From the Director’s Desk

from Fall 2015 County Lines

AAC staff profile: Melissa Hollowell

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 information relating to the magazine, please contact 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 Joe Gillenwater – Secretary-Treasurer Sherry Bell Debra Buckner Cindy Walker Brandon Ellison Andrea Billingsley Jimmy Hart John Montgomery Patrick Moore Rhonda Cole Sandra Cawyer David Thompson Bill Hollenbeck Angela Hill 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 & Intergovernmental 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.

Lighting the flame within

Director’s Desk

The holidays seem to move much more quickly as we age, and time with family and friends becomes more cherished as we gain an appreciation for capturing these opportunities to be thankful, hopeful and reconnected during the season. Unfortunately pausing becomes more difficult with the endless cycle of “senses overload” we almost involuntarily surround ourselves with. Throughout 2015 I have found myself exhausted on Chris Villines AAC Executive Director occasion, emotionally drained in spells, exuberant from time to time and amazed by the distance between peaks and valleys of the year. As the year wanes, I recollect a deep gratitude to both my AAC and county family that can be summarized by the following quote from theologian Albert Schweitzer, “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

Not unlike the “Footprints in the Sand” poem, I look back over the year and see many places where we as a county government family carried one another — be it through tough times or stages of hard work, or to lift each other on collective shoulders to celebrate the victories we’ve won. My light has definitely been rekindled at points by the hard work and resilience of the Arkansas county nation.

As for the AAC, the year seems to be closing with a couple of big sparks in the form of awards that must be shared with all of county government. I am extremely proud of the staff we have here and the work they all do for each of you. The level of competence is incredible, and the importance they all place on taking care of all 75 counties is astounding. I have said it before, but it bears repeating that they are an extension of your staff at home … and though you don’t see them in action each day, you would be proud of them if you did.

The other day my light was rekindled when I opened an e-mail forwarded to me from Chief Counsel Mark Whitmore. It seems the hard work he and Judge Brandon Ellison of Polk County have been doing on the Unpaved Road User Group has not gone unnoticed.

Their perseverance through the legislative session and leading up to it helped create one of the South’s first sustainable unpaved roads program. This program seeks to partner groups with a vested interest in the environment and sustainability through creation of a grant program to construct county (and other) roads in a manner that least disturbs our natural resources.

On Dec. 8, Mark and Judge Ellison were each presented with a Regional Director’s Conservation Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Atlanta for their “extraordinary contributions to the conservation of natural resources in the Southeast Region.” This award is well deserved on both counts, as they have put in countless hours to build this program from the ground up. Kudos, gentlemen!

For a second honor, in the early fall I looked on my desk to see the Southern Political Report Magazine, a publication with a footprint of 13 Southern states from Texas to Virginia. This particular issue had a “best of” theme, featuring the South’s top government affairs firms and lobbyists. In this list, five associations are listed as the best from each state, and your lobbying team at the Association of Arkansas

Counties made the top five!

What a tremendous honor for our team here to be recognized at this level. Flame re-kindled. Your team of Scott Perkins, Mark Whitmore, Lindsey Bailey, Josh Curtis, Eddie Jones, Wes Fowler, Jeanne Hunt, Whitney Barket and Christy Smith won this honor because they are hard-working men and women of integrity. They represent you well at the Capitol and have many peers who find them to be of high character. Furthermore, it is because they represent such an esteemed and trusted group of people in county officials that they are positioned for such an honor.

Re-kindling comes easy when you work in my job, and a large part of this is owed to the AAC board and its collective vision to provide all the needed tools to be a success. Without the board’s vision and support, the staff would not approach the level of success. We all owe a debt of gratitude to our board members for their commitment.

It must be said that the government affairs award is also owed, in part, to the successes and integrity of Jonathan Greer, as he more than helped in our 2015 campaign with the legislature. We recently renamed the AAC Law Library in his memory, and the renaming event is featured in this magazine.

As a part of the lasting tribute to JG, we commissioned a painting in his honor. Kyle Dooley, Eddie Jones’ grandson, did not disappoint. This fine piece of art will soon be printed in limited edition and be sold at a reasonable price with all proceeds going to the Charlie Gage Greer Scholarship Fund. One thing’s for sure, this work is so beautiful that I feel confident all prints will be sold in short order. We will let you know the details as they develop.

And finally, while I pause to be thankful about our accomplishments in county government, my list would be incomplete if I didn’t offer thanks for our wonderful Risk Management and Worker’s Compensation programs, staff and member counties.

Unfortunately this arm of AAC doesn’t find itself in an industry where many awards are given, but if they were we would need a new wall for the plaques. Debbie Norman skillfully leads more than half of the AAC staff in these programs, and they handle claims without fanfare but with amazing capability.

All 75 counties are owners in the Worker’s Compensation Pool, and we continue to grow our Risk Management Pool with roughly two-thirds — yes, 49 of 75 — counties as members in that program. Membership in these programs provides the means to effectively educate and lobby for our counties. I want to thank all of our participating counties for their trust in these programs, including the new ones that have recently made the switch to our programs beginning in 2016. Flame re-kindled again!

To close, I want to graciously thank all of you for serving the people of Arkansas. What a privilege it is to be put in a position of trust and esteem and what great calling you have to serve with integrity and character. May God Bless you all as you take time to be thankful and reconnect this holiday season.