From the President’s Desk
Asw. Pamela Hunter (NY) – NCOIL President
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.
As we close out Spring and head into Summer, I’d like to share some thoughts on what NCOIL has achieved so far this year and the outlook for where the organization is heading for the future.
Our Spring Meeting in Charleston really set the tone for a successful and productive year. I’m proud to say we broke all previous NCOIL Meeting attendance records with 408 attendees including 85 legislators from 32 states. And for 23 of those legislators, it was their first time attending an NCOIL National Meeting. We also had 8 insurance commissioners attend with 14 insurance departments represented.
Will Melofchik NCOIL CEO Sen. Paul Utke, MN Vice President Additionally, we were pleased to have a very strong lineup of speakers at the Meeting. In an NCOIL first, we were joined by a sitting U.S. Cabinet Member as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke to attendees at the Welcome Breakfast to announce a new state-federal partnership aimed at expanding access to treatment for sickle cell disease. South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette welcomed attendees to the Palmetto State during the Welcome Reception, and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson spoke at the Luncheon about his philosophy on leadership and the work his office is doing to protect South Carolinians.
The strong participation at the Meeting is illustrative that the work we are putting in to advance issues and improve the organization is paying off. Making more people aware of NCOIL and involving as many unique perspectives as possible really is key in making sure the organization continues to grow and thrive. I cannot thank everyone enough for taking time from their schedules to come to our Meetings and engage on the timely and important public policy issues before us. While NCOIL is stronger than ever, we never want to rest on our laurels which is why we conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) exercise during the Spring Meeting. It was great to see so many people who care about the success of the organization come together to provide their perspectives on where NCOIL should be heading in the years to come. The conversation was certainly fruitful, and we look forward to working to implement some of the items raised during the exercise.
While it feels like we were just in Charleston, we are full steam ahead in preparing for the Summer Meeting in Chicago. The agenda is already filled with a wide range of topics, including new Model Laws set for introduction, as well as existing Models that will continue through the development process.
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