Will County, Illinois Board Member Denise Winfrey was sworn in Sunday, July 24, as president of the National Association of Counties at NACo’s 87th Annual Conference in Adams County, Colorado.

“I’m pleased to announce today that RISE! will be the focus of my NACo presidency,” Winfrey told county officials gathered in the Gaylord Rockies ballroom. (RISE stands for Resiliency, Inclusion, Solvency, and Empowering.)

“In the year ahead, we will share examples of county innovation in expanding Resiliency efforts, promoting Inclusion, establishing Solvency through economic mobility opportunities, and counties Empowering our residents by integrating human services with workforce programs to strengthen career pathways for vulnerable residents, like parenting women,” said Winfrey.

According to NACo:

Rounding out the 2022-2023 NACo officers’ team are First Vice President Mary Jo McGuire, a Ramsey County, Minn. commissioner, who won election as second VP last year; newly elected Second Vice President James Gore, a Sonoma County, Calif. supervisor who won his race at Sunday’s election and Johnson as immediate past president.

Gore, an immediate past president of the California State Association of Counties who recently was reelected to a third term as supervisor, won the vote by 71 percent in a three-way race with Loudoun County Board Chair-at-Large Phyllis Randall and Mercer County, W.Va. Commissioner Greg Puckett.

Before the voting began, the crowd heard nominating speeches for each candidate.

Cleveland County, Okla. Commissioner Darry Stacy gave a nominating speech for Gore, telling the crowd: “We worked together side by side for eight years and never once did it come up as to what political party either he or I were a part of. That’s James. It’s not about your party, it’s about what you can do for your residents. I have to tell you, there’s a time for everything and I personally believe this is the time for James Gore to lead NACo.”

Visit the NACo website for more information.