NACE and NACo, together moving America forward

Key Takeaways

The National Association of County Engineers (NACE) has had a busy month of May, concentrating its efforts on how best to complement NACo as a resource for federal advocacy and policy.  From electing a new national president and executive committee to installing a new executive director, NACE has been hard at work in strengthening its contributions to the nation’s 3,069 counties, boroughs and parishes.

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About NACE

In early May, the nation’s county road professionals convened in the Wisconsin Dells to hold their 57th Annual Meeting and Technical Conference.  At the conference, a new executive committee was installed with Polk County, Minn. County Engineer Richard Sanders serving as the organization’s national president.  Sanders is joined by Genesee County, N.Y. Highway Superintendent Timothy Hens and Santa Barbara County, Calif. Public Works Director Scott McGolpin as president-elect and secretary-treasurer, respectively.  Together with eight other representatives, they form NACE’s executive committee.

With an eye for enhanced collaboration with NACo, NACE also brought on a new executive director,  Kevan Stone.  Stone, formerly NACo’s associate legislative director for transportation, began May 14.

NACE continues to be a national leader in local road safety and supports national efforts to eliminate deaths on all public roads.  Through its continued work with the National Local Technical Assistance Program Association, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and the National Center for Rural Road Safety, NACE will continue to work towards every county’s  possessing a County Road Safety Plan. 

Currently, NACE in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, is working with 25 counties in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin to develop County Road Safety Plans.  This work is being funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s Everyday Counts Program. NACE encourages counties and states to develop these plans and offers assistance in their formation, which statistics show have directly resulted in increased local road safety. 

The new executive committee and executive director have made membership growth a primary goal.  NACE’s professional and educational development, coupled with its opportunities through NACo to influence policy, plans for greater outreach. 

As one of NACo’s most active affiliates, NACE has a long tradition of working together with NACo on transportation and infrastructure issues.  Since counties own 46 percent of the nation’s roads and 38 percent of its bridges, county road professionals maintain more infrastructure than any other government entity.