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NACo President, Chris Rodgers Makes Appointments to NACo Steering Committees

Make Plans to Attend NACO's 7th Annual Legislative Conference

New Times: New Leadership - David Rabinar to Speak at Annual Conference Opening Session

Conference Matters

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2012 Directory of County Officials

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NACO Education Foundation Memorial Program

 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

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.