AAC Board of Directors elects new slate of officers

From left to right: Clark County Clerk Rhonda Cole will serve as secretary-treasurer of the AAC Board of Directors; Randolph County Circuit Clerk Debbie Wise succeeds retired Clark County Treasurer Judy Beth Hutcherson as president of the Board; and Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison has been elected vice president of the AAC Board of Directors.

Story by Christy L. Smith Photo by Holland Doran AAC Communications Department

The start of 2018 brought changes to the Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) Board of Directors. Randolph County Circuit Clerk Debbie Wise has become president of the board, succeeding retired Clark County Treasurer Judy Beth Hutcherson.

Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison has been elected vice president of the Board, and Clark County Clerk Rhonda Cole has been elected secretary/treasurer of the Board.

Those elections took place at the February 2018 board meeting.

In addition, Craighead County Treasurer Terry McNatt and Polk County Clerk Terri Harrison have joined the Board. (See their profiles on pages 28 and 29.)

Wise has served on the AAC Board since 2012. She previously served as board vice president and as AAC Legislative Committee chairman. She is a National Association of Counties (NACO) board member. In 2017, she served as tally clerk for NACo’s Credential Committee. Wise was appointed to serve on the Credential Committee this year.

“During my tenure on the AAC Board and as chair of the AAC Legislative Committee, I have learned much about other county elected positions and about the impact decisions made at the state Capitol have on local government. I embrace this opportunity to assume a larger role in serving all of Arkansas’ counties,” Wise said of her new AAC board president position.

Ellison is entering his fourth year as an AAC Board member. He said he is “excited” to serve as vice president of the board.

“I am excited about the opportunity to be in this position of responsibility because I believe that the best decisions for county government are made by people that are immersed in it, on a daily basis,” he said. “The AAC Board includes some of the best and most experienced elected county officials in the state, and I am humbled to serve as vice president of this very professional organization.”

In addition to serving on the AAC Board, Ellison holds an elected seat on the seven-member AAC Risk Management Fund Board of Trustees, and he serves as 1st vice president of the County Judges’ Association of Arkansas.

Cole began her career in county government March 1, 1990, in the Clark County Clerk’s office. She took office as Clark County clerk in January 1999.

She has held various leadership roles in the Arkansas Association of County Clerks since being elected. She served as vice president and legislative chair from 2010 to 2011, and she served as president of the association from 2012 to 2013.

Cole has served on various statewide boards and committees. She currently serves on the State Board of Election Commissioners. She is entering her fourth year as an AAC Board member.

“I am appreciative of the Clark County voters that have allowed me to be their county clerk. I am honored that the Arkansas Association of County Clerks (AACC) voted for me to represent them on the AAC Board, and I am truly humbled that I am now secretary/treasurer of the AAC Board. I look forward to the goals this board sets and accomplishes in 2018,” Cole said.