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98th Annual Conference Barnes to provide direction during 'Time of Transition'
Change is coming – and it’s coming soon. Catawba County Chair Kitty Barnes was sworn in as the Association’s 89th president on Aug. 27 and announced her intention during her year-long term to develop a “roadmap” for the NCACC to follow in the future. “Without a plan, the future of an organization is pretty much reactionary,” Barnes said in her inauguration speech. “It’s time for us to meet these challenges of the 21st century.” Those challenges were brought forth by county and state elected and appointed officials, members of peer, partner and affiliate organizations, and NCACC staff who participated in the data collection phase of the NCACC’s strategic planning and visioning initiative. During the past year, three stakeholder groups have met regularly to explore how the Association might address the challenges. An action plan utilizing the groups’ ideas and strategies will be presented to the Board of Directors in October. As the Association transitions into its revamped role, it will have new leadership. Executive Director David Thompson was formally introduced to the membership at the business session, where he announced that Patrice Roesler, who has been with the NCACC since January 1975, had been promoted to deputy director. Thompson also named a new member of the advocacy team – Anson County’s James Bennett. Bennett has served as Anson’s interim manager since March and as assistant manager and human resources director since 1997. He will begin work with the Association on Oct. 3. Change was a central theme to the conference. NCACC staff sported badges asking attendees if they had “found the key.” Inquiring county officials were directed to the Association’s Exhibit Show booth and asked to open a treasure chest that held “the key to change.” When they looked inside the chest, officials found their own reflection peering back at them and were told that they are the key to change.
During an address at the business session, Thompson offered a glimpse of how the planning and visioning initiative may help shape a new-look Association. “Our Association is facing the increasing political, social, economic and geographic diversity of North Carolina, and the real threat is that our county unity and strong voice will be diluted if we do not adapt to that diversity,” he said. “Perhaps the days of a one-size-fits-all Association are numbered and we will find our advocacy more custom tailored to individual counties, regions and subsets of counties under the umbrella of the Association.” Keynote speaker David Noer addressed the comfort and capacity for change within individuals and organizations Aug. 27 during the second general session, and suggested that attendees take a similar approach in dealing with change. “Look in the mirror,” he said. As public leaders, it is essential for county officials to receive feedback on how they are viewed in the eyes of others. “There’s always a gap between the way you see yourself and others see you.” Craven’s Brown takes office
Craven County’s George Brown was elected third vice president at the business session, setting up a truly momentous 2008 Annual Conference. The NCACC’s first president, C.E. Foy, hailed from Craven County and called the first statewide meeting of county commissioners in 1908 in New Bern. The NCACC will celebrate its 100th anniversary by holding its Annual Conference in New Bern in 2008, when Brown will be installed as president. Barnes appointed five at-large and three ex-officio (non-voting) Board members. Wake County’s Joe Bryan, Mecklenburg’s Dumont Clarke, Cabarrus’ Joni Juba, Onslow’s Lionell Midgett and Cleveland’s Mary Accor, chair of the Public Education Steering Committee, will serve as at-large directors. Accor also announced she would seek the office of third vice president in 2006. Alexander’s Norris Keever, chair of the Agriculture Steering Committee, and Lee’s Amy Stevens, chair of the Human Resources Steering Committee, will serve as ex-officio Board members along with Orange County commissioner and Past President Moses Carey, who will head an ad hoc committee charged with updating the Association Constitution and bylaws.
Delegates from the Association’s odd-numbered districts caucused Aug. 26 to elect new directors to two-year terms. New directors are:
Longtime NCACC employees among honorees While Wayne County’s Atlas Price won Outstanding Commissioner of the Year and Reps. Becky Carney and Carolyn Justice received the inaugural Friend of the Counties Award, the Association paid tribute to Robert Hester, who retired from full-time employment with the NCACC in 2004, and bid farewell to retired Executive Director C. Ronald Aycock. Friday’s annual off-site event was held in Hester’s honor. The longtime NCACC director of member services and avid baseball fan was treated to “Robert Hester Night at the Ballpark,” where he threw out the ceremonial first pitch as sons Rick and John watched from the field. Attendees were presented Hester baseball cards and kept the former Bladen County commissioner busy signing autographs during the game. The card was one of several pre-game surprises for Hester.
