The U.S. Census Bureau has appointed a slate of managers for a new office in Charlottesville at 2211 Hydraulic Road, Lower Level, Suite 10, off U.S. Highway 29. There are six new managers and one of them is J. Rhon Williams Jr. of Fluvanna who has been named assistant manager for technology.

Formerly a small business owner and currently a minister, Williams is also an Air Force veteran and a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He has 28 years experience managing people and technology.

The Charlottesville office supports 2010 Census operations in 18 counties: Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Fluvanna, Greene, Highland, Nelson, Page, Prince Edward, Rockbridge, Rockingham and Shenandoah, as well the cities of Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Covington, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro.

Three temporary offices opened in 2008 to carry out operations to prepare for the census. They are located in Alexandria, Richmond and Roanoke.  The Charlottesville office is one of nine new local census offices in Virginia, bringing the total number to 12.

The managers bring a wealth of talent and experience to the 2010 Census.

Census counts are used to determine the number of congressional seats for each state, the shape of legislative and local government districts, and how more than $400 billion in federal funds is distributed annually to communities across the country.

April 1, 2010, is Census Day, the reference day for collecting census information from every household in America. Census questionnaires will be mailed or delivered in mid-March. The Virginia offices will close after census operations end in 2010.