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ideas of things that work, things that fail, and techniques that improve the level of service we provide back home.
It makes sense that the AAC should be involved in these meetings. In fact, our mission statement mentions education prominently. It should be a focus of our attention, and I am proud to announce that the AAC will now be the official administering body for five of our continuing education programs begin- ning this summer. We’ve agreed with the Judges, Collectors,Treasurers, Circuit Clerks and County Clerks to handle a large portion of administration for each of these groups.
read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
“T
To facilitate this, the Association of Arkansas Counties has created the ARcounties Continuing Education (“ACE”) Program and Brenda “Emmy” Emerson will move into a full time education coordinator role. She is the perfect fit for the position and her upbeat attitude and com- mitment to excellence will serve us all well. Benefits for our counties will expand beyond the five targeted groups in that this move will provide one person devoted to education and seminars full-time. Tere are a number of important issues we would love to present on a state-wide level, and the ability now matches this need.
Education has always been important, but the need has been heightened in recent years for several reasons: Turnover in our county offices is occurring at an increasingly frequent rate, technology is advancing rapidly, and changes to the law (both statutorily and judicially) require immediate attention.
Te education process of tomorrow will not be the same as the education process of yesterday. Sociologist and author Alvin Toffler tells us that “Te illiterate of the 21st
century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”. Tis is a very accurate point considering the constant state of flux we now live in.
In addition to the ACE Program, the AAC is proud to an- nounce an expansion of services into the much-needed listserv arena. For those of you unfamiliar with a listserv its concept is rather simple, but its impact can be profound. A listserv is one email address that will receive an email from you and then automatically send it to everyone else who is a member of that listserv.
For several years now Treasurers, Collectors, Circuit Clerks 8 COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2011 Sociologist and author Alvin Toffler ” he illiterate of the 21st will not be those who cannot
and County Clerks have been using this tool to communicate across the state. A Treasurer in Randolph County can email a question to the listserv and immediately get replies from 74 other Treasurers and the AAC. Tis tool has helped increase the flow of communication for all four of these groups and we are excited to present new listservs to Judges, Sheriffs, Assessors, Coroners, and Justices of the Peace. Details are forthcom- ing, but you can expect to see signup sheets for this free tool at the conference in August and in the next issue of County Lines.
Century
One additional service that I expect to be a big hit is still in formulation, but it is time that we begin letting you all know that it is on the horizon. Te Associa- tion of Arkansas Counties Risk Management Fund has begun funding a pilot
project for counties that are members of its services, though the benefit impact could well reach every county in our state. Many of our counties have their ordinances filed away in books, but this doesn’t meet the legal requirement for codification.
For many various reasons, cost being the largest, it has been impractical for our smaller counties to undergo the codification process. Te vendors are few and the prices high for this service. It is our hope that this pilot project will bear fruit in the form of codification services through the AAC and hosted on-line at a much more favorable cost to our counties, thus bringing this requirement into reach for all of us.
As you can see, we have had a busy summer so far. Tis summer’s conference, August 17-19, will be an excellent time to hear about continued progress. Tere’s more information in the magazine about this event, and I hope you can all make arrange- ments to attend this year – it will be held at the Peabody Hotel and Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Te programs for the conference are lining up to be terrific – and your presence only makes it better!
Chris Villines Chris Villines
AAC Executive Director
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