From the Director’s Desk

County Lines

County Lines [(ISSN 2576-1137 (print) and ISSN 2576-1145 (online)] is the official publication of the AAC. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other information, please contact Christy L. Smith at 501.372.7550.

Executive Director/Publisher Chris Villines Communications Director/ Managing Editor Christy L. Smith Communications Coordinator/ Editor Holland Doran

AAC Executive Board:

Debbie Wise – President

Brandon Ellison – Vice President

Jimmy Hart – Secretary-Treasurer Tommy Young Terri Harrison Debra Buckner Dana Baker Kevin Cleghorn Terry McNatt Debbie Cross Brenda DeShields Ellen Foote Doug Curtis Gerone Hobbs Marty Boyd John Montgomery Heather Stevens Randy Higgins

National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations Debbie Wise: NACo board member. She is

Randolph County Circuit Clerk and president of the AAC Board of Directors. Brandon Ellison: NACo board member. He is

Polk County Judge and vice-president of the

AAC Board of Directors. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. He is a member of the Jefferson County Quorum Court. David Hudson: Chair of Justice and Public Safety

Steering Committee. He is Sebastian Co. Judge and member of Rural Action Caucus Steering

Committee and IT Standing Committee. Barry Hyde: Justice and Public Safety Steering

Committee. He is the Pulaski County Judge. Rusty McMillon: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is Greene County Judge Joseph Wood: Community, Economic and

Workforce Development Steering Committee. He is Washington County Judge. Kevin Smith: IT Standing Committee. He is the

Sebastian County Director of Information

Technology Services. Gerone Hobbs: Membership Committee. He is the Pulaski County Coroner. Paul Ellliot: Justice and Public Safety Steering

Committee, vice-chair of law enforcement subcommittee. He is a member of the Pulaski

County Quorum Court. Ellen Foote: Community, Economic & Workforce Development Steering Committee. She is the Crittenden County Tax Collector. Tawanna Brown: Telecommunications & Technology Steering Committe. She is Crittenden

County Chief Computer Operator.

AAC DIRECTOR’S DESK Madame President left a permanent mark on many

In the last month we lost a wonderful ambassador for the county governments of Arkansas.

Judy Beth Hutcherson was so many things to so Chris Villines many people. A friend, a mom, a wife, a grandmother. AAC And in her career as the Clark County Treasurer she was a Executive Director trailblazer. She was a leader among her peers and so well respected that she was propelled into leadership on a state and national stage as well.

I am proud to have called her my friend.

As the President of the Arkansas Treasurers Association, Judy Beth was selected to sit on the Association of Arkansas Counties Board of Directors, where we first met. We on that board witnessed firsthand what it was that made her so special — her heart of gold. It was the heart of a gift-giver, a servant, a comedienne … a soul that instantly connected with your own.

She had a way of disarming people with laughter (sometimes in an uncomfortable way). She then could connect with you one on one and become your friend. I’ve never met someone so gifted at doing this.

By virtue of holding the office of president of our state board, Judy Beth was selected to represent Arkansas on the National Association of Counties Board of Directors — a very prestigious position in a national sphere. Being on this board required a few trips annually. Madame President Judy Beth, our vice president Debbie Wise and I found ourselves in an airport every few months on our way to press for Arkansas with this group.

Judy Beth was not intimidated by such a group. No, she loved the challenge. At her first board meeting Judy Beth, proud of her Arkansas roots, wore a Razorback hog nose and immediately befriended the entire 150 plus members on the board. By the time she made it to her second meeting, the nation’s elite county officials all knew her and loved her.

Travel with Judy Beth was always an adventure, and I think she loved that part of her work more than anything. She was someone that just couldn’t have too many friends. I’ll never forget being in line behind Judy Beth when we were getting on an airplane. As I boarded, the pilot was shaking his head and looking at this green sheet of paper instead of greeting the passengers. As I walked to my seat, I noticed each passenger with a similar sheet doing the same thing.

It took me a second, then I realized Judy Beth had met and befriended everyone on that airplane on the way to her seat with her famous $1 million bills! The whole plane trip was made better because she had made everyone around her a bit happier.

