With the serious storms hitting our communities, and the  resulting loss of power, we are once again reminded how much our citizens are affected by the services delivered right at home.  In my county and yours, the importance of “being there” is rarely more obvious.   Making sure our citizens are safe, comfortable, and informed – these are all essential parts of the service we need to do every day.

In visiting many county officials, I am struck by the many walks of life we all come from, but how we come together to serve a common purpose.

My background is a military attorney and many of you have backgrounds in law, agriculture, business, teaching, and so many other professions.  This reminds me of the importance of us all working together.

“Working together” is part of the theme for our summer conference, and I think that’s timely for everyone.  We have had hard times with tough budgets, but we all realize that we need to keep to our tasks and get things done for our citizens and for our communities.  I think the offerings at the conference will help reinforce that idea – working together with our political leaders, working together with our educational decision-makers, and working together with private businesses.  We’ll have it all on display, as always, as we come together to exchange our ideas on how to deliver our own services the best we can.

I am glad to report that early registrations have been strong, the exhibit area is filling up with interesting participants, and the program looks excellent.  I think our conference will be an excellent and valuable event – and I look forward to seeing you there!