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:

Mike Jacobs – President Roger Haney – Vice President Judy Beth Hutcherson – Secretary-Treasurer Sherry Bell Debra Buckner Sue Liles Bear Chaney Rhonda Wharton Jimmy Hart John Montgomery Patrick Moore Faron Ledbetter Joe Gillenwater David Thompson Bill Hollenbeck Will Jones Debbie Wise

National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations

Alvin Black: Public Lands Steering Committee. He is the Montgomery County Judge. Roger Haney: Board of Directors. He is the Washington County Treasurer and is also on the Telecommunications & Technology Steering Committee. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs

Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson

County Quorum Court. Haze Hudson: Transportation Steering Committee.

He serves on the Miller 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. Mike Jacobs: NACo Board of Directors, the Membership Committee and the Agricultural & Rural

Affairs Steering Committee. He is the Johnson

County Judge.

AAC remains strong amid much change

Director’s Desk

As we move toward the summer of 2014, it dawns on me this is an opportune time for Chris Villines our organization to reflect on all that has AAC transpired since our beginning. The AssociaExecutive Director tion of Arkansas Counties has undergone tremendous change in facilities, personnel and leadership through the last 46 years, and as we move into our new wing, this is a season to put markers down in remembrance of where we have been. These markers also serve as a compass for where we are going.

We are far from alone in our rapid growth. I was recently reminded of this when we hosted a group of 15 southern states’ county associations at a three-day conference in Little Rock. All county associations have seen tremendous change as they respond to the needs of their county constituents. The increasing pressure on a policy front, the stagnant or declining revenue for member counties and the explosive growth in increasingly litigious sectors like risk management and workers’ compensation programs have demanded that each of these associations add staff, buildings and personnel to meet demands.

You will read an excellent synopsis of the AAC history in this issue beginning on page 20 and authored under the pen of Eddie Jones. The discussion of our own growth since 1968 is a testament to leaders during those years who have built a strong, yet flexible organization willing to adapt to changing times. I am reminded of a Japanese proverb that says, “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.” This is very descriptive of the DNA through the years at the AAC, and in Arkansas county government in general.

The AAC is strong because we react well to the changes around us. Moving pieces are a constant, not unique, aspect of our environment — and the legislative session evidences this more than anything. Most of the time these changes come from the outside, but sometimes the changes come from within, and I’d like to take some space here to visit about a couple of changes we are dealing with in the present, and the evolution of our organization to deal with these transitions.

As many of you are already aware, we will be losing two valuable team members in the next two months. Jeff Sikes, our legislative director, joined the AAC for two different stints through the years and has decided to pursue other opportunities. He has been instrumental in our federal legislative work and the development of our legislative packages and agendas. Jeff will leave us at the end of July.

The other is Wes Fowler, our government relations director, who had agreed to come on board for a few years when David Morris left to become mayor of Searcy. Wes has been a valuable lobbyist and one of our key liaisons with member associations. A former judge and county clerk, Wes will be leaving us for retirement at the end of June.

Both of these losses will leave a void at the association, and with me personally. Many of you have built up long-term friendships with them as well, and I encourage all of you to stay in touch with Jeff and Wes. Both are active on social media and I’m sure they don’t plan on throwing away their cell phones!

With the leadership of our strong board of directors, we will be shuffling and re-hiring >>>

staff as a result of these changes. First, I am proud to say that Jonathan Greer, onetime AAC Staff Counsel, will be rejoining our group after seven years working as Saline County’s Attorney. Jonathan is capable and looking forward to being back in the AAC fold, and he will work with several of our groups upon rejoining us in June.

In addition, Scott Perkins as our communications director has proven that he has a can-do attitude and is willing to do whatever it takes to make the association successful. He will be moving into more of a legislative role, helping to assimilate our legislative package and working directly with the county clerks. It is expected that the majority of bills which affect our counties in the upcoming session will fall in the realm of elections or marriage so we expect this to be a busy role.

With Scott moving more into a legislative role, we have hired Christy L. Smith as our communications coordinator, and she will work with Scott to produce County Lines – along with promoting the message of Arkansas counties in the area of social media. Christy will also focus on additional communications projects as we move forward. Christy is an award-winning journalist, and you will see that talent put to work in this magazine.

Finally, we continue to increase our legislative and risk management resources and have hired both Brandy McAllister and Lindsey Bailey as attorneys for our team. Brandy joined the association full time as a newly licensed attorney this year and Lindsey will do the same in August. Both will have several duties which involve workers compensation, risk management and policy development and we expect to see great things from them in the coming years. These hires are a testament to the law-clerk program we began four years ago, and both of these ladies have matriculated through this system.

At the AAC it is very important that we not sit still. We will certainly miss those who have worked diligently to get us to where we are — and it has been my personal pleasure to work alongside two gentlemen that I hate to say goodbye to. We wish Jeff and Wes all the best in their future endeavors and retirement, and I know that they will both have incredibly fond memories of the AAC and county government as they move on.

President John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” I appreciate that we in county government in Arkansas do a great job of keeping one eye on the past … on what got us here, while the other stays firmly focused on the future and what has yet to be done.

To both Jeff and Wes, a sincere thanks from me, the AAC staff, and all of the county governments in Arkansas. May God bless you both with a prosperous and happy future!

Endorsed