A group of co-workers, commissioners and county and city managers pitched in to fund a trip to New York for Hester and his wife, Sarah. The trip was his first to the city, where the couple took in a Yankees and a Mets game. A group of county managers who graduated from Appalachian State University also announced a goal to fund a Hester scholarship to the school. “I will never, ever forget this night,” Hester told attendees. Aycock, meanwhile, will forever be remembered with his own scholarship. President Breeden Blackwell announced during the annual president’s banquet the creation of the C. Ronald Aycock Public Administration Scholarship to support students in the master of public administration program at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The scholarship is funded through a permanent endowment that currently stands at more than $63,000, thanks to the contributions of various affiliates and organizations. More than 30 county governments have participated, and the NCACC Board of Directors chipped in $28,000 – “based on his 28 years as executive director,” Blackwell said. Although the Association and School of Government began soliciting donations for the scholarship in the spring, it remained a surprise to Aycock until the announcement. Many conference guests came bearing gifts for Aycock, and even more offered words of praise. NACo Executive Director Larry Naake presented Aycock with a Waterford Crystal replica of the U.S. Capitol, telling Aycock the gift was “a Capitol dome for a capital fellow.”
Lisa Nolen of the Governor’s Office gave Aycock a commemorative plate emblazoned with the state seal on behalf of Gov. Mike Easley, while Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue presented him a framed sketch of the Legislative Building. “This is one of the meanest things I’ve ever done,” Perdue joked. Past Association presidents helped recognize Aycock at the black-tie Saturday night event, which featured entertainment from the national singing troupe Capitol Steps. Richmond County’s Richard Conder, who presided over the NCACC when Aycock joined the staff in 1973, offered a toast to Aycock’s career, and Rep. Bill Owens, a former Pasquotank County commissioner who served as NCACC president in 1991-92, read a resolution from the state House of Representatives. “You have been one of the best leaders of any association to lobby us in the North Carolina House,” Owens said. “You have been an inspiration to all of us.” Aycock swore in the new officers at the banquet, and offered thanks at the opening general session to the many people he has worked with and for during his 32 years at the NCACC. “I thank ... you county commissioners, current and past, who have taught me that public service is a calling – a calling to make your home county and state a better place – often at great personal sacrifice,” he said. “Meaningful work is not about drawing a paycheck. It’s really about doing a job to make a system work to benefit all.” Blackwell reflects on past year In his farewell address, an emotional Blackwell thanked county officials for the opportunity to serve as the Association’s president. During his term, Blackwell led the effort to find Aycock’s successor as NCACC executive director, a search that resulted in the hiring of Thompson, a former manager in four counties. “This is an exciting time for this Association,” Blackwell said. “I’m glad that I had a small part with this executive committee and the others to choose the right leader at the right time.” Blackwell made frequent visits to the General Assembly during the past year, advocating for county interests and testifying before the Blue Ribbon Commission on Medicaid Reform and the Senate Select Committee on the Lottery. Raleigh was just one of his many stops across the state, however, as Blackwell relayed that he logged more than 26,000 miles criss-crossing North Carolina. The Legislature’s failure to provide Medicaid relief for counties during the long session was a disappointment, Blackwell said, but he urged county officials to continue the fight. “I’ve never been a quitter, and I don’t want you to be a quitter. ... If we can receive permanent relief from Medicaid, it will be worth the wait,” he said. Perdue: Tar Heel state a BRAC winner Lt. Gov. Perdue during the second general session applauded the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission’s decision to expand the Army’s presence at Fort Bragg in Cumberland County.
The headquarters for the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and Reserve Command would relocate to the North Carolina base in the BRAC recommendation to the president. Perdue said final passage of the recommendations would guarantee that North Carolina will “be part of the 21st century military for the next 50 years.” She also touched on the state’s mandate that counties participate in Medicaid funding and the effect it is having on counties’ ability to provide adequate school facilities. “It’s keeping many of you from doing what you need to be doing ... and it’s the wrong thing to force on counties,” she said. Growing Meth problem center of national initiative NACo President Bill Hansell of Umatilla County, Ore., addressed the membership and discussed his initiatives for 2005-06, one of which includes increasing public awareness of and dealing with the exploding methamphetamine drug problem. According to a NACo report titled “The Meth Epidemic in America,” 58 percent of counties across the nation identified meth as their top drug problem. A copy of the report is available here. “I believe that counties, working with state, local, federal and private sector partners, can and should take a leadership role in responding to and reversing the upward trend in methamphetamine production, distribution and use, and its negative impact on our communities,” Hansell said. “We need comprehensive legislation that will deal with all aspects of the meth problem.” Members of the NCACC Board of Directors who attended workshops on meth during the NACo Annual Conference in Hawaii also discussed the growing plague and the effects it is having on communities. “It was staggering to see the devastation,” said Vance County’s Danny Wright. The North Carolina General Assembly in August passed H248, requiring cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine – an ingredient used to produce meth – be sold from behind the counters at local pharmacies and limiting the amount of pseudoephedrine that can be sold to individuals at one time and per month.
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