ESCANABA — In response to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) has moved its annual conference online. Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo shared her experiences taking part in the 2020 MAC Virtual Annual Conference.

“I’m just really impressed so far with the structure and how they have it organized,” DeSalvo said.

The conference began Tuesday and will continue through Thursday, Aug. 27. As of Wednesday afternoon, DeSalvo had participated in her first workshop of the conference.

“Yesterday, I attended a workshop and it was named ‘COVID-19: Developing A Long-Term Strategy For Your County Facilities,'” she said.

She also plans to attend workshops focusing on transportation funding, boosting quality of life for veterans and legislative matters MAC is involved in during the conference. Along with these presentations and others, the conference will include an address from a well-known special guest — Michigan State University coach Tom Izzo.

Though she had not attended a virtual conference in the past, DeSalvo said she has been enjoying the event so far.

“I really have no complaints. It’s been great that they have allowed us to attend virtually and haven’t canceled it altogether,” she said.

She went on to say the event provides valuable networking opportunities to participants, even though they cannot physically be together.

“In each session, they do allow the participants to communicate with each other via a chat box,” DeSalvo said.

Attendees can be use the chat box to communicate with presenters and their fellow participants.

According to DeSalvo, she feels it is important for county employees to continue their education. However, in-person conferences often come with steep travel expenses, meaning it is not always practical for these employees to attend.

“Normally, conferences like this … are downstate, set up over the course of two or three days,” she said.

Because of this, DeSalvo said she is hoping other conferences held in the 2020-21 fiscal year will be held virtually or have a virtual option.