August 27-30, 2012
Holiday Inn, Kearney
Southeast District County Officials Meeting
September 7, 2012
Camp Carol Joy Holling, Ashland
Panhandle District County Officials Meeting
September 12, 2012
Civic Center, Gering
Central District County Officials Meeting
September 20, 2012
UNK Student Union, Kearney
Northeast District County Officials Meeting
September 21, 2012
St. Benedict Center, Schuyler
NACO's 7th Annual Legislative Conference
October 11, 2012
Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, Kearney
To view all upcoming events click here.
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Associate and Sustaining Members
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NACO Associate and Sustaining Members enable NACO to enhance its continuing education programs for county officials across the state. Visit NACO's complete associate and sustaining membership list here.
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Education Foundation Memorial Program
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A gift to NACO's Education Foundation ensures that the children of county officials and county employees are eligible to apply for scholarships to continue their education at Nebraska's higher learning institutions. Whatever their passion - history, art, music, science, education, sports - the NACO Education Foundation will provide them an opportunity to fund their education beyond the K-12 level. Memorial gifts to NACO's Education Foundation are tax deductible and will be a lasting legacy in honor of your loved one's commitment to educating the children of Nebraska's county officials and employees. For more information about how to make a memorial gift, please contact Larry Dix / 402-434-5660 ext. 226. |
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National Association of Counties' 2012-2013 President, Chris Rodgers made several appointments to NACo Steering Committees recently. Appointments made were as follows:
Doris Karloff, Saunders County Commissioner - Agriculture and Rural Affairs Steering Committee, member
Sandra Zoubek, Stanton County Treasurer - Community and Economic Development Steering Committee, member
Marc Kraft, Douglas County Commissioner - Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee, member
Sandra Stelling, Jefferson County Clerk/Election Commissioner/Register of Deeds - Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee, Subcommittee Chair
Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County Commissioner - Health Steering Committee, Vice Chair
Christopher Rodgers, Douglas County Commissioner - Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, member
Pamela Lancaster, Hall County Supervisor - Labor and Employment Steering Committee, member
Lee Klein, Madison County Commissioner - Transportation Steering Committee, member |
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NACO's 7th Annual Legislative Conference will be held in Kearney on October 11, 2012. If you haven't already done so, be sure to mark this date on your calendar because you won't want to miss this educational opportunity.
Over five hours of educational sessions and networking have been planned for this year's conference. To view the tentative agenda for this conference, click here.
You may register on-line at NACO's website by clicking here. The registration fee for this conference is only $40.00. The registration fee includes two breaks, a luncheon and all handout materials. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center in Kearney. Rates for lodging are $78.95 single/double. You may contact the Holiday Inn at (308) 237-5971 for lodging. Be sure to mention that you are with the NACO Legislative Conference to receive the contracted rate.
At this conference you will have input into establishing NACO's platform and legislative priorities. Take a look at the tentative agenda and you'll see that this conference is a very important part of each elected and appointed county official's continuing education, not to mention your opportunity to have input into the legislation that affects county government as a whole. |
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Over the last 19 years, I've worked with thousands of leaders (and followers) who have helped me define the qualities of great leaders. Here are three of the qualities that are always near the top of list:
Leadership Presence
You know when someone has it. It's a sense of rock-solidness; of being grounded no matter what happens. It's a rare mix of competence and humility, fearlessness and caution, and wisdom and a genuine curiosity about different points of view. Leadership presence is not boastful, imposing, or anxious. Instead, it's an energy that draws in others and leaves them eager for what the leader will do and say next.
Insight
In his book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of Anxiety, Edwin Friedman says that "in any situation, the person who can most accurately describe reality without laying blame will emerge as the leader, whether designated or not." There are two important leadership qualities embedded in this description: first, the ability to speak the truth as most people see it and, second, to do so in a way that neither judges or blames others. Essentially, this is ability to define a problem accurately without creating emotional tension that gets in the way of solving it.
Optimism
What the optimistic leader provides is a strong belief in a different and better future. The optimism springs from an internal belief in the possibilities and a personal track record of achieving previous goals and dreams. It's a can-do attitude that trusts the power of the team, the organization, or the community to do something big together.
While these qualities are timeless, they take on new meaning today. What counties are experiencing today is much bigger and more far reaching than the typical economic peaks and valleys. These new times are changing the size and scope of county government, demanding new ways of thinking and doing business, and requiring new leadership. New leadership doesn't necessarily mean new leaders; it means that leaders need to change the way they demonstrate leadership.
Please join me on December 12th at NACO's 118th Annual Conference and explore with me how to turn key leadership qualities into leadership practices relevant to county governance today. I look forward to meeting you!
David Rabiner, CSP, is an educator and author living in Portland, Oregon. A former public sector administrator, he has delivered more than 1,900 professional development programs in 12 countries and 45 states, including more than 500 to public sector groups. In 2003, David earned the coveted Certified Speaking Professional award, the international benchmark for speaking excellence and a designation currently held by fewer than 600 speakers worldwide. |
Conference Matters |
Lodging Reservation Date
NACO has received numerous inquiries regarding the date that county officials will be able to contact the contracted hotels to acquire lodging reservations for the 2012 Annual Conference to be held in Kearney at the Younes Event Center.
