New commissioner wants to make a difference

Greg Koenig has an interest in serving his community

New County Commissioner Greg Koenig will spend the first few months on the job soaking in all he can to bring himself up to speed on county issues so that he can make a difference during his time in office.

He wants to use his experience on the Churchill County School Board and apply it to the county commission, but he readily acknowledges that working at the county is “a whole other level.”

Interest in serving

After leaving the Churchill County School Board due to term limits in 2016, Koenig still had an interest in serving the community he has lived in most of his life. When the Churchill County Republican Central Committee approached him about running for commissioner, it was the push he needed to get back into public service, so he threw his hat in the ring and was elected in November.

First priorities

Koenig will first apply himself to learning the various acronyms associated with working at the county so that he has a better understanding of the various programs, policies and agencies he will be associating with as commissioner.

Koenig is the first to admit that “there is more I don’t know about this position than I do know,” and that it will take a few months to settle in.

“It will be good to work with Commissioners Olsen and Heath. I can see that this job has a life of its own and we will have to deal with things as they come up. Being flexible and ready will be keys to success,” he said.

“I don’t have an agenda to follow but will make the best decisions I can on issues as they arise.”

He does not plan to make changes for the sake of making changes and is looking forward to learning county traditions and how things are done in county government.

Pleasantly surprised

Thus far, Koenig has been pleasantly surprised to learn there haven’t been gaps in the county budget over the last year during COVID. “That has not been the case and it is a pleasure we don’t have to make cuts,” he said.

He praised county leadership for planning ahead and being able to stay away from budget cuts.

Koenig also had praise for the good relationship between county leadership and county employees and wants to maintain that positive relationship throughout his tenure on the board.

Deep family roots in Fallon

Koenig’s family has been in Churchill County for generations: his great grandfather, John Oats, donated the land for Oats Park in the City of Fallon. He is a third-generation family graduate of Churchill County High.

His three children and one grandson continue the family tradition as the fourth and fifth generations to attend school here. Daughter Kennedy is a preschool teacher, daughter Baylee is attending UNLV working on her school counseling degree and son Davis is following his father’s footsteps, attending optometry school in Phoenix.

Koenig and his business partner Carl Robertson have owned and operated Robertson and Koenig Optometry in Fallon since the mid-1990s.

Anne McMillin is public information officer for Churchill County.