AAC Conference Recap County officials boost training for the 21st Century
ByRandy M. Kemp County Lines Editor
HOT SPRINGS – Around 500 members of Arkansas’s county
government family learned the latest “best practices” to help make them more efficient, more effective elected officials and county employees during the Association of Arkansas Counties’
42nd
Annual Conference Aug. 11-13 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. Topical speakers were there to offer county and district elected
officials and employees the latest helpful information and moti- vation on a wide range of topics, including: Team effectiveness; solutions for emergency management; promoting healthy coun- ties; data recovery planning and preparedness; partnering for cor- rections reforms; communicating effectively with the media; and AAC’s efforts to help rural counties and schools secure important federal funding set to expire soon. Some county officials were heard to say it was “the best confer-
ence ever.” Te county and district delegates also heard from Gov. Mike
Beebe, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, and Glen Whitley, President of the National Association of Counties (NACo). Whit- ley praised Arkansas county officials and staff for excellence “back home in your county courthouses”; he also urged them to take the message out into their communities of “how well county govern- ment works”.
A highlight of the week came Friday when the group heard com-
ments from U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln and U.S. Congressman John Boozman regarding matters affecting county government. Te two are headed toward a showdown for Lincoln’s Senate seat in November. Tough billed as a “forum” rather than a debate, the high-profile AAC event made headlines as the first in which the two shared a stage during this election campaign. “Tis annual conference is educational, motivational, and it helps us to plan and pull together for the future of all our citi- zens across Arkansas,” said AAC Executive Director Chris Villines. “Tis year’s event continues that tradition. Your county officials and employees have a depth of new skills to bring back home and put to use for the taxpayers and citizens.” Villines added, “Tey do a great job. Tese members of the county government family work hard, usually with little to no recognition for the complexity of their jobs in the 21st Century, and they all deserve our appreciation. County government truly provides one of the ‘biggest bangs for the buck’ that our taxpayers see at any level of government, and the AAC staff and Board of Directors take that role very seriously.” In conjunction with the AAC conference, the Senate and
House City, County and Local Affairs Committees conducted meetings Wednesday and Tursday. Individual association meetings were held during the week for: County Judges, County Sheriffs, County Clerks, Circuit Clerks, County Treasurers, County Assessors, County Collectors, County Coroners, and Quorum Court members.
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Garland County Judge Larry Williams welcomes county elected officials and staff from around Arkansas to the summer conference hosted in his home county.
The exhibitors are an important part of the AAC annual conference.
Dottie Calhoun, Jackson County Clerk, tries to keep a straight face for her photo ID while Lyna Gulledge, Drew County Clerk, makes faces and otherwise tries to crack her up.
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2010
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