Last week, Madison County commissioner Dave Schulz said his final goodbyes after finishing his term as the president of the Montana Association of Counties.
“At our annual conference in Missoula, my one-year term of being president of MACo came to an end,” Schulz said. “As the outgoing president, I swore in the new president.”
MACo serves as a sounding board for commissioners from all of Montana’s 56 counties, provides networking opportunities and is a veritable source of information.
When Schulz took over the presidency on Sept. 24, 2015, he became the first Madison County commissioner to take on the role.
“Being the top person over all the counties was an incredible experience and incredible opportunity for me,” Schulz said. “There is a little bit of a let down now – over the last year I had many great experiences … I met incredible people while performing my duties.”
Throughout the last year, Schulz had the chance to work with state officials on a variety of issues, as well as focus on national issues, through his involvement with the National Association of Counties.
“What we worked on at the state level and at the national level had an impact on what happens in Madison County,” he said.
For example, Schulz was involved in forest health discussions locally, and in Washington D.C.
“Those things are important to our population here in Madison County, whether for economic purposes or for public health,” he said.
MACo’s new president is Maureen Davey from Stillwater County. The new first vice president is Todd Devlin from Prairie County, and during the conference, the members of MACo voted former sheriff and current Lake County commissioner Bill Barron as the second vice president.