Commissioners Thursday night voted to appoint Vicki Neikirk to serve as interim county manager following Randy Dowling's abrupt resignation earlier that day.

Neikirk has served as the county's chief financial officer since April 25.

In a one sentence memo given to the county commissioners Thursday morning, Dowling offered no explanation for his departure.

"I hereby resign my position as county manager in accordance with Section 13 C of my contract giving a 60 day notice from today or Sept. 19," Dowling wrote.

He had held the position since February.

The commission accepted his resignation, which was made effective immediately.

Neikirk assumed the role in the interim Friday morning.

She is the ninth person to hold the position since 2005.

Neikirk has more than 15 years of county and city government finance experience.

She most recently served as Hall County's director of financial services for nearly four years. She resigned from that position in June 2015.

Previously, Neikirk was CFO for White County and the city of Toccoa.

She holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of North Georgia and received her Financial Officer Certification from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.

According to a notice sent out Friday afternoon, a special called board of commissioners meeting, regarding management positions, has been announced for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Dawson County Government Center.