Hamrick elected VP of state association
CHRIS BURROUGHS The Daily Mountain Eagle
Published August 31, 2002 1:06 AM CDT
Walker County now has a strong ally in the association that represents county governments at the state level. And he is a very familiar face. Walker County Commission chairman Bruce Hamrick was recently elected as second vice president to the Association of County Commissions of Alabama. The association represents county governments across the state of Alabama.
“I am just honored that the commissioners of the state of Alabama thought enough of me to elect me second vice president,” Hamrick said. “I’ve always tried to be a good leader and paint a positive picture of Walker County.”
Hamrick joins the association’s new president, Perry County Commission chairman Johnny Flowers, and first vice president, Jefferson County commissioner Mary Buckelew, on the Board of Directors. The board consists of these three officers, past presidents of the association and representatives elected from 12 state districts.
“We are excited about Bruce and the leadership he will provide for our association,” Flowers said. “He has served on the ACCA Board of Directors previously and he understands the problems of both urban and rural county governments in Alabama.”
Hamrick is mid-way through his second term as chairman of the Walker County Commission and has served on the ACCA’s Board of Directors for two years.
The association serves partly as a lobbying force for county governments. Hamrick said people in the association’s office in Montgomery keep up with legislation currently in the state legislature and will occasionally call commissioners to come to the state house and oppose legislation that could potentially harm counties. The association also provides self-insured workman’s compensation insurance for county commissioners and employees, and self-insured liability insurance with $21 million in reserves to help in the event counties are sued.
Officers of the association will rotate each year into the next office, meaning that Hamrick would be next in line for first vice president and in 2004 would become president. He would be only the second Walker County commissioner to serve as president, with former commission chairman Grady Perry being the first.
Hamrick thanked the people of Walker County and his fellow commissioners for all the support he had been given since becoming part of the ACCA and said he hoped being in the vice president’s position would not only help promote Walker County even more, but also help counties across the state.
“I’ve met so many great people and have made many friends and all of them have been great to work with,” Hamrick said. “I am just humbled and honored by this.”