City Commissioner Shannon Cox, the only Clark County teacher to serve on a national youth and education council, will head to Nashville to discuss school safety this week.
Cox began serving on the Institute for Youth Education and Families, an affiliate of the National League of Cities, six years ago. The meeting in Nashville will take place Thursday-Saturday, he said.
“It’s also going to talk about disaster preparedness, disaster relief,” he said. Because of the severe flooding in Nashville a couple years ago, Cox said, this year’s conference will focus more specifically on disaster preparedness.
The institute, according to its website, helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the “children, youth and families in their communities.”
“They have come up with ... what they call action plans, different things that city can do, and here in Winchester we couldn’t do everything that’s in the group,” Cox said. “And I’m sure Boston or New York can’t do everything that’s in it. Just various strategies for dealing with different issues.”
The institute is made up of about 50 people, Cox said, and they meet three times a year.
After each meeting, Cox said, he brings back useful new ideas and information to various public bodies like the Winchester Board of Commissioners and the Winchester-Clark County Parks and Recreation Department.
“This is a great opportunity for me (to) maybe bring some lessons back that we can use here,” he said. “It’s no cost to the city.”
The institute pays for all expenses.
Of the 50 members who serve on the institute, Cox is the only teacher and one of the few part-time public officials. He is also the only person from Kentucky on the institute.
