County Commission | The Magazine May 2019 | Page 5

In my mind, I keep going back
to the day that 83 representatives
voted “yes” to Rebuild Alabama,
and more than 100 members of
the County Family were there
as witnesses. That image sticks
with me as a culmination of
everything we have done over the
past few years – every face-to-face
conversation, phone call, text, email
and tweet – telling the story of
deteriorating roads and bridges at
the county level.
Altogether, a bipartisan group
of 111 legislators voted for Rebuild
Alabama, and I wonder if we did
not surprise ourselves with the
level of support we found in both
the House and Senate. What
a reminder of the unthinkable
turning into reality when counties
speak with ONE Voice!
It is far from the first time that
has happened, and on the following
pages, you will find yet another
great ONE Voice success story.
Not a one of us serving on a
county commission today was in
office when counties could not find
affordable workers’ compensation
insurance. It was unthinkable in
the mid-1970s. But as counties do,
they came together and formed a
self-insurance pool to share risk and
cut out the profit margin that goes
along with commercial insurance.
The ACCA-sponsored
insurance programs have repeated
that same cycle – unthinkable to
reality – with liability coverage,
property coverage and now with
the formation of our own company,
County Risk Services, Inc., to
move to the next level. As we move
forward together, we now have one
unified “team” working with one
mission — providing efficient and
cost-effective insurance programs by
counties and for counties.
I am grateful to every member
of the County Family who has
served or presently serves on the
pools’ governing boards. These
programs would not be where they
are today without your leadership,
and I hope all of us have a greater
appreciation for the reality of
county insurance after flipping
through this issue.
As your president, it is just
another reason why I am so grateful
for the opportunity to stand up and
say I represent my colleagues all
over this state. With ONE Voice,
we truly can do amazing things. n
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COUNTY COMMISSION | 5