From the President
If you haven’t made arrangements for the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas State Conference in Waco Oct. 4-7, then now is the time. In this month’s column I will give you a breakdown of conference plans, speakers, events, and leisure activities that will take place. You’ll notice a few changes and a little different format! For a full agenda, see page? of this issue.
We start on Monday, Oct. 4, with the vendors opening their doors at 1 p.m. This will be a great time to sit down and really visit with our many outstanding exhibitors and talk about equipment needs, software, delinquent tax collections, jail issues including food and medical, and architectural matters. From 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. we will have our President’s Party and Exhibitor Appreciation Night which will include a special event: We are going to have a $500-$1,000 cash drawing for one county official! I will select one vendor to draw a name at 6 p.m., and you MUST be present to win. Please note, you will need to register at every booth. In addition, the Bosque and Hill County commissioner courts will be cooking their world-famous barbecue, beans and potato salad. They told me their recipe is so secret they don’t even know what is in it! This will be a great evening!
Tuesday morning we hit the ground running with a welcome breakfast in the vendor’s hall and then move to our opening ceremonies. Keeping with the West Texas tradition, we will be giving out door prizes prior to the National Anthem. Kenneth Starr, president of Baylor University, will be our keynote speaker, and I understand he is really looking forward to visiting with us. We will then continue into our regular program of topics that influence your decisions and day-to-day operations of county government. We have really worked hard on finding outstanding speakers to present these sessions.
Tuesday evening McLennan County will host an exciting night at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in the new exhibit area of the Southwest Conference. I think you will really enjoy this special outing, and I am hoping to have a “Hall of Famer” on hand to speak to us. Waco’s Partners Group will be cooking steaks and chicken, and they can’t wait to meet you!
Tournament day will be Wednesday beginning with an Inspirational Breakfast featuring Coach Scott Drew, head basketball coach at Baylor University. Coach Drew took the Bears to the Elite 8 this past season. He is excited to be a part of our conference…and he may even want to recruit in your county. I encourage you to attend this breakfast, as Coach Drew is an outstanding speaker. The afternoon will include our golf and domino tournaments and advanced curriculum sessions for those seeking Commissioners Court Advanced Curriculum certification. Wednesday night will be a free night – you may want to dine in one of our fine restaurants nearby.
Our closing day has changed format, and we encourage you to share your feedback following the conference. We will have our Closing General Session, followed by our Business Meeting. Then, rather than an evening Installation Banquet, we will conclude with a Closing Luncheon and Installation of Officers, which will include a short program. We plan to wrap up no later than 2 p.m., giving you enough time to make it home on Thursday or at least make it half-way to your destination. The overall goal is to save you one night of lodging and help reduce costs for your county.
Last but not least, I want to encourage our spouses to attend, as a fantastic spouses’ program is in the works for Wednesday.
I am looking forward to seeing you in McLennan County. If you have not planned to attend this conference, I encourage you to reconsider!