MACo Summer Series – 9 Weeks of Online Learning, Starting July 1

MACo logo for TwitterMACo’s Summer Series will offer 9 weeks of online learning beginning July 1 to provide open dialogue and resources as we all navigate these uncertain times. The series will be free to MACo Members, thanks to MACo’s Corporate Partners.

With the cancellation of the 2020 MACo Summer Conference due to COVID-19 precautions, MACo has been working on an alternative plan to provide educational resources to county officials and professionals and the wider community in Maryland.

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MACo’s Summer Conference exhibit hall features hundreds of resources from across the state

MACo’s Summer Conference is a one-of-a-kind event. There is no other event that brings together the concentration of county, state, federal, commercial, and nonprofit leaders who set aside 4 days every August to discuss challenges and solutions on the local level at MACo’s highly-anticipated conference. This 3,000-participant event features more than 40 educational sessions, interactive forums, and thought-provoking peer-learning opportunities; 2 exhibit shows highlighting 300 vendors; and countless invaluable networking opportunities. We recognized early on that a virtual conference could never measure up to MACo’s in-person Summer Conference.

With this in mind, we spoke with members, partners, and peers and given their feedback, decided to pivot to provide a weekly Summer Series of e-learning sessions to provide information on the top issues of the day on an ongoing basis.

We’re starting in July, instead of waiting until the third week in August – a week circled on many a calendar across Maryland. Why? Because we know open dialogue and resources for best practices in uncertain situations is the best way to provide support for our members and others in and around Maryland’s local government arena.

Sessions will be offered live, virtually, every Wednesday at 12:30 pm, with recordings available for on-demand viewing. We’ll also have solutions-based learning available every Friday from our Corporate Partners, who are leaders in the fields and excellent resources for IT, health/wellness, and insurance solutions, among others.

The entire series will consist of at least 18 sessions over 9 weeks (9 curated by MACo and 9 or more presented by our partners). Completely FREE for MACo Members, thanks to the generous support of our Corporate Partners.

Registration will open next week. Details on registration pricing and sessions will be available on June 10, but we plan to discuss the following topics:

  • COVID-19 HR Challenges
  • Environmental Updates Forum
  • Public Health Town Hall Forum
  • Kirwan
  • Telehealth Services
  • Budget Planning Amid Fiscal Uncertainty
  • Rural Broadband
  • Economic Development and Recovery After COVID-19
  • Serving Constituents in Times of Crisis

We hope you’ll join us for this exciting new offering. MACo appreciates this opportunity to provide our members and others working through this crisis with much needed information and discussion around the issues that matter to us all.

***If you were registered for the Summer Conference exhibit hall or as an attendee, MACo staff will be in touch later today with information about your registration refund or transfer***