Spreading the word about counties

County Speakers Bureau aims to educate the public

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Normally, a public education program aimed at the entire state would require a budget of millions of dollars, a multi-media presence with television, radio and newsprint ads, a Web site and slick marketing materials – not to mention a catchy slogan and a well-paid spokesperson.

Cleveland County Commissioner Mary Accor made use of the “Welcome to Your County” booklet and PowerPoint presentation during a speech to a group of students in mid-May. (Photo courtesy Kerri Melton/Cleveland County Manager’s Office)

The NCACC staff team assigned to carry out the strategic goal adopted by the Board of Directors to “inform and educate the public and the media about county government” has come up with a cheaper way to get its message out to the state’s 8.5 million citizens: Enlist volunteers.

“Our goal is to get at least one commissioner in every county who will volunteer to be on what we are calling our County Speakers Bureau,” said NCACC Director of Communications Todd McGee, leader for the “First and Goal” team. “If there is any civic group, community group or civics classroom that wants to know what counties do, we want to be able to provide them a speaker who not only can talk about the subject, but also has materials for the audience.”

The Association’s Department of Communications recently created a 20-page booklet titled “Welcome to Your County.” The booklet is an overview of county government in North Carolina. It contains brief chapters on how counties are funded, where the money goes, who runs a county and some history on the evolution of counties in North Carolina.

Each county received 50 copies of the booklet, and additional copies are available for purchase from the Association. Visit www.ncacc.org/publications.htm to download an order form.

In addition to the booklet, the Association has developed a companion PowerPoint presentation that can be tailored to reflect a county’s individual story. The PowerPoint presentation is also available for download via a link on the “Publications and Lists” Web page.

These tools are perfect for a commissioner or county official asked to speak about county government.

If you are interested in volunteering to serve on the bureau, please contact Donald P. Czysz at (919) 719-1141, or donald.czysz@ncacc.org, and ask to be added to the directory.