It was great to see so many members and colleagues in Boston for the ICMA Conference – and for those who weren’t there, you were missed! A continuing theme within the profession, and it is a prime part of the “Life, Well Run” initiative, is our story-telling as professional local government managers. I attended several meetings in Boston to hear the progress on the campaign, and wasn’t happy about one aspect: not enough participation from Florida. I’m not talking about the fundraising – I’m talking about Florida stories and Florida examples.
I’ve made a repeated plea for some stories from Florida – and a few of you have shared yours – but I’m asking once again because Florida is under-represented on the national ‘map’ of “Life, Well Run” for member stories. These vignettes relate, in just a few minutes, what difference it has made in your city and county to have professional public management. Did it make a difference with economic development? Utility start-up or improvements? Community relations or neighborhood problem solving? Hiring staff and building a great team? Your dedication and hard work help shape the daily lives of 19-plus million Floridians – so now is a great time to share your story!
Visit the “Life, Well Run” web page to share your story with ICMA at this link: http://yourstory@lifewellrun.org and send me a quick email for the work FCCMA is doing to promote the profession within Florida. We’d really like to build a library of stories – so I hope you’ll help us on our quest. Thank you to those who have already shared, and my thanks in advance to those who join in now!
