Meet the Candidates: Ron Berry

Commissioner

Roane County, Tenn.

Why are you interested in serving as a NACo officer?

I have been a Commissioner for 15 years in a small rural county in East TN. I attended my first NACo conference in 2018, and was elected to the Board of Directors. I was so impressed with the networking opportunities, speakers and workshops given by NACo, I have not missed a board meeting since or stopped selling NACo. I was a member of the first NACo High Performance Leadership Academy and currently serve as the President of the Tennessee County Services Association (County Commissioners). The educational opportunities I have received from NACo have enabled me to make my county stronger, and I have observed how NACo executes and evaluates its mission and the initiatives that have helped NACo position itself as the leader across America helping counties with programs and services that make counties stronger and better educated.

What do you consider having been your most important contributions to the National Association of Counties to date? What do you consider having been your most important contributions to your state association of counties?

I had the honor to serve as Chairman of the Rural Action Caucus (RAC). There I had the opportunity to meet and discuss the needs of rural counties all across America. I collaborated with the Large Urban County Caucus Chairwoman, Commissioner Sally Heyman, to work on common concerns for rural and urban commissioners. As South Region Director, Member of Executive Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors, I have been able to support NACo staff for current programs and implementation of new programs. Among these programs, health care, affordable housing, broadband access, agriculture and many other programs continue to receive top priority as we work and build our strategic plan moving forward. Collaboration between committees and officers is imperative to maintain NACo’s position as the premier organization on these topics in the country. After being appointed by my peers to represent Tennessee on the NACo Board, I was surprised to learn only approximately 19% of 95 counties in TN were members of NACo. I am proud to have raised that number approximately 50% during my time serving. I am currently working to get more involvement on committees and learning more about the 40 plus services NACo has to offer. As President of the TCSA, my goal is to increase our membership to 75% by year end.

What do you consider to be the two or three most important challenges facing NACo in the near future on which the Officers/Executive Committee/Board of Directors should focus? Why?

Member retention is vital to the future of NACo. We are currently riding an all time high in membership and must continue to provide value and programs to maintain counties membership. As funds continue to decrease from Washington, counties will be faced with funding decisions and we must ensure NACo membership is a priority. We must ensure broadband programs continue to be a priority. We have made great strides in connecting a large number of counties, but still must focus on achieving our long term goal of broadband access for all counties. We must work with successful counties to share their stories so new counties may benefit from their model. The opioid epidemic, mental health and substance abuse issues are national problems that will continue to consumer a major portion of resources because of the carry over with other programs. NACo has done a great job of providing leadership in these areas and must continue to provide expertise to lower the financial burden on counties during this crisis. NACo currently enjoys a strong financial position and is blessed to have a staff or professionals overseeing both short and long term investments. Leadership must continue to monitor and support these staff members.

What measures would you recommend to increase and retain NACo membership and to encourage broad participation in NACo by elected officials and employees of NACo members counties? What specific role would you be willing to assume to help build and sustain NACo membership?

Membership to NACo is an all time high, along with a retention rate of 99%. Our membership team is doing a great job and member counties are renewing their memberships in record numbers. We must continue this work to create value and maintain this retention rate, while also adding new members across the country. There is not a county that can justify not being a member of NACo. We must educate them about all the services provided and the value added by membership to their local county. NACo provides over 40 services to counties and provides more information to counties than any other organization in the Country. We must make sure every county is aware. Getting more county officials involved on committees will also help maintain the stellar retention rate. As 2nd Vice President, I will continue to work with the membership committee, as well as other board and state associations to add member counties and retain members as well. As an ambassador, I will work with the membership committee to welcome and involve new members. It would be an honor to serve NACo as your 2nd Vice President.