AAC
Family & Friends
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 Will Jones 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.
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.
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Sorrow allows us to appreciate life’s joys
Director’s Desk
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Chris Villines hen my son and I left the office on AAC April 18 following the annual SatExecutive Director urday 75-member Quorum Court meeting I entertained no thoughts that it would be the last time I saw him. There were no indications given to anyone in his circle, no notions of inner struggle and no words exchanged that his end with us was near. For reasons I cannot understand I lost a good friend and a hard-working, capable employee that evening. Just about everyone I know in this life knew Jonathan Greer — my family, my friends, my co-workers and my partners in county and state government. All of us find some comfort in knowing that no indications were given, and instead of this being a loss that we could have or should have intervened to prevent there are instead only the memories of our times with Jonathan being upbeat and full of life. His legacy looms large in this world, and it includes a beautiful 4-year-old son, Charlie Gage. I didn’t know Jonathan in his youth, but if I think hard about what he was like, well, Charlie Gage is pretty spot-on. I first met Jonathan when he joined the AAC in 2002, a young and eager attorney ready to light the world on fire. I have always been tied closely to the AAC, have enjoyed the work this group does and appreciated the professionalism shown here from the moment I took office in Saline County in 1999. Though Jonathan wasn’t working with the tax collectors at that time I always stopped by his office when I came to the AAC to relish in his humor and zest for life. I learned quickly that Jonathan was one syllable too many for his friends, and we all referred to him as JG. Stories came easy to JG, and he spun tales that resided in the gray area that lies between truth and fancy, an art lost in our fast paced world but deeply rooted from his upbringing in Star City. Though only a year his senior, I always thought of JG as a much younger brother, possibly from his wide and mischievous grin. Couple this with a general demeanor and excitement of someone 10 years younger than his real age. It was while working in Saline County and serving on the AAC board in 2007 that I performed what could be referred to as a slight act of mutiny by mentioning him to Saline County Judge Lanny Fite when an opening occurred in the Saline County Attorney’s position. Judge (now Representative) Fite and JG became quick friends and some of the best career memories I take with me are impromptu meetings and lunches with JG, Jim Crawford, Lynn Hart and Judge Fite during my time in Saline County. Matriculating through county government suited JG fine, and those things that can only be learned by boots-on-the-ground legal practice molded him into a skillful and pragmatic attorney. While I’d like to say I played a role in his moving to Saline County, in all
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