Salute to County Leaders: Greg Chilcott

Key Takeaways

After serving as a paramedic, following a stint as a bush pilot and hunting guide in Alaska, Greg Chilcott decided to run for an open Ravalli County Commission seat in his native Montana because he disagreed with a candidate’s platform. Starting in 2003, he has served four six-year terms and will retire at the end of the year. He has served as president of the Montana Association of Counties, as well as the Western Interstate Region and received the Dale Sowards Award for excellence in public lands county leadership. He also helped build intellectual and fundraising momentum to create the National Center for Public Lands Counties. 

How did you know county government was your calling? 

You don’t know until you get your feet in the water, but once I saw that it was a way to help make life better for people, I knew I was in the right place. Sometimes I don’t get it right, but every day, you try to get it right. And it’s just a really rewarding profession, and I think that’s what makes it work for me. 

What was your proudest achievement in Ravalli County? 

Getting our county fiscally healthy. We’ve had some challenging times, losing resource extraction, losing our mills and seeing the impact that has on local government, and then the lack of management of public lands. We’ve been able to make that an issue for our citizens as well, to recognize we can do better. Yeah. And help carry that message to our elected folks in Washington, D.C. 

What did you learn from NACo that you brought home to Ravalli County? 

NACo has been nothing but a wealth of information and resources for any county commissioner. And when we come back here, the networking is phenomenal. And that’s been really powerful when you go home, and you have some alternative ideas that we got from North Carolina or New Mexico or Hawaii. Knowing that you have knowledge there at your disposal from other members or the staff, that’s very powerful. 

How did you change as a county leader over your tenure? 

One thing you learn right out of the gate, if you don’t, you’re not going to be there very long, is learn how to listen, actively listen, and hear what people were actually saying. You’ve got to be able to respond in a way that’s not aggressive. And I’ve known to ask for help. 

Why are you optimistic about the future of county governments? 

You watch things happen at the national level and at the state level and that’s not the way we work. We have to get the job done. It’s our day job. I think some of our bigger government agencies, the feds and the state could learn a lot from county government. 

We meet our constituents every day, you see them at church, at the grocery store, at the high school basketball game. You don’t go out to dinner without talking about business. 

What kind of advice do you have for your successor?

Be engaged, take risk and be honest with yourself. Sometimes you identify the problem and need to say something that people don’t want to hear, but you can start a conversation. It might work out or it might not, but even the chastisement will teach you something. Political correctness shouldn’t always displace honesty.