The purpose of the County Leadership Forum on Opioid Abuse is to engage local elected leaders in an informed discussion about the opioid epidemic, and develop collaborative strategies that enhance prevention, education, and treatment.

Goals:

• to elevate the awareness of all local elected officials so they have a common understanding of the opioid epidemic in their county; 
• to discuss its causes, its effects on citizens, and its implications for the county’s future;
• to educate local elected leaders about successful prevention and treatment programs and  provider resources available in their county;
• to generate coordinated education, prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the occurrence of opioid addiction, overdose, and death.  

County Leadership Forums Scheduled

County	Date	Location
Iredell	February 25, 2017	Langtree Plantation
Brunswick	February 28, 2017	St. James Reserve Club
Davidson	May 5, 2017	Davidson County Community College
Hyde	July 13, 2017	Hyde County Government Center (Teleconference: Ocracoke Community Center)
Alleghany	August 16, 2017	Commissioners Meeting Room
Randolph	August 18, 2017	AVS Banquet Centre (live stream)
Warren	August 21, 2017	Armory Civic Center
Pender	August 29, 2017	Burgaw Train Depot
Stanly	August 29, 2017	Badin Inn
Rowan	August 30, 2017	Rowan County EOC / Cooperative Extension
Mitchell	August 31, 2017	Mitchell County Courthouse
Cabarrus	September 7, 2017	Kannapolis City Hall
Bladen	September 12, 2017	Bladen Community College
Person	September 13, 2017	Kirby Cultural Arts Complex
Pasquotank, Camden, Perquimans, Bertie, Chowan, Currituck	September 14, 2017	K.E. White Center at Elizabeth City State University
Harnett	September 20, 2017	Harnett County Commons Area
Beaufort	September 21, 2017	Beaufort County Community College
Craven	September 22, 2017	TBA
Rockingham (audio recording of meeting)	September 29, 2017	TBA
Wilkes	September 29, 2017	Wilkes County Agricultural Center
Halifax	October 11, 2017	Ervin V. Griffin Sr. Centre
Granville, Vance	October 17, 2017	Vance Granville Community College Civic Center
Rutherford	October 17, 2017	Isothermal Community College - The Foundation Performing Arts Center
Polk	October 24, 2017	Sunnydale Cabin
Martin, Tyrrell, Washington	October 26, 2017	Senator Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center
Johnston	November 3, 2017	Johnston County Agricultural Center
Columbus	November 8, 2017	Southeastern Community College Auditorium
Macon	November 28, 2017	Robert C. Carpenter Community Building
Gates	November 29, 2017	Gates County Library
Chatham	December 4, 2017	Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center
Pitt	December 5, 2017	Ag Center Auditorium
Alamance	December 8, 2017	Lamb’s Chapel – Airport Campus
Swain	February 6, 2018	Swain County Administration Building
Durham	February 27, 2018	Durham County Human Services Building
Henderson	March 28, 2018	Technology Center at Blue Ridge Community College
Lee	April 5, 2018	Lee County Cooperative Extension Office
Jackson	April 23, 2018	Jackson County Department on Aging Center
Vance	May 9, 2018	Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments
Surry	June 8, 2018	Surry Community College Viticulture Center
Edgecombe	August 22, 2018	Edgecombe County Auditorium (Agenda)
Gaston	TBD	TBD

*Please email communications@ncacc.org when your forum is scheduled and to submit your follow-up report. 

Target Participants  

• County Commissioners
• Municipal Council members from every municipality within the county 
• School Board members and superintendents from every LEA within the county
• County Sheriff
• Chief District Court Judge for the county’s judicial district

If there are existing efforts underway in your county, please consider ways to include them in your Leadership Forum.  Having all the elected officials know and understand what is available in the county, as well as what might be missing, will strengthen everyone’s resolve to reverse the epidemic trends.  

Examples of other community leaders you might want to include

• Representative of the county medical society or the local physicians’ community, as well as pharmacists and physical therapists (consult with Board of Health or Medical Society as needed to identify a participant);
• District Attorney or designee;
• Chief Executive Officer of your local hospital;
• President of the Community College;
• Municipal Police Chiefs and First Responders