A Tamaqua native has been elevated at a federal agency.

Joe Reilly, a 1971 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, was named administrator of the National Agricultural Statistics Service earlier this year.NASS is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.In addition to conducting the Census of Agriculture every five years, NASS conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture.Before his tenure at NASS, Reilly was employed with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of the Census for more than 21 years. He received the Commerce Department's highest award in 1997 for outstanding management of the Census of Agriculture program.Reilly moved to USDA when responsibilities for the Department of Agriculture were transferred to NASS.Reilly grew up on a small farm outside of Tamaqua.The 1975 graduate of Penn State University lives in Churchton, Maryland, with wife Deborah.