SCHEDULE
The 2021 Annual Conference will feature a variety of expert speakers that will explore topical and practical subjects in plenary and educational sessions throughout the Conference. Check out the speakers and sessions we have confirmed so far as well as the schedule of events to plan your attendance at the Conference!
More sessions & speakers to be announced
Monday 11/1 @ 10:00 AM
Virtual Session 1: The VITAL 5 Pillars of Effective Dementia Care
Eric Collett, Principal and CEO, A Mind For All Seasons, LLC
Meaningful interaction with persons who are living with dementia requires an understanding of how they experience the world and how to communicate in ways that feel right to them. While there are many good dementia care techniques, most techniques are based on five core principles. When properly understood and applied, these VITAL 5 Pillars naturally lead to effective techniques that help reduce difficult behavioral expressions, antipsychotic medication usage, falls, and other challenges care professionals face.
Monday 11/1 @ 1:00 PM
Virtual Session 2: Leading In Times Of Great Change
this session sponsored Usource, a 2021 - 2022 Silver Partner
Tim Rahschulte, CEO, The Professional Development Academy
As an elected official, you know the importance of your work and the work of county leaders. You also know the stark reality of needing to do more with less and to maintain alignment of your resources, supporting county employees as they carry out the services of your county, and encouraging your community to hang tough in this time of uncertainty, crisis, chaos, and change. There is a lot at stake and the need for strong leadership has never been more prevalent than now. Join the NACo Next Generation Leadership Committee and Dr. Tim Rahschulte in this interaction session, Leading In Times Of Great Change, to learn best practices in times of change so that you can help existing leaders get better and emerging leaders get ready for the changes needed to help our counties thrive.
Tuesday 11/2 @ 8:30 AM
In-person grab-and-go breakfast
Tuesday 11/2 @ 10:00 AM
Virtual Session 3: Case Mix Medicaid + Value Based Care: A New Perspective
this session sponsored by HealthTrust, a 2021 - 2022 Gold Partner
Elisa Bovee MS OTR/L, VP of Clinical Strategies, HealthPRO Heritage
Maintaining accuracy with New Hampshire Medicaid reimbursement within the nursing home setting is dependent on communication throughout the clinical team. How can your team achieve coding exactitude, through timing, coordination, care excellence – or all of the above? Leadership matters to steer the ship and maintain accountability for the overall success of the program. Join this program to hear the highly influential team approaches that go beyond therapy. Additionally, the speaker will discuss value-based care as it applies to the evolving value-based purchasing program mandated for skilled nursing facilities across the country.
Tuesday 11/2 @ 12:00 PM
In-person grab-and-go lunch
In-person Executive Committee Meeting
In-person exhibit floor opens
Tuesday 11/2 @ 1:00 PM
Virtual Session 4: NHRS: Past, Present, and Future
Jan Goodwin, NHRS Executive Director
Marty Karlon, NHRS Director of Communications & Legislative Affairs
To fully understand where the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) is at this point in time and where it is headed, it’s important to understand how we got here. In this presentation, we will walk through some significant events in the history of NHRS, explain how many long-ago decisions continue to resonate, and review some of the key steps taken over the past 15 years to ensure the errors of the past would not be repeated today or in the future.
Tuesday 11/2 @ 3:00 PM
Virtual Session 5: Update on State and National Opioid Litigation
James Boffetti, Associate Attorney General & Director, Division of Legal Counsel, NH Department of Justice
This presentation will include updates on state opioid litigation efforts, updates on the status of national settlements and the work of the State’s newly created Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.
Tuesday 11/2 @ 5:00 PM
In-person dinner plenary
Tuesday 11/2 @ 5:30 PM
In-person exhibit floor closes
Wednesday 11/3 @ 8:30 AM
In-person grab-and-go breakfast
Wednesday 11/3 @ 10:00 AM
Virtual Session 6: Driving Employee Engagement post-COVID
this session sponsored by New Hampshire Interlocal Trust, a 2021 - 2022 Silver Partner
Laurie Glaude, MBTI Practitioner, Aurora Business Solutions LLC
COVID has changed our organization's culture with long term impacts. In this session you will learn how to closer examine impacts, mitigate them and create an employee engagement roadmap to drive success.
Wednesday 11/3 @ 12:00 PM
In-person grab-and-go lunch
In-person Commissioners Council Meeting
In-person exhibit floor opens
Wednesday 11/3 @ 1:00 PM
Virtual Session 7: Rural Innovation: Regional Collaboration to Strengthen Identity and Develop a Visitor Economy
Charlie French, Ph.D. Program Leader, Community & Economic Development, UNH Cooperative Extension
Penelope Whitman, Community and Economic Field Specialist, Sullivan County, UNH Cooperative Extension
Derek Ferland, County Administrator, Sullivan County
Rural areas in NH can be challenging in a number of ways including demographic pressures, lack of resources, and a reluctance to collaborate across municipal boundaries. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We will show how innovation and robust partnerships are alive and well in rural places. We’ll focus on an initiative in Sullivan County, co-led by County Manager Derek Ferland and UNH Cooperative Extension Field Specialist Penelope Whitman to define and build excitement around a positive regional brand: the Sugar River Region. In June 2021, Ferland and Whitman established a regional destination council of local stakeholders who aim to develop, market, and sustain regional assets to create a visitor economy and improve the quality of life for residents. Ferland and Whitman will share their ongoing process and what they have learned.
Wednesday 11/3 @ 3:00 PM
Virtual Session 8: The Changing Landscape of Cybersecurity
this session sponsored Primex, a 2021 - 2022 Gold Partner
Cori Casey, Risk Management Consultant, NH Public Risk Management Exchange (Primex3)
Jason Sgro, Senior Partner and Chief Strategist, ATOM
Tim Benitez, Resident Agent in Charge of the Manchester Resident Office, United States Secret Service
There are many threats to local government entities in today’s world. Prepare to learn about one of the most pervasive of these threats- the big business of cyber fraud. In this virtual session we will: explore the current cyber threat landscape; provide insight on how responders fight real world cyber-attacks; introduce practical and cost-effective risk management measures you can take to make your county safer.
Wednesday 11/3 @ 5:00 PM
In-person dinner plenary
In-person state-wide awards
Wednesday 11/3 @ 5:30 PM
In-person exhibit floor closes
Thursday 11/4 @ 10:00 AM
Virtual Session 9 TBA
James Reidy, Shareholder and Chair of Labor and Employment Group, Sheehan Phinney
Thursday 11/4 @ 1:00 PM
Virtual Session 10 TBA
Thursday 11/4 @ 3:30 PM
Virtual Session 11: The Secret Weapon for County Workforce Challenges: Veterans!
Derek Ferland, County Administrator, Sullivan County
Alan Gould, President & COO Municipal Resources, Inc.
Lynn Phillips, Senior Program Manager, ICMA
It is no secret that the job force in America is aging and the county government workforce is no exception. One blog estimates that in 2020 30-40 percent of the local government workforce was eligible for retirement. Where can talented, educated, and diverse talent be found? In the military! Join our panel for a discussion about how the talent pool of separating service members can meet the needs of local government.