received his North Carolina Teaching Certificate in mathematics. He later earned a Master's Degree in mathematics and an Education Specialist (ED.S) post-graduate degree in Public School Administration, also from Appalachian State, and obtained North Carolina Principal Certification and Superintendent Certification. In 1996, he graduated from the Principals Executive Program of the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. In 2007 he graduated from the Certified Government Chief Information Officers (CGCIO) Program of the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill.

During his career, Bledsoe has also earned several high honors, including the St. Stephens High School Outstanding Teacher Award in March 1985; the 1990 North Carolina Technology Educator of the Year Award; and the 2003 Elsie Brumback Outstanding Technology Educator Award from the North Carolina Association for Educational Communications & Technology.

Terry Bledsoe's Specialties:

Bledsoe's experience includes all phases of technology planning and implementation. He is especially noted for his work with student information management systems and new school construction. He brings more than 30 years experience in technology leadership and he has been honored for his innovation and excellence in technology leadership. He is known for strong problem solving abilities and creative solutions while working in an environment that values teamwork and "out of the box" thinking.