Director’s DE S K


County Lines Magazine


County Lines is the official publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other informa- tion relating to the magazine, please con- tact Christy L. Smith or Scott Perkins at 501.372.7550.


Executive Director / Publisher Chris Villines


Communications Director/ Managing Editor Scott Perkins


Communications coordinator/ Editor


Christy L. Smith AAC Executive Board:


Judy Beth Hutcherson – President Debbie Wise – Vice President


Sherry Bell Cindy Walker


Andrea Billingsley John Montgomery Rhonda Cole


David Thompson Angela Hill


Joe Gillenwater – Secretary-Treasurer Debra Buckner Brandon Ellison Jimmy Hart


Patrick Moore Sandra Cawyer Bill Hollenbeck Debbie Cross


National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations


Judy Beth Hutcherson: NACo board member. She is the Clark County Treasurer and president of the AAC Board of Directors.


Debbie Wise: NACo board member. She is the Randolph County Circuit Clerk, vice president of the AAC Board of Directors and chair of AAC’s Legislative Committee.


Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson County Quorum Court.


Kasey Summerville: Finance, Pensions & Intergov- ernmental Affairs Steering Committee. She is the Clark County Assessor.


David Hudson: Vice Chair of NACo’s Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Sebastian County Judge and member of the Rural Action Caucus Steering Committee.


Barry Hyde: Justice and Public Safety Steering Com- mittee. He is the Pulaski County Judge.


COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2016


» » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » »


for counties’ most valuable resource


Providing


SITS HERE.” An arrow points at the driver’s seat. Crete Carrier is the company that owns and hauls these trailers, and every time I see one I can’t help but think that this company is getting things right.


Y Tis statement


resonates with me, and I’m sure many of you as well. If county courthous- es in Arkansas were painted with proclamations, many would have the same message with arrows pointing to all of Arkansas’ fine county employees.


Tere are 15,000 people employed by the counties of Arkansas and another 7,000 or so working the polls. As one of the state’s largest collective employers, we find ourselves fighting hard to hire good people and keep them on board in jobs that are maligned by the press and unappreciated by many constituents. Often underpaid for the skill sets and work ethics that they possess, our county employees are far and away the most valuable resource in county governments.


What is special about this is not only the great employees we have, but also the fact that as employers our county and district officials recognize this fact and treat their county workers with respect and appreciation. As a result, many workers are life-long partners with the county, working to retirement with a focus on customer service and respect toward our residents — the three million or so Arkansans we serve.


Te motivation for long-term employment comes not from money or prestige.


Instead it comes from the simple satisfaction of working for the county and be- ing in a position to help those who come in to our offices with basic needs. I am reminded of a story that Zig Ziglar told and retold to millions through the years:


In the 1950s, an incident took place on a sweltering summer afternoon alongside


a railroad track where a crew of workers was doing some repair work. A train came chugging down the track and pulled off on a side rail. A window opened and a voice — a man’s voice — shouted out, “Dave! Dave Anderson, is that you?”


It was; in fact, Dave Anderson was in charge of the crew. >>> 7


ou’ve probably seen it as you drive on our roads. Te non-descript semi is followed by a trailer with the rather large words that say, “OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE


Director’s Desk


Chris Villines AAC


Executive Director


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52