Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Sitherwood Elected Chairman of Regional Council


The Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments has a new chairman of the board.  Mark Sitherwood, presiding commissioner of Holt County, was elected to serve as chairman of the Regional Council at the agency’s annual dinner and membership meeting, held Thursday August 16h at the Countryside Bistro.  Sitherwood, who previously served as the agency’s secretary, replaces Bob Stiens, chairman for the last five years.  Stiens will move into the secretary position of the Regional Council. 
“I couldn’t have asked for a better chairman than Bob”, said Tye Parsons, executive director of the Council.  “He’s well informed of the issues facing northwest Missouri, and provided excellent advice and leadership during the past five years.”  Stiens, who was term-limited, hands over the reins to Mark Sitherwood, a native of Holt County.  “Serving as the presiding commissioner of Holt County, and being a native of northwest Missouri, Mark is a great choice to replace Bob.  He has been on the board for several years, and really has a good handle on the challenges and opportunities in our region”, Parsons continued.
Rounding out the officer elections were Jack Baldwin, Hopkins, for Vice Chair and Doug Sutton, at-large member, for Treasurer.
In additional to holding officer elections, Regional Council staff took a few minutes to tell the assembled guests about some of the previous year’s accomplishments.  Parsons reported that flood recovery had been the focus of the organization since last summer, with staff members instrumental in securing state and federal dollars to repair levees, roads, water and sewer lines, and other public infrastructure.  In all, the Regional Council directly assisted 13 flood recovery projects in Atchison and Holt Counties totaling over $12.7M.  Other annual highlights included the completion of a statewide hazard mitigation plan for rural electric cooperatives, distribution of grant funds for recycling projects, and ranking of regional transportation priorities.

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