You’ve done it once again. Thank you for making time to attend the 2024 Winter Conference in Little Rock and for making it a such a terrific week! That so many of you were in attendance speaks to the extra care and dedication with which you fill your role as an elected official or other member of a municipal team. Whether you attended in person or virtually, I hope you felt the same refreshing spirit of cooperation and progress that I did. The sessions were packed with great information and the speakers were enjoyable and inspiring. And how did you like the various changes in format and layout? I heard many positive comments about the updated exhibit hall, the scheduling and content of the sessions, and the overall experience.

How about the new Arkansas Civic Education Program, or ACE for short? This new program is going to revolutionize the way we educate local officials in our state, and no doubt it will become a model for other leagues across the country to emulate. I hope you’ll log into the hub on the League website, set up your profile, and start contributing and learning.

It was such a fun week together, and I hope you left feeling energized and ready to do even more for your hometowns in 2024. As always, it was such an honor to be with you as our League president. My requests for you to stop me in the hall and chat didn’t go unanswered, either! Wow, so many new introductions this year and chances to reconnect with those I’ve known for quite a while. My family got to join me for the last couple of days, and those in attendance at Friday’s Inspire Breakfast made my oldest feel so loved and welcomed, as you always do. Thank you so much for that. Our winter conference and annual convention are two of the biggest highlights of my year.

Now we march ahead into the new year. What kinds of things are on your radar? In Cave City we are planning to do more water and sewer infrastructure upgrades, because we know that future development can’t happen if the foundations aren’t up to it. I encourage you to also make those kinds of things a priority. We’re getting excitedly close to finishing renovations on two historic buildings in our downtown that will become a new city hall and police department. And it goes without saying that planning for the solar eclipse in April and our beloved watermelon festival in July are firmly underway. Lord willing, I look forward to helping represent our state in Washington, D.C., at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in March, and at some other meetings and events throughout the rest of the year too. It is such an honor to stand before those kinds of audiences and tell the good story of our state, our cities and towns, and our League.

Finally, we are officially in an election year. Have you noticed? Campaigns and debates and early votes are in full swing. I think we have to be on guard to not let the nature of today’s political discourse leach into how we conduct ourselves at the local level. Yes, we must pay attention to national issues that will inevitably affect us. Yes, we must know what candidates stand for and against, and align that knowledge and our vote to our own convictions and values. But my friends, in all of that, we do not have to mirror the ultra-divisive direction that national and even state politics too often takes. We can and should be the level headed, pragmatic and principled leaders that our residents so desperately need at this time in our history. Be a real changemaker. Let’s be a positive and uniting force each and every day.

If I can be of any help to you, please reach out. Until we meet again in person, I wish you and yours continued health and success in all you do. Thank you for doing it to the very best of your ability. It matters.

For greater communities and a greater state,