From the Director’s Desk

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.

Sheriffs’ Association director leaves lasting legacy

Director’s Desk

Far too often lately it seems that my Director’s Desk column is about a friend to Chris Villines county government who has left us too AAC early. This summer we lost one of our Executive Director greatest ambassadors, one of our best friends, in Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Ronnie Baldwin.

Oddly enough, the first time I met Ronnie we were engaged in a heated discussion at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock in 2005. The sheriffs, seeking support from all associations, were beginning the push for an amendment for four-year terms. At the AAC conference that year, each association was asked to gauge support for what was going to be a petition drive to get fouryear terms on the ballot.

Sheriffs’ representatives met with each group individually, and votes were taken — association by association. As a still-wet-behind-the-ear collector, I found myself in defense mode that evening when thenCross County Sheriff and Collector Ronnie asked me why the Collectors Association had decided not to embrace this movement.

Feeling a bit defensive, I offered up the reasons that our group had discussed and why we ultimately decided to not partner at this time … though the vote had been quite close. If memory serves me correctly, the petition drive aspect loomed large for the collectors and marginalized support within the group. Former Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association

Well, Ronnie would have none Executive Director and Cross County of it. Zealous to the end, he ques- Sheriff and Collector Ronnie Baldwin. tioned the logic behind each article of reasoning and fired on all cylin- Photo from Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association ders. Ronnie was passionate about his sheriffs, and I my collectors. When we parted that evening, we agreed to disagree. Sometime in the conversation I recall seeing his holstered gun, and I reminded him that I was just the messenger.

I learned on that night in 2005 that Ronnie Baldwin cared deeply about

the sheriffs in this state. Ronnie earned my respect that night. Funny how life works. I never gave a second thought to the possibility of crossing paths with Ronnie again, but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Ronnie retired as Cross County sheriff and collector in 2008 but remained close to the sheriffs through his work at Tiger Correctional Services in Jonesboro. In spring 2012, Ronnie was hired as the new Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association executive director, replacing the outgoing retiree Chuck Lange.

Immediately Ronnie hit it off with us at the AAC. Chief Counsel Mark Whitmore worked closely with Ronnie and, as he is prone to do, came up with the moniker “RB” because “Ronnie Baldwin” just took too long to say. From that point forward I don’t think I ever called him Ronnie again. Countless hours were spent in hurried preparation for the 2013 session, and the sheriffs didn’t miss a beat. From that session until the day he left us, RB and Mark communicated almost daily on sheriff-related issues. Many of our legislative successes — past, present and future — are a direct result of the friendship these two men formed.

Hiring RB for the Sheriffs’ Association was a brilliant two-for-one move because locked arm-in-arm with him was his lovely wife, Martha. She assumed conference planning roles, among other duties, and despite staff shuffles, everything went off without a hitch.

Not long afterwards RB and I worked through our boards to consummate a lease of office space that brought them across the river into new space in the AAC building, making the organization even more efficient and solidifying our partnership into the future. As allies we are where we are today because of the vision, dedication and passion of RB — a man who gave everything up until the very end to the association and friends he loved.

The news of RB’s cancer early in 2016 was devastating to many of us, and the rapid deterioration of his health through the year teaches us to appreciate each day, each moment we have on this earth. RB will be missed by many, and his voice for the sheriffs will forever echo through the chambers of our state Capitol. I ask that we all keep RB’s wife Martha and his family in our prayers as they move forward.

I learned many valuable lessons in my friendship with RB, but the one that will carry on above all others is to appreciate passionate people. His feelings for the sheriffs of Arkansas and county government was anything but lukewarm — and sometimes those people we disagree with become the best of friends. Rest in peace, dear friend.

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