From the Director’s Desk

from Spring 2016 County Lines

North Little Rock site of circuit clerks meeting

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. Barry Hyde: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Pulaski County Judge.

Summer brings new season for dedicated two

Director’s Desk

Summer is quickly upon us, and it signifies so much that is fun about life in Arkansas. This time of year many of us take time with family and friends to enjoy a week or weekends in the beauty that our state holds. It is a time when we take hard-earned money saved up throughout the year to “Explore the Possibilities” — yes, that Chris Villines AAC Executive Director was a gratuitous AAC Conference plug — and enjoy some time off.

As a metaphor for life, summer is a lot like retirement. It is a season within which to parlay a career well lived into time of enjoyment with family and friends. For the county family, this rings particularly true right now as two of our favorite workers slip into a new stage of life on July 1 — their summer, if you will — and we wish them the happiest of times as they do so.

Jeanne Hunt will tell you that when she started her career at the Association of Arkansas Counties in 1982 she was 7 years old and, judging by the charisma and energy she possesses, it would be easily believable. As an executive assistant, she has worked with five different executive directors. There has never been and there likely will never be another employee with this organization that will come close to her 34 years of service.

Through those years she has been an integral part of AAC’s transformation into the strong and healthy organization it is today. She has survived two additions to the original headquarters and at least 44 regular, fiscal and special sessions. And, as I joke, it took me becoming executive director to finally give her enough to leave!

When she started, there was no Risk Management Program and no Worker’s Compensation Program — just one small building facing Victory Street, five employees and a vision to create an association that could help counties with their needs. Today, we have 26 full-time employees located in facilities to be proud of, with robust member programs and the ability to do a great number of things to serve all of our counties.

Tens of thousands of county employees have through the years availed themselves of our services and facilities. We receive many compliments on both — from a great conference room to a wonderfully comfortable courtyard and from services and programs that treat county employees with respect to a first-class system of membership involvement and communication. These things would not exist were it not for Jeanne, and every day I am here I see her fingerprints on facilities and services that have made the AAC a success.

On a personal note, she has been a friend who protects me and skillfully handles duties like our annual conference. I’d say she does so with ease, but it only looks that way. The work that goes into things like our annual conferences, board meetings and new elects seminars is incredible — and incred-

ibly stressful at times. To say that Jeanne will be missed around here is a tremendous understatement, and to not have her wisdom, discernment and years of experience gives me great pause.

As if one retirement isn’t enough, we also will bid adieu to Brenda Emerson who county government knows affectionately as “Emmy.” When Emmy started in 2003 as a receptionist at AAC, she brought with her a harmonizing personality and organizational skills that set her apart. Even her name was a perfect fit here; the reason she is called “Emmy” is because we already had two staff members named Brenda.

As many of you are aware, in 2011 we created the inhouse continuing education program that benefits most of our groups. This new program could only be effective if the right person led the charge, and Emmy was the perfect fit. Emmy has created a first-class program, and I constantly hear praise from all of you regarding our meetings.

It has been hard work to create a new program like the ACE Continuing Education Program, but Emmy has handled it skillfully, and she has truly enjoyed her service in this role. She has developed list servs and worked closely with the entire policy team to make sure that we are pointed in the right direction at all times. And Emmy has always been willing to go above and beyond what is expected to make sure that all of you are taken care of. Maybe the one thing I appreciate above all else is this: Emmy has never let a situation get to her. She simply works through it and keeps a positive attitude throughout.

Continuing education has the propensity to grow stale. Similar meetings year after year can become boring and drag attendance, but with Emmy we have all benefitted from fresh speakers and new ideas that continue to fan our collective flames to come to these meetings.

To Jeanne and Emmy, on behalf of the AAC staff and county employees past and present, job well done. We all move forward in a spirit of bittersweet, a place where we are excited for you and your future … but with a tinge of sadness that we continue to fight daily battles without you at our side. We have learned from both of you — learned that your service to others is something that inspires us and continues in our hearts. You are forever a part of the county government DNA, and we congratulate you on jobs well done.

You have earned this stage in life, and you have both soared above average. As Henry David Thoreau penned, “What is once well done is done forever.”

Thank you both.