County Commission | The Magazine January 2020 | Page 7

successful design and
passage of Rebuild Alabama Are you satisfied with looking
cannot be overemphasized.
at 2019 and pointing to our
In the aftermath of the
accomplishments?
passage of this remarkable
legislation, all of our state’s
Or do you see 2019 as a
leaders have given credit
seed of change in what this
to the grassroots work of
county governments. The
Association can — and should
staff was most gratified
— be doing every year?
at the way officials and
employees embraced the
As we begin 2020, the challenge
challenge of doing something about
is to be diligent with this new
our infrastructure.
revenue, uphold the responsibilities
I remain grateful to the dozen
that have been placed upon us
or so county engineers who are
and, most importantly, ensure this
working to help ensure that we
implement both the spirit and letter money makes a real difference in our
communities. I hope everyone takes
of this exciting opportunity. When
that responsibility seriously.
we posted on our website all 67
And for each of you, the real
plans for expending the new revenue
question for 2020 is whether you are
during 2020, I could not have been
willing to continue the momentum
prouder of this Association and
that has been set in motion over the
the people we have the honor of
past 12 months. Are you satisfied
working with every day.
with looking at 2019 and pointing to
our accomplishments? Or do you see
2019 as a seed of change in what this
Association can — and should — be
doing every year?
A few years ago, a football coach
who was fresh off a championship
victory stood behind a microphone
and proclaimed that the victories
of one single year should not be the
ultimate goal. He laid out a challenge
that one year’s accomplishments must
be seen only as the “beginning,” not
as the conclusion of the journey.
That kind of thinking is rare
and, honestly, it comes with massive
responsibilities. Yes, counties
experienced many big victories in
2019, and we should be proud of
those accomplishments.
Now, since 2019 is behind us,
it’s our challenge to ensure that those
achievements represent the beginning,
not the end, of the journey. n
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