Earlier this month, NACCED held its 49th Annual Educational Conference and Training in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Local government community development professionals from across the country gathered for three days of education and networking at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Hotel.
Before the conference began, first time attendees enjoyed meeting each other and NACCED’s Board of Directors during a coffee reception. There, first-timers were led in discussion by Board members, learning more about the conference, as well as opportunities for year-round involvement in NACCED. That evening, attendees enjoyed an educational tour of economic development projects along the famous Route 66. The tour concluded at the Gathering Place, Tulsa’s renowned world-class park where a sunset welcome reception was enjoyed.
When #NACCED24 officially began on Tuesday, September 17, members received a welcome from NACCED President Linda Jenkins (Los Angeles County, CA) and Claudia Brierre with Tulsa County, OK. Tulsa County Commissioner Stan Sallee followed with an address to the audience on county investments in community and economic growth initiatives. The program continued with a briefing welcoming Washington, DC U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials sponsored by Neighborly Software. Attendees were greeted by a video from Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman followed by remarks from Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for Community Planning and Development Marion McFadden, Office of Block Grant Assistance Entitlement Communities Division Director James Höemann and Office of Affordable Housing Programs Deputy Director Peter Huber.
The morning continued with a presentation sponsored by the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG), featuring Jonathan Butler, Senior Vice President of Community Development with Partner Tulsa and Rose Washington – Jones, Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of TEDC Creative Capital. Butler and Washington – Jones spoke on the Kirkpatrick Heights and Greenwood Master Plan and the Greenwood Entrepreneurship at Moton (GEM) project.
After attendees enjoyed seeing downtown Tulsa during lunchtime, the conference resumed with breakout sessions including Let’s Talk HOME-ARP: A Facilitated Peer-to-Peer Discussion; Economic Impacts of Route 66; and Preparedness for Managing Disaster Recovery Funds. Afterwards, the conference resumed its annual tradition of “Passport to Win,” a special break where attendees got to meet exhibitors and be entered to win a variety of prizes. The afternoon’s breakout sessions continued with Strategies for Growth in a Continuum of Care - Tulsa’s Story; Closing the Digital Divide; and Managing Administrative Costs, Policies and Procedures.
The first day of the conference concluded with the always-popular John C. Murphy Scholarship Fund reception and silent auction, sponsored by ZoomGrants. This year’s reception incorporated a 50th anniversary celebration of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program which included 1974-themed décor and sheet cake. Attendees enjoyed food and drinks while socializing and bid on great items of interest from around the country. The silent auction raised $1,000 toward the scholarship fund.
On Wednesday, September 18, the conference kicked off with two general sessions. First, NACCED members participated in a panel discussion sponsored by the Cloudburst Group titled BABA Bewildered: A Briefing and Peer Discussion. Following the opening session, attendees received a Washington Update from NACCED and National Association of Counties staff focused on current federal government budget deadlines, upcoming elections, and final HUD rulemaking impacts.
The morning’s breakout sessions included HUD’s New CDBG Urban County Qualification Notice...and Beyond; Tulsa Regional Build Back Better; and Davis-Bacon Act Overview and Final Rule Compliance.
Wednesday afternoon began with the association’s annual Awards Luncheon and Business Meeting sponsored by Dominium which included a keynote address from Enterprise Community Partners CEO and President Shaun Donovan.
Donovan used his remarks to envision not only the past successes of CDBG, but also a look forward to the next five decades of community development by discussing the current housing crisis and the opportunities that lie ahead. Donovan addressed key challenges within the housing system, while presenting a vision for building a broader coalition of allies and advocates within housing. Speaking to his previous roles as HUD Secretary and U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director, Donovan shared ideas with members on how to continue best practices for continued housing, community and economic development success at the local level.
During the Awards portion of the event, Tulsa County was honored for their work as conference hosts. Additionally, five NACCED members won Awards of Excellence in a variety of categories related to housing, community development, homeless coordination/assistance, and program management. Winners included DuPage County, IL; Fairfax County, VA; Henrico County, VA; Shelby County, TN; and Westchester County, NY. To see the full descriptive list of awardees click here.
Each year at the Annual Business Meeting, NACCED’s election of leadership occurs. This year, outgoing President Linda Jenkins thanked attendees for the opportunity to serve and outlined her successful year leading the association’s priorities around membership and education.
Past President Tonja West-Hafner (Anoka County, MN), Chair of the Nominating Committee, thanked Joe Riddle (Pinellas County, FL) for his two-year term of service. She then announced that David Sacks (Henrico County, VA) had been nominated to the presidency, Jennifer Daniels (Arlington County, VA), to the role of Vice-President, and Joe Riddle to Secretary/Treasurer. Additionally, Josh Beck (Kane County, IL), Sylvia Parham (Cook County, IL) and Dana Sjostrom (Shelby County, TN) were nominated to serve second two-year terms on the Board at-large. Former NACCED Community Development Committee Chair Geleene Goffena (Henrico County, VA) was nominated to serve a two-year term.
Newly elected president David Sacks gave his remarks, looking forward to the year ahead and expected work with NACCED leadership to continue the association’s leading role in local county government partnerships. After calling out the winners of the Passport to win, 2025 conference host Jamie Macfarlane took the podium to share information about next year’s conference, to be held September 8-11 in Maricopa County, Arizona.
A special conference session titled Effective Succession Requires Planning was hosted by ICF to round out afternoon programming. Members utilized this time to have a robust discussion with peers and session leads on how to successfully manage succession within county leadership and recruiting/retention best practices.
On Wednesday evening, attendees joined together for a conference-wide closing event at the Woody Guthrie Center and the Bob Dylan Center, located in the heart of the downtown Tulsa Arts District sponsored by Tulsa County Industrial Authority. Members enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and took the opportunity to explore collections celebrating the legacies of these musical pioneers. NACCED is grateful to the Tulsa County team for their effort, expertise and creativeness put into this year’s program.
Thursday morning, September 19, closed the conference with the annual tour of local housing and community development projects. Attendees stopped by three locations: Greenwood Entrepreneurship at Moton (GEM), a historic hospital in the process of being transformed into an Economic Development Administration-funded innovation center; Whittier Townhomes, an affordable housing project developed by Boomtown Development Company, a 501(c)(3) supporting affiliate of Tulsa Habitat for Humanity; and the Oklahoma State University LaunchPad Center for Advanced Air Mobility drone development lab.
NACCED is grateful to all sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, members, and attendees that made this historic event possible. We look forward to seeing everyone in Maricopa County next year!
