2019 WIR Conference

The WIR Board of Directors meets on a quarterly bases including at the WIR Conference. We encourage all attendees to come and participate in the Board meeting. In addition to conducting WIR business, the WIR Board agenda includes remarks from the following special guests:

Proceed directly to the main hotel entrance to board buses and participate in the mobile workshop. Due to limited capacity on the tour, priority will be given to Steering Committee members if demand is greater than availability.

Departing from Spokane and traveling south through the rolling hills of the Palouse towards Steptoe Butte, this tour will give participants an up-close look at one of the most fertile wheat and lentil growing regions of the world. Once at the top of Steptoe Butte, participants will have a 360-degree birds eye view of much of the Palouse and hear from Alex McGregor, local business owner and historian about the history of the Palouse and the dynamics of agribusiness in the region. After his presentation participants will then head a few miles north of Steptoe Butte to the Palouse Wind project, to learn about a new crop being harvested on the Palouse—the wind.

Presentation of the Colors: 92nd Air Refueling Wing Honor Guard

National Anthem: Mary Dunkley, Senior Airman, 92nd MXS, U.S. Air Force

County assessors are critical to ensuring the growth and resilience of counties across the country. Natural disasters, affordable housing concerns and alternative energy initiatives all pose significant valuation and economic challenges for both rural and urban counties throughout the West. Join this workshop to hear from a panel of assessors about how they are navigating these challenges to better assess their resiliency and strengthen their communities.

Forest collaboratives bring federal agencies, state and local officials, industry and non-profit groups together to find solutions to landscape health issues. Throughout the West, county governments play an important role in planning and implementing forest health projects on the national forests. At this workshop, participants will learn about the challenges and successes of forest collaboratives and how their scale of use can be broadened moving forward.

Counties across the country are joining in a national initiative to champion efforts to promote early childhood development and make young children a priority. Recent brain science shows that the most rapid period of brain development occurs within the first three years of life – developing faster from birth to age three than at any later period. This builds the foundation for all future learning, behavior and health. Research also shows that high-quality early childhood development programs can deliver an annual return of up to 13 percent per child on upfront costs through better outcomes in education, health, employment and social behavior in the decades that follow; and economists attribute local economic growth and prosperity to high-quality early child care programs. Hear from Washington state counties on their efforts to reach young children from prenatal to age three to improve their outcomes and increase their access to services and supports in their community. Learn from western counties on how to engage your local stakeholders, increase public will, and support promising approaches in early childhood development to meet the needs of at-risk children and their families. 

Millions of Americans visit our nation’s public lands for recreational activities such as hiking, camping, off-road vehicle use and much more. This generates a multi-billion dollar economic impact for gateway communities. This workshop will focus on the nexus of outdoor recreation on public lands, ways that management of recreation impacts tourism in gateway communities, and how local governments can engage to build and grow sustainable recreation programs.

Hosted by Spokane County and the Washington State Association of Counties

Join friends and colleagues for an evening reception with gorgeous views of the Spokane River at the Spokane Convention Center, located directly across West Spokane Falls Boulevard from the Davenport Grand. Exit the hotel on the 2nd Floor Mezzanine Level throug hthe skybridge and proceed toward the back of the building along the river. You may also exit the hotel on the lobby level and proceed along the breezeway to the convention center. Spokane County staff will guide you along the way.

The Annual Business Meeting is open to all attendees.

The General Session includes the Installation of the WIR Officers and the Presentation of the Dale Sowards Award.

Opioid Addiction in Rural America: Levering Federal, State and Local Partnerships to Solve One of Our Nation’s Most Pressing Issues

While no corner of our country has gone untouched by the opioid crisis, the impact of this issue on small towns and rural places has been particularly significant. In October 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the rates of drug overdose deaths are rising in rural areas, surpassing rates in urban areas. Federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have joined forces to create avenues for federal, state and local partnerships in an effort to bring opioid prevention, treatment and recovery activities to rural America more efficiently. Join representatives from HHS and USDA in the state of Washington for a discussion on how these two agencies are coordinating efforts around the epidemic, and opportunities for local entities to engage in this work.

America’s counties have a long and proud history of taking care of our nations veterans, a legacy that continues to this day as we work with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure every veteran receives the care and support they have earned through their service. Counties offer a broad range of services to millions of veterans and their families, from housing, employment and financial assistance to health care and substance use disorder treatment to burial services. Additionally, counties in over 30 states employ county veteran services officers (CVSOs) to directly assist veterans in filing for and appealing veterans benefit claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), access other state and local benefits, and to otherwise act as advocates for veterans in our communities. This workshop will serve as a forum to discuss some of the many ways counties are working to improve the lives of our veterans, including how these efforts might be replicated in other communities, both across the West and nationwide.

This session will explore the future of the power grid in the West and examine efforts in advancing toward a more resilient and reliable system, in the face of natural disasters, population growth, and rise of interest in renewable energy from customers and utilities.