Judy Beth was never intimidated, either. I think we’ve all been in situations around people when the awe of the situation or certain people cause us to want to shrink back. I never, not one time, saw Judy Beth act any differently than normal. She was a rock, someone who led us to not be afraid, to be ourselves no matter what the world throws our way.

Great people in our state and beyond loved Judy Beth because she was >>>

not intimidated. She had friendships with state legislators, constitutional officers, governors, and national leaders all predicated on her ability to talk with them like they were long-lost friends.

I’ll never forget early in her tenure on our board she had the opportunity to introduce Gov. Mike Beebe to our association convention of around 600 people. As he came to the head table and sat next to her, conversation between them was more like a brother and a sister — it flowed naturally to the point I had to remind Judy Beth that she might need to introduce him to the crowd so he could speak and then get on with the state’s business.

So she pulled that fan she wore around her neck up to her face, cooled off a bit, stood up and welcomed to the podium everyone’s favorite governor — “Magic Mike.” The crowd was stunned, then couldn’t quit laughing, but Gov. Beebe, who had I’m sure had never been introduced like this, got the biggest kick of all.

I think if you met Judy Beth once, you never forgot her. She just had a bigger than life way of making you laugh or believing in yourself. I have so many stories, some I can share here — some I’d better not — but suffice it to say that being with Judy Beth around other people was a treat.

You could see it coming. She was going to say something. Once you got used to her behavior all you could do is buckle in and enjoy the heck out of watching other people’s reactions.

On one trip Judy Beth, Debbie Wise and I were going to the evening event … an indoor beach themed bash with around 2,000 county folks. Before the event, Judy Beth invited Debbie to come up to her room because she had something she wanted her to wear that night to the event.

Thinking nothing of it, I knew I’d meet them at the event in a few hours.

At around 6 p.m. we all were to meet up and I thought I would never quit laughing when we did. You see, Judy Beth and Debbie were wearing matching bikini imprinted nightshirts. FRONT AND BACK! Let me remind you this was more of a laid-back soiree than a costume party. Again, watching other people’s reactions was priceless. Having frontrow seats to shock and awe icebreaker moments was something you just got used to when you were around Judy Beth.

What an amazing lady.

It wasn’t until after knowing Judy Beth that she told me, with a straight face, that she had flown airplanes and had a top-secret military clearance. She joked around so much I had a hard time believing it was true. But it was. What an inspiration she has been for so many of us, especially to her children and grandchildren. She was an incredible role model.

She was the embodiment of a risk-taker. When she told me once she needed to get off the phone to head to the Clark County Lincoln Day Dinner, I was taken aback. I said, “Judy

Arkansas’ Premier Beth, are you changing parties?” She replied no that this was something that she always liked to do. Pavement Maintenance & Let me tell you something, we get to see political dynam ics across this state and country from the AAC offices. To -

Safety Contractor have a democrat go the republican party annual event is not common … in fact it is unheard of. But this is who Judy Beth was. Never intimidated, instead excited about the ● Pavement Maintenance Services prospect of seeing her constituents at any event. I was so ● Municipal Road Striping proud to know her. Judy Beth left something behind with each of you reading ● Airport Pavement Maintenance this today. Our lives are enriched by having known her and ● Guardrail Maintenance by watching her. Whether it started with a $1 million bill, a tub of Juanita’s Peanut Brittle (which, by the way, she has ● Traffic Control Services now made famous in Washington, D.C., through her giftgiving), or a joke, Judy Beth worked her way into the hearts of every person reading this. The goal for Judy Beth was

Call (479)262‐6160 simple, to create a friend and have fun in the process, then www.custompavement.com through that friendship to encourage you to be the best you could be — a risk-taker even. God bless Judy Beth, she has earned the wings she has been given, and heaven is a much better place because she is there getting it ready for the rest of us. Rest in Peace and Love, my dear friend.

Judy Beth Hutcherson served as Clark County Treasurer, as AAC Board President, and as a member of the NACo Board.

— Photo by Rebecca Fellers