Bob Dixon - Meet the candidates - 2025

Key Takeaways

Bob Dixon
Presiding Commissioner, Greene County, Mo.

Why are you interested in serving as a NACo officer?

When I first came to NACo as a new county official at my own expense 6 years ago, I was deeply impressed with the organization, the people, and the far-reaching effectiveness that had been attained by such a dedicated group of local elected officials. I immediately implemented changes in our budget, encouraged active participation in NACo steering committees, webinars and conferences. I was also appointed to the Finance, Pensions & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. Two years later, I was elected to represent Missouri on the NACo Board of Directors. 

I love this organization, and I am dedicated to its continued and constant quality improvement. I want to ensure we are even stronger financially and even more effective relationally in all of our efforts. I will leverage the friendships I built with those now in Congress through 16 years in the Missouri legislature to enhance our effectiveness even more on Capitol Hill. I’d also like to utilize my award-winning, inclusive, bipartisan approach to leadership to help further unify our organization even more and enhance that effectiveness and grow our membership further. I aim to use the same direct outreach approach used with the Missouri Association of Counties to grow NACo membership and take us to the next level. 

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?

NACo has been effective and successful because we have maintained our bipartisanship and balance in every area and worked to enhance relationships and respect on Capitol Hill. We must continue to enhance that legacy of working together for a united and unified mission that benefits all counties. 

Given the new administration, and particularly the climate which must now be navigated, we must work even harder to enhance and deepen the respect we have obtained on the Hill and the reputation we have earned for effectiveness and professionalism. We must strive to maintain our balance in every way, and work to prevent any type of ultra partisanship or ideological inflexibility from contaminating our ranks, pulling us apart and diluting our effectiveness. 

The continued effort to enhance NACo’s fiscal soundness, and financial capacity must be a primary focus if we are to continue our record of achievement and leverage the organization for increased growth in the future. I also believe a direct approach to membership growth via outreach to states, counties and affiliate organizations is an area which needs fresh focus. These must all be organization-wide efforts inspired by focused leadership at the officer and board levels if we are to maintain our quality and impact and grow even further.

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

Starting from my determination to be involved, beginning with my very first NACo event, I was grateful to be appointed and actively serve on the Finance, Pensions, and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee for the last five years. I also appreciated the appointment by NACo Past President Judge Gary Moore to the NACo Broadband Task Force after I saw that Missouri was not initially represented and given the matter is such a vital issue in our primarily rural state. Not only did I serve on the Task Force, but I traveled to numerous Missouri counties and held public forums with interested citizens, county leaders, and broadband providers in an effort to sort out local needs and take that feedback to the Task Force. Our report was spectacular, and it has produced results across the nation as the new BEAD funding is rolled out. 

My service on the NACo Board of Directors the last four years has given me insights as to our ongoing financial and relational strengths and areas where we could become even stronger. I have worked to enhance NACo membership through the Missouri Association of Counties, including travel to other counties in order to encourage membership and participation in our webinars, steering committees, and conferences. I would commit to further developing this direct outreach approach with other states, counties and affiliate organizations.

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 member counties? What specific role would you be willing to assume to help build and sustain membership in NACo?

I have found that leveraging respected, long-built relationships across Missouri, speaking at gatherings, and direct outreach via phone, email and travel for face-to-face meetings, to have enhanced NACo membership and participation in our state. Missouri participation is now at some of our best levels ever. We can replicate this across the nation and even go direct to employees to show them the benefits to them of NACo participation.

Additionally, enhanced and direct outreach to affiliate organizations that have not filled their board seats on the NACo Board of Directors could improve participation, effectiveness, data and advocacy outcomes and provide the benefit of greater effectiveness of the board, steering committees and entire membership. I would welcome the opportunity to do this nationally in similar fashion to what we’ve done in Missouri.