County Commission | The Magazine October 2017 | Page 9

thing done do all the talking and all
the work.
I am a businessman, and I have
been involved in associations all my
life. But from the first day I walked
in the door of the Association of
County Commissions of Alabama,
I knew that this organization was
different – very different from any
other group I have been a part of.
The staff, the membership, the
board, the folks who work at the
county level and serve the Associa-
tion – they have a special kind of
dedication and commitment that
is unlike any I have ever seen. This
organization is special, and we have
opportunities in front of us that the
commissioners who established the
Association way back in 1929 could
have only imagined. I encourage you
to rely on the staff and its ability to
provide research, leadership, insight
and educational excellence.
I want to applaud everyone for
supporting the amendment to our
by-laws during today’s business
meeting. I believe the enlargement
of the legislative committee will be
a sea change in our effectiveness.
Each county now has its own voice,
its own representative and its own
legislative leader. The question to
the 67 of you who now serve on this
committee is whether you will fulfill
your responsibilities. Will you focus
your energy and influence, and will
you speak with a unified voice? Or
will you choose to sit in your chair
and say nothing? We need you, and
tonight I ask that you join us.
If you join us – and the others in
this room who share our desires – then
you will make a difference. When
things get tough this year and we need
one last push, perhaps one of you
sitting here tonight will be the one
person who needs to talk to the one
person who can push us over the top.
If you will join me and if we pull
together, then next year, when I sit
over there in the seat that’s occupied
tonight by the bunny rabbit, I can be
pleased with the small role I will have
played as your president.
Now, when I started, I said I
already have my own nickname.
And I do.
You see, the folks who have come
ahead of me have set the table, they
have put in motion all the elements we
need to succeed. The slugger and the
bunny rabbit and all the others, they
have gotten us all the way to the 9th
inning, and they have given us a lead.
Now, it’s my job to finish the deal.
I promise you that I am ready to
come out of the bullpen. My arm is
loose, and my curve ball is nasty! I am
asking that each of you pick up your
baseball cap, put on your glove, run
out to your position on the field and
get ready to play ball. As the closer
from the bullpen, I will do my part
– but I need you behind me doing
yours. Together, we’ll get those final 3
outs and finish off those who stand in
our way. n
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COUNTY COMMISSION | 9