Fred Aikens

Prior to his retirement effective February 1, 2006, Fred Aikens had been a public servant to North Carolina State Government for more than 27 years, starting with the North Carolina General Assembly (1978-1993), Department of Transportation (1993-1997), and Department of Correction (1997-2006). He has also served our nation with more than 30 years of military service, active duty and reserve. Fred is now a business consultant with Oxyfresh Worldwide, Inc., a network marketing company and distributor of dental, pet, nutrition, weight control, home care and stress-relief products.

Fred joined the Department of Correction on March 1, 1997, and was one of three deputy secretaries who reported directly to the Secretary of the Department. He directed other executive, managerial and professional staff and was immediately responsible to the Secretary for oversight of several major programs, including Substance Abuse and Chemical Dependency Treatment, Management Information Systems, the Correction Enterprise Program, and the Extradition Office. Fred represented the Department of Correction on the Information Technology Management Advisory Council and was chairman of that group prior to his military activation. As chair of the ITMAC, he also served on the Information Resources Management Council. Fred provided exceptional leadership in streamlining and refocusing the Department’s efforts in providing substance abuse treatment to offenders, including the oversight of private drug/alcohol treatment centers. He shared his previous knowledge of information technology with other senior officials in state government to improve their understanding of the role that IT plays in state government’s business operations, while at the same time, directing a more focused IT effort in the Department of Correction to improve delivery of services.

From November 2001 through February 2004, Fred was on military leave of absence while serving our country in the Global War Against Terrorism, first with Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg and in support of the Corps’ efforts in Afghanistan, and then in Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Fred served as Deputy Director of Operations and, upon the Corps’ assignment to the Afghanistan Theater, he served as Director of Operations for Headquarters XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg and supported the Corps’ deployment and war effort in Afghanistan. Fred’s unit demobilized in November 2002 and was recalled to active military service in February 2003. His unit was deployed to the Iraqi Theater of Operation where Fred served as Deputy Commander of Camps for United States Army Central Command in Kuwait and assisted in commanding and controlling all Northern Kuwait Base Camps for the Commander U.S. Army Central Command-Kuwait. Fred’s unit completed its second successive deployment and was demobilized in February 2004. Fred retired as a colonel in the North Carolina Army National Guard in September 2005. He had commanded at every level second lieutenant through colonel, and all were infantry commands.

Fred has extensive public sector experience. Prior to his employment with the Department of Correction, he was Chief Deputy Secretary for the Department of Transportation and was responsible for development, review and execution of the Department’s $2.5 billion annual budget, the overall development and coordination of Departmental policy at the federal and state level, development and coordination of the Department’s legislative agenda, and the administration of a host of support services and functions to support 15,000 employees. These responsibilities were executed through several high level positions that reported directly to Fred, including Personnel, the Controller’s Office, Management Information Systems, Facilities Engineering, and the Division of Motor Vehicles. Fred also served as Commissioner of Motor Vehicles in an additional duty capacity for a period of 9 months. During Fred’s DOT tenure, he was the senior official principally responsible for the development and implementation of several major statewide automation projects, including the Driver Licensing Project, the Digitized Imagery Driver Licensing Project, the State Titling and Registration Project, and an automated voice response system. He also initiated an overhaul of the Department’s Fiscal Accounting System, helped sustain the State’s commitment as the “Good Roads State,” obtained resources to accelerate the focus on public transportation, identified and secured funding to improve maintenance of existing roads, and directed the purchase of the Century Center Complex (a facility composed of more than 200,000 square feet of space, to house more than 1,000 new employees).

Fred was a member of the staff of the Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly for nearly 15 years, where he amassed a wealth of knowledge concerning the operations of state government. He performed budgetary, policy and oversight responsibilities relating to several state agencies, with the last four years of his Fiscal Research tenure focusing exclusively on the Department of Transportation. Fred was the lead analyst for highway matters, had primary staff responsibility to the Joint Legislative Highway Oversight Committee, the House Appropriations Committee on Transportation, and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Natural and Economic Resources, and served as the principal analyst for highway matters for the General Assembly.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (December 1975) with a Bachelor's in Sociology and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Master's in City and Regional Planning in 1978. Fred is a July 2000 graduate of the U.S. Army War College and was inducted into the U.S. Army’s Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in April 2003, just prior to his deployment to Kuwait in the Iraqi Theater of Operation. He is a U.S. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran and was active in the North Carolina Army National Guard until his retirement in September 2005. Fred is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and is married to his high school sweetheart (Mrs. Lucy Easter Aikens), also of Wilmington. They have two adult daughters, Natasha and Lucinda.

Civic activities have included membership and participation in a number of boards and commissions, including the Wake County United Way, Vice Chair of the Youth Involvement Initiative, and Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council. Fred was a board member for The Healing Place in Raleigh.

Mr. Aikens and his wife are active disciples of Wake Chapel Church in Raleigh.