Nolting enjoyed D.C. experience

Tim Nolting, Kimball County Commissioner, was elected secretary of the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) in 2017-18 and was selected to attend the National Association of County Officials Convention in Nashville, Tenn. in July.

“It was a privilege and an honor to attend,” he said. He added that he did not travel and attend the convention on tax payer money, instead, the for-profit division of NACO paid for his attendance.

I picked sessions that mostly involved community development, economic, social and artistic ,” he said. “There is a big push these days that art is a huge contributing factor to the desirability of a community.”

Additionally, he attended a session on immigration reform and subsequently requested to be a part of that committee.

In early July NACO received notice that the current White House administration wished to speak with elected county officials across the nation. August was the month set aside for discussions with elected county officials from Kansas and Nebraska.

To that end, on Aug. 16 Nolting attended the White House Conference at our nation’s capital following a private tour of the White House. He and 35 – 40 others from Nebraska, including Banner County’s Bob Post, listened to and spoke with several officials throughout the day.

“They indicated that we would have time for dialog, but we really didn’t,” he said. “But it was very informative.”

Presentations came from the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Education, Frank Brogan, Under Secretaries Gil Kaplan and Gregory Ibach as well as Chris Mitton, Government Affairs Officer for the US Department of Transportation.

Preston Cory, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who spoke about the Waters of the US issue and Kellyanne Conway, Assistant to the President, spoke about the opioid epidemic and what is being done to combat the national crisis.

“As she spoke the moderator came out and whispered to her. She stopped and said, ‘Vice President Pence is here and would like to speak,’” Nolting said. “He came out, visited with us briefly, came down and shook a few hands. He was very inviting, welcoming and voiced his appreciation for what he knew the counties did.”

Ben Carson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke as well, Nolting said. He is working with Health and Human Services and HUD on social programs.

The group also received a visit from Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, who talked about the Ag bill, including the USDA programs under that bill.

Though it was a whirlwind day, Nolting was able to tour the Mall of America and visit the Viet Nam Memorial.

“I had never been to Washington, but I would definitely go back,” Nolting said. “I did not get to see everything I wanted to see.”