County officials may begin contacting hotels for conference lodging on August 30, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Reservations must be made by using the published phone numbers to receive the contracted rate for the conference. No reservations (on-line or other) will be accepted at the contracted rate prior to August 30th. For a list of contracted hotels, their rates and the reservation phone numbers, click here. On August 30 or after, those officials making reservations for the conference must use the phone numbers published by NACO to received the contracted rate. The contracted rate will not be available with on-line reservations.
Affiliate Groups' Agendas
NACO has sent planning material to each affiliate group president to enable them to begin planning their individual agendas for the annual conference. County officials who have ideas or suggestions for their group's agenda are encouraged to contact their affiliate group president as soon as possible. |
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Technology gives people the ability to access data from any location using their PCs, laptops, tablets and phones. In fact, many retail stores offer wireless access points for their customers. As the demand for data increases, so do the ways to get the data. Most devices, including modern TVs, have built in wireless adapters. Wireless routers or access points can be purchased almost anywhere and set up with little effort.
With ease of setup the tradeoff is security. Many access points are preconfigured to work with every wireless device right out of the box. The best way to guarantee all wireless devices will work with the access point is to limit the amount of configuration needed to connect to the network and thus the Internet. Many access points' defaults use open wireless networks. Open networks do not require a password or encryption when connecting wirelessly. With open networks, all wireless devices have minimal to no resistance gaining access to the network. Without encryption, data sent wirelessly over the network is broadcast in the open for all to see.
Although devices are connected wirelessly they act as if they were connected directly to the network and all its resources. Data insecurely shared on networked PCs can be accessed by anyone connected wirelessly including neighbors, customers, or someone sitting in their vehicle. With very little knowledge, someone can hijack the access point using default passwords and prevent anyone else's wireless access to the same network.
With a wireless network, it becomes harder to manage exactly who is connected. People are connecting from various locations and they don't require a network port to do so. A couple of things can be done to improve the security of a wireless network. Change the default password of the access point using a secure password that no one will easily guess. Configure the access point to use wireless security. WPA2 with AES encryption provides maximum security. WEP is available but many programs can figure out the password quickly. If your wireless devices don't support WPA2, look into upgrading their software before using WEP as a solution. Many wireless devices added support for WPA2 as it was released due to its higher security. Another note on security, disabling or hiding the SSID broadcast alone does not secure the access point. Modern devices see the wireless network and connect to it.
In conclusion, adding a wireless access point to a network can leave the network vulnerable without proper configuration. A default configuration is neither secure nor acceptable when it puts many PCs at risk. Take time to configure an access point before adding it to the network. It is recommended that you contact your IT department before adding any wireless device to the network. |
Register Now for Assessors Workshop & Continuing Education |
The Nebraska Assessors Association Board of Directors met in Kearney on May 17 to plan the annual Assessors Workshop. In addition to the 2-day workshop, a 1-day continuing education seminar entitled "Land Valuation" will follow the workshop. The workshop will be held in Kearney at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center. The Workshop will begin at 1:00 p.m. (CST) on Monday, August 27 and will conclude at 12:00 p.m. (CST.) on Wednesday, August 29 with a lunch following. The 1-day Land Valuation seminar will follow at 1:00 p.m. (CST.) on Wednesday, August 29 and conclude at 12:00 p.m. (CST) on Thursday, August 30. A tentative agenda for the workshop and seminar can be found by clicking here.
Advance registration can now be made on-line at NACO's website for the workshop and the 1-day seminar. The fee for attending the workshop will be $85.00 for registrations received on or before August 1. The fee for attending the Land Valuation class will be $40.00 for registrations received on or before August 1. After August 1, a late registration fee of $25.00 will be added. Cancellations must be made in writing on or before August 17 to receive a full refund. A cancellation fee of $25.00 will be assessed for any cancellations received after August 17. Registration for the workshop and/or seminar will be posted on NACO's website on Monday, June 4. Click here to visit NACO's website.
Guest rooms may be reserved by contacting the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center at (308) 237-5971. Room rates are $72.95 single/double. When making reservations, inform hotel staff that you are attending the Assessors Workshop to receive the contracted rate.
Assessors are reminded that the 2013 annual dues for the County Assessors Association of Nebraska are $50.00 and should be mailed to the association treasurer, Janet Shaul, Garden County Assessor. Registration fees for the the workshop and Land Valuation class should be mailed directly to NACO. |
Updated County Government Day PowerPoint CD Available |
An updated PowerPoint presentation is available on CD for use by counties during their annual County Government Day. The PowerPoint provides a comprehensive look at county government functions in the State of Nebraska. The CD is customizable and is available for $10 to cover processing, shipping and handling. The order form is available here. |
2012 Directory of County Officials |
The order form for the NACO 2012 Directory of County Officials is available here or on the NACO website. Each directory is $17 if tax-exempt or $18 if taxable. |
News from NACo |

Matt Chase Appointed Executive Director of NACo
The National Association of Counties announced that Matthew Chase has been named the association's Executive Director. The announcement came as thousands of the country's local government leaders gathered in Pittsburgh for NACo's 77th Annual Conference and Exposition. To read more, click here. |
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