Durham, N.C. – August 10-12, hundreds of county commissioners and staff convened in Durham, N.C. for the 110th North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) Annual Conference. Granville County participated in the conference, which is held each summer to bring together county officials from the state’s 100 counties to conduct official Association business and discuss important county issues. The event also provides networking and educational and training opportunities for commissioners and county staff.
Chairman Tim Karan was recognized for achieving the Master’s level in the Local Elected Leader’s Academy and Commissioner Zelodis Jay was recognized for serving as a Granville County Commissioner for more than 20 years.
Commissioner Tony Cozart stated “The NCACC State Conference was a wonderful opportunity for knowledge and networking. I enjoyed the session on NC Pre-K with presenters expressing the need for quality early childhood opportunities for all children. Some communities have made plans to have universal pre-k for all children. The alarming fact is that far too many children still enter kindergarten without skills to be successful. This results in continual need for remediation which is extremely costly. In our Saturday General Session, I was able to hear from the mother of one of the shooters in the Columbine school shooting. My take-away was that she did not see any signs to alarm her that her son would do something like that. Our challenge as family, friends and the community (village) of our children is build healthy relationships and help all children realize their self-worth. It is not as easy to detect children with depression and other challenges as it was in the past.”
During the Business Session of the conference, NCACC elected Ronnie Smith, Martin County Commissioner, to serve as the Association’s next Second Vice President. In addition, commissioners voted for Surry County Commissioner Larry Phillips to serve as President Elect and Yadkin County Commissioner Kevin Austin to serve as First Vice President. Furthermore, Davidson County Commissioner Fred McClure became Past President.
Several counties were recognized by the Local Government Federal Credit Union and N.C. Cooperative Extension Service for establishing innovative partnerships that improve services to citizen.
In addition, NCACC honored several individuals for their achievements in support of counties.
As part of the conference, NCACC teamed up with 4-H Youth Development (a service of NC Cooperative Extension) and Boys & Girls Clubs of North Carolina to sponsor YouthVoice for the eighth consecutive year. YouthVoice brings together youth delegates ages 14-19 and county officials to promote dialogue between current county leaders and the next generation of leaders. It also helps educate youth delegates on the county’s role in their community and the complex art of governing. Abby Holsomback was the Youth Representative from Granville County 4-H.
About the NCACC: The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) is the official voice of all 100 counties on issues being considered by the General Assembly, Congress and federal and state agencies. The Association provides expertise to counties in the areas of advocacy, research, risk management and education and leadership training.
