Public safety is the top priority for the 56 communities composing the Association of Village Council Presidents, and multiple sections of this year’s convention will be dedicated to this issue.
Both of Tuesday’s keynote speakers will address the topic: first Judge Kim Sweet of the Kenaitzie Tribal Court in Kenai, and then Jody Potts of the Tanana Chiefs Conference. Potts serves on the Governor’s Tribal Advisory Committee as the Rural Public Safety Chair.
A panel discussion on the state of public safety in the region will follow on Wednesday afternoon. AVCP will deliver an assessment of public safety in 46 villages across the region. The assessment analyzes the state of the villages’ public facilities, communication infrastructure, and Village Public Safety Officers. Panels on child welfare and economic development will follow.
Like most AVCP conventions, the emphasis of the three-day gathering is on services that the tribal non-profit is delivering to the region and how it plans to improve them. For the past few years, the non-profit has been developing a “quality improvement process.” And this year it’s entering phase two of that process to become what AVCP is calling "a learning organization."
“To be a learning organization really involves integrating learning into every aspect of how we operate on a daily basis," explains AVCP Communications Director Azara Mohammadi. "So looking back at what we have done, all the changes we have made already, producing outcome documents that will be presented at the convention, and reviewing those and evaluating those and moving forward having learned from those.”
This step is intended to build on the work that AVCP began two years ago, which included organizational development like creating a strategic plan with short-term and long-term goals. The non-profit is also continuing its push to provide more financial transparency. Tuesday afternoon will include an update on the status of AVCP’s financial audit.
The convention begins at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at the Bethel Cultural Center and will run through Thursday, Oct. 4.
You can view the full convention agenda here.
