Salute to county leaders: Lenny Eliason
Key Takeaways
A NACo Board member since 2005, Lenny Eliason has served on the Athens County, Ohio Commission since 1998 and will leave office at the end of the year. As NACo president in 2011-2012, he started what became the Healthy Counties Innovation Council and capped off his year by hiring Matt Chase to succeed Larry Naake as executive director.
When did you know county government was your calling?
During my previous career in broadcasting, I saw that the county commission was where decisions were made and things happened. I realized I needed to get a seat at the table.
What’s your proudest achievement in Athens County?
I helped create the County Employee Benefits Consortium of Ohio, which is now 28 years old. We save counties millions of dollars on healthcare. I served on the board for its existence all the way to last year, and served as president of it for about five years.
What did you learn from NACo that you brought home to Athens County?
How to build relationships and work across lines and make sure to find people that I can talk to when I have problems. That’s one of the biggest things that I found as I built a lot of lasting friendships and I was able to bounce ideas, issues problems off other people in a very safe place.
How did you change as a county leader over your tenure?
I’m a lot more patient now than I was when I first took office. I learned that change in government and in counties is like turning an ocean liner, it’s long and slow. You have to learn how to work through the system. To get things changed and improve them. You can’t just commit and do it overnight.
Why are you optimistic about the future of county government?
County government is where the rubber meets the road and people are given their services. It’s closest to the people, and it always has been. That’s the thing that county government does best, is providing the primary functions that people need.
What advice do you have for your successors?
Make sure you have an open mind. Learn how to build relationships. Learn how to compromise. And remember that you’re here to serve the people.
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