Richland County Councilman Jim Manning Participates in National Forum on Economic Resiliency

COLUMBIA, SC – May 5, 2014 – Richland County Councilman Jim Manning recently participated in a National Association of Counties (NACo) county leadership forum that focused on regional economic resiliency, long-term planning, response and recovery efforts and partnerships with community and regional stakeholders.

The forum, “Resilient Counties: Growing Stronger Places,” was held April 30 – May 2 in the City and County of San Francisco, Calif.  It was the second in a series of forums as part of NACo President Linda Langston’s initiative, Resilient Counties.  The forum was designed to help county leaders learn how to anticipate and adapt to all types of change.  Resilient communities recover faster and better, and fostering resilience makes for a stronger community and a thriving country.

The forum’s keynote speaker was Michael King, Vice President, Global Education Industry, IBM.  His opening address and discussion that followed covered new approaches to economic resilience.

Whether counties have mature or emerging economies, the ones that can respond to and adapt to changing economic conditions will be better equipped to bounce back from downturns, support community and workforce development and facilitate sustainable growth.

A second featured presentation focused on “Technology Tools to Improve County Resiliency.”  The speakers were Jeff Stiles, Vice President of Marketing, Accela, San Ramon, Calif.; Claire Jubb, Customer Service Manager, Charlotte County, Fla.; and Ron Hughes, Chief Deputy State Information Officer, State of Calif.

“The forum provided a great way to learn different approaches to the problems that we face,” Manning said.  “The information presented by the experts on these important topics enables me to be better prepared and provide better service to the people I represent. Networking and sharing ideas with colleagues from across the country is also a great benefit.”

Langston said America’s counties must be able to anticipate and adapt to all types of change. “Through this forum and other efforts, NACo is working with county leaders to bolster their communities’ ability to thrive amid ever-shifting, physical, social and economic conditions,” she said.

Topics for panel discussions included: Leveraging Place and Design to Build County Resilience; Addressing Supply Chain, Logistics and Infrastructure Management; Whole Community Approaches to Resiliency; Climate Resilience App Challenge and Understanding Risk Management. The full agenda is available at www.naco.org.

Support for the forum was provided by Accela, Colorado Counties, Inc., Esri, IBM, Idaho Association of Counties, Iowa State Association of Counties, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Rockwell Collins, Transamerica and Wisconsin Association of Counties and Witt O’Brien’s.

About NACo

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States.  Founded in 1935, NACo assists America’s 3,069 counties in pursuing excellence in public service to produce healthy, vibrant, safe and resilient counties.  promotes sound public policies, fosters county solutions and innovation, promotes intergovernmental and public-private collaboration and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. More information at: www.naco.org.