Nashville set to host NACo Annual Conference in July

North Carolina attendees will elect a new representative to the National Association of Counties Board of Directors during NACo's Annual Conference & Exposition, which will be held July 24-28 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Commissioners Kay Cashion of Guilford County and Margaret Lewis-Moore of Bladen County are the known candidates for the Board seat that will be vacated by Forsyth County Commissioner Gloria Whisenhunt, who is completing her third and final two-year term. The NCACC constitution limits commissioners to three terms in one of the state's NACo Board seats.

The new director will be elected during the North Carolina Caucus, which is scheduled for Sunday, July 26, from 4:15 – 6 p.m. in the Bayou A & B rooms. During the caucus, attendees will also hear from the three announced candidates for NCACC Second Vice President – Commissioners Mike Cross (Chatham), Kenneth Edge (Cumberland) and Viola Harris (Edgecombe) – as well as candidates for NACo Second Vice President (Lou Magazzu of Cumberland County, N.J., and Lenny Eliason of Athens County, Ohio).

In addition, the North Carolina Association of Black County Officials (NCABCO) is scheduled to meet on Sunday from 2 – 4 p.m. in Lincoln A.

North Carolina registrants will receive N.C.-specific events and details in the mail in July.

NACo has scheduled 38 educational workshops to assist county officials in addressing critical issues such as the economy, the H1N1 virus, food safety and more. A select listing of workshops is on page 9 of the print issue of June's CountyLines. For full workshop descriptions, registration and housing forms, or general information on the NACo Annual Conference, click here.

In addition to its usual slate of workshops, NACo will feature three concurrent forums on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Tuesday, July 28, from 2 – 3:30 p.m. The three "town hall settings" will deal with "Housing, Employment and the Economy," "Energy, Infrastructure and Economic Development," and "Reporting, Transparency and Accountability: Recovery Act and Beyond."

Two pre-conference seminars are also on the schedule. On Friday, July 24, a NACo Technology Summit will address "Leveraging Technology to Address Economic Challenges" from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday's offering will focus on advanced leadership training. "In Command of Your Own Press: Alternatives to Traditional Media," co-sponsored by the National Association of County Information Officers, will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.