County Commission | The Magazine November 2019

trying only to answer the next 9-1-1 call — then how does the community do anything other than fall further behind? If those in county government do not provide the vision for the community, then how does the community have any vision at all? For a long, long time this Association has provided county officials and employees with enormous opportunities for engagement on behalf of their communities. The circle of those who have been willing to invest and participate has always been (and perhaps always will be) smaller than I would like. Counties could be so much more and could do so much more for the people they serve, if only more employees and officials were willing to invest more of themselves. The coming year will certainly be a challenge — and the year The National Association of Counties expressed gratitude to the Yellowhammer state for a strong showing in the nation’s capitol on October 17, tweeting “Thank you #county leaders from Alabama, Florida and Georgia for participating in NACo’s federal policy briefing prior to meetings at the White House. #CountiesMatter” after that and the year after that. The world is rapidly changing, and county government must change with it if we are to move forward. We can’t allow the success of the past few years to lull us into 2019 TENURE IN OFFICE AWARDS 32 YEARS 28 YEARS Hon. Mark Culver HOUSTON Hon. Fred Armstead 24 YEARS Hon. J.D. Hess Hon. Paul Manning Hon. Robert “Mike” Berry ST. CLAIR MACON Hon. Lathonia Wright RANDOLPH YEARS Hon. Bobby Burleson MARION Hon. Jimmy Roberts ST. CLAIR Hon. J. Allen Bailey Jr. Hon. David Eastridge CHAMBERS Hon. Todd Adams COOSA Hon. Robert Harris LOWNDES BARBOUR CALHOUN ESCAMBIA 20 Hon. Frank Straughn MARENGO Hon. David Stokes believing that improvement and reform just fall from the sky. Those who stay home may think that’s how it happens, but those who are working to be a part of the solution know success isn’t free or easy. n 16 YEARS Hon. Pat Ivey BARBOUR Hon. Frank Hickman BUTLER Hon. Charlie Sankey Jr. CRENSHAW Hon. Johnny Lawrence LEE Hon. Thomas “Brett” Harrison WASHINGTON PERRY Hon. Roger Hayes Hon. Timothy Sanderson WINSTON PERRY Hon. Jeff Brown ST. CLAIR Hon. Ricky Powell WILCOX COUNTY COMMISSION | 7

County Commission | The Magazine November 2019 | Page 7