Richard G. (Dick) Simmons: At Home on the Range

Setting the Stage
In 1823, Florida’s territorial Governor, Andrew Jackson, assigned two men to ride their horses, one from Pensacola and the other from St. Augustine, and where they met would be the location of the new state capitol.  The rider from St. Augustine was Dr. W. H. Simmons, an ancestor of our very own Richard G. (Dick) Simmons.  Little did Dr. Simmons know at that time that he would not be the only one in his family “riding the ranges” of Florida. Arguably, the impact of his descendant, while not as historic, is and will continue to play a crucial role in many of Florida’s local governments for generations to come.

Dick Simmons’ role in Florida government is tightly woven into the founding fabric of the Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA). This year it is an honor to celebrate 60 years of his tireless service to our great organization.

In the Beginning…
Dick Simmons was born on August 6, 1928. He graduated from Osceola High School in 1946. He played football for the Osceola High School Cowboys and his proudest moment of that year was that the Cowboys beat St. Cloud in the biggest game of the season. Dick received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration and Masters of Arts Degree from the University of Florida.  It is interesting to note that he had initially applied for and was accepted to the University of Florida Law School, but after only one day of classes, he talked to an advisor about a Public Administration related Master’s Degree which was, in turn, customized for him.

Happy Trails
Dick’s first job in local government management was as an administrative assistant for his hometown of Kissimmee.  Next, after graduate school, he was an Assistant City Manager in Melbourne (1951-1952). In 1952-1953 he was selected as an Administrative Resources Intern for the City of Phoenix, Arizona. This is perhaps the best known Public Administration Internship program in the country. During his time in Phoenix, Barry Goldwater was on the City Council.

Upon completion of the Phoenix internship in 1953, Dick became the Chief Administrative Officer of Eau Gallie. From there he went to be the City Manager of Melbourne. Then in 1955, he was called to duty in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base.

Dick, and anyone who knows him, agrees that the best decision he ever made was when he asked Kay Upson, a beautiful, smart, FSU graduate and school teacher, to marry him. They were married in 1955. Dick and Kay have two children, Sandra and Susan. Sandra graduated from FSU and is an administrator with the Social Security Administration. Sandra and her husband have one son, Christopher, who upon graduation from college was employed by a Public Relations Agency in Washington, D. C.  Dick recently said with pride and laughter in his voice, “He’s going to be a politician, I’m afraid.”  Susan, graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic and following in her mother’s footsteps, became a teacher. She and her husband have two daughters, Amy and Angela. Amy is a nurse and Angie works in marketing.

Upon Dick’s return to civilian life, he accepted the position of City Manager for the City of Haines City in 1956.  In 1959, Dick became the City Manager of Winter Park. Notable about his appointment was that he was the ninth manager in ten years, but he stayed in Winter Park for eight years before returning to his pre-military job as City Manager of Melbourne.

In 1969, he became the City Manager of West Palm Beach where he served until his retirement in 1985. Dick has been credited for bringing financial stability and the necessary infrastructure planning that was and is the foundation of the many successes of West Palm Beach today.

When Dick announced his retirement from West Palm Beach, he and Kay also announced that they were moving back to Kissimmee to spend their “retirement” years. The ink was barely dry on Dick’s retirement notice to the West Palm Beach officials, when a representative of the City of Kissimmee contacted him about a then-vacant City Manager position in his hometown.  Dick and Kay discussed the proposition and Dick promised Kay that he would be the City Manager there as long as it was “fun.”  He further promised that when it was no longer fun he would really retire.  Dick was true to his word; and in 1987, he left the employment of Kissimmee to restart his retirement years.

This phase of retirement, while longer than the one between West Palm Beach and Kissimmee, was also short lived. Two years later, in 1989, he was hired as a part-time manager for the City of Davenport. Because this was a short drive from Kissimmee and was a part time position, it was a win-win for both Dick and the City.  Dick continued in his position in Davenport until 1992. He REALLY did retire from local government management at that time, but in true “Dick Simmons tradition,” he was far from through.

Trail Blazer
Over the years, Dick has been known nationwide for his hiring and training of young administrators. In fact, in 1977, ICMA awarded him the L. P. Cookingham Award for Career Excellence. Each year one manager in the nation is selected for this prestigious award that “recognizes an outstanding local government administrator who has made a significant contribution to the career development of new talent for professional local government management.” It is the opinion of this writer, that had Dick been born before Mr. Cookingham, Mr. Cookingham would have been awarded the Richard G. Simmons Award!

Dick knew no boundaries and found no glass ceiling that shouldn’t be shattered. He sought to hire and train the brightest and best, and understood the outright need and obligation as a professional manager to recruit young professionals regardless of race, creed, color, or college affiliation. And yes, he did hire people who went to FSU.  The one thing that all of Dick’s assistants and interns shared, was that when they went to work for Dick, they became a part of his and Kay’s family. That priceless relationship did not stop when the assistant or intern took their next job.

The young professionals who were lucky enough to have Dick as a mentor are too numerous to mention, and that list alone would dominate this article. However, there are many of note who have been or still are in local government management:  Laura Blackmon (first female Assistant City Manager to be FCCMA President); Tom Bradford; Ron Davis (first African American City Manager in Florida); Joseph Gallegos (first Hispanic FCCMA president); Ed Gladfelder;  Brian Gore; Ken Hammons (FCCMA President); Travis Kilgore; George Knoblock; Patrick Miller; Byron Moore; Les Murdock; Paul Nicoletti; Mike Sittig (Executive Director of the Florida League of Cities); Jack Noble; and Ann Toney-Deal (first female City Manager to be FCCMA  President).

Dick has often related that there were many times in his career when his City could not afford assistants, so he would hire interns who would work their “fingers” off for very little money just for the professional experience.  He was right, and many went on to not only make Dick proud but to become testaments to the city management profession.

Dick recently shared some “words of wisdom” for local government managers that we all should heed:

1)     The old Boy Scout motto works well.  “Be prepared” (for anything; for you never know what might come up next).

2)     Pick the smartest and best to work for you. They won’t let you down and will make you look good to the Council. You are the high-priced go between (between the Council and the employees). If they do a good job, the Council is happy and gets re-elected.  This is as close as you should get to favoring elected officials.

3)     Have a tough skin!

Dick has been formally recognized by his peers over the years.  In 1962-1963 he served as President of FCCMA.  In addition to the 1977 L. P. Cookingham Award, Dick received the 2001 Distinguished Service Award from ICMA.  Most notably Dick has been serving the State of Florida as an ICMA Range Rider since 1993. The “Ever Ready Bunny” has absolutely nothing on Dick Simmons.  Dick keeps going and going and going. The profession of local government management is better because of Dick Simmons. Many of us are fortunate enough to have worked for him, but countless scores of us know Dick as a mentor, friend and just an all-around nice guy.

Thank God for nice guys, and thank God for Richard G. (Dick) Simmons. We will only know “the tip of the iceberg” of his contribution to local governments and local government managers in Florida during our careers.

Cowboy Hats off to Dick for 60 remarkable years!!!