Six county commissioners will be flying to Honolulu, Hawaii, on Thursday to attend the National Association of Counties’ annual convention.

Shelby County Commissioner Ted Crockett said the convention rotates to a different state every year and is attended by county commissioners and officials throughout the country.

The county will pay for commissioners Billy Thompson, Earl Cunningham, Dan Acker, Joel Bearden, Larry Dillard and Crockett’s airline tickets, food and hotel rooms in Hawaii, along with the $415 registration fee for each commissioner.

Shelby County commissioners have attended the convention every year, but Crockett said no one ever cared until they mentioned they were going to Hawaii.

Crockett, who will be leaving Thursday for the trip, said the NACo convention is an educational experience, which has prepared the county commission to deal with a variety of issues.

According to the NACo website, www.naco.org, this year’s convention will tackle a variety of issues including homeland security, public lands and transportation.

Acker will leave Wednesday for Hawaii. He said the convention has helped public officials learn more about technological advances in government services, which could, in turn, be applied in the county.

An exposition will accompany the convention where companies will showcase their latest technological developments, and he said that will give commissioners exposure to new technology.

Crockett said many of the commissioners plan to bring their spouses.

He said his two daughters and wife will join him on the trip, but their expenses will be paid for by him, personally.

&uot;We are all looking forward to it,&uot; he said