Rhita Koches of Canton joined nearly 3,000 county leaders and partners July 21- 24 in Adams County, Colo. for the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference. Koches is a County Relations Officer for the Texas Association of Counties. She serves as a liaison for the Association to 106 counties in North and East Texas.

“The NACo Conference is a great opportunity for local county governments to share issues and work together to advocate for the good of their constituents on a national scale,” Koches said. “Those joint efforts were never more evident than in the implementation and administration of the American Rescue Plan with funding directly to counties.”

NACo Immediate Past Pres ident Larry Johnson highlighted the year’s accomplishments, including significant local investments of American Rescue Plan resources, a new opioid solutions center and the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

County elected and appointed officials discussed strategies to drive recovery in our communities, as well as federal policies and best practice trends on a wide range of key issues. More than three dozen workshops and meetings explored topics including infrastructure, broadband accessibility, housing affordability, cybersecurity and technology, workforce development, economic diversification, early childhood development, behavioral health and justice, disaster preparedness and recovery, and other topics important to counties nationwide.

Koches participated in several meetings including the Transportation Policy Steering Committee, the Gulf States Counties and Parishes Meeting, the Rural Action Caucus, and Strategies for an Equitable Investment of Recovery Funds.

Koches said, “We came back from the NACo Conference with an inventory of federal grants available to counties, particularly rural counties.”

As with many educational conferences, Koches said the networking opportunities provided some of the most beneficial information. “In addition to contacts with legislative and planning officials from other state associations, I was able to meet Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman who is spearheading a movement to overhaul the expiration criteria for firefighter protective gear.”

Koches was also invited to an alumni reception for graduates of the Professional Development Academy’s High Performance Leadership Academy. “It was great to meet some graduates from other state associations that we met with virtually for months.”

NACo members elected Will County, Ill. Board Member Denise Winfrey president and celebrated the leadership of county officials pursuing innovative solutions to challenges facing our communities.

Notable speakers included U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper; Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; Heather McGhee, best-selling author; and Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs.

NACo’s 2023 Annual Conference will be in Austin hosted by county officials from Travis County.

About NACo

The National Association of Counties (NACo) strengthens America’s counties, including nearly 40,000 county elected officials and 3.6 million county employees. Founded in 1935, NACo unites county officials to advocate for county government priorities in federal policymaking; promote exemplary county policies and practices; nurture leadership skills and expand knowledge networks; optimize county and taxpayer resources and cost savings; and enrich the public’s understanding of county government.