August VLGMA eNews

VLGMA August eNews
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VLGMA August eNews
Supporting local government managers
building great communities through
inclusion, innovation and leadership
In This Issue
A Memo from Steve O
Tedd's Take
Innovation Edge
A DAO in the Life
Certificate News
A Memo from Steve O
A Memo from Steve O
Dear Friends,
Last month I wrote about re-engaging VLGMA members and
former members. That effort continues and will be on-going.
Again, please let me know if you can help me identify or reach
out to a colleague that we need to bring back to VLGMA.
This month I want to cover another goal I have for the
year: increasing our corporate sponsorships. Just as the recession has reduced our
travel, training, and dues budgets, it has also impacted our corporate partners and
some sponsorships have slipped. I am hoping that some of our traditional sponsors
as well as some new ones will want to assist us now that the worst seems to have
passed.
Some of us may take a dim view of our sponsorship arrangements, given that
our engineering, architectural, legal, and financial advisor sponsors basically pay
to spend time with us. Some of us may equate this with lobbying and influence
peddling in Richmond and Washington, but it is not the same. Sure, our sponsors
buy time with us, but nothing is promised or even implied insofar as a quid pro
quo. We may or may not engage them down the road. Often, such decisions are
not ours to make anyway; our procurement officers and department heads handle
vendor selection. Our sponsors have marketing budgets for this purpose and want
to get their names out there among the membership. Also, many of them have
become our friends and colleagues and want to strengthen those relationships for
mutual benefit. A few of them were local government managers too at some
point.
Most importantly, we really could not provide the quality conferences we have
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without them. Either registration fees or membership dues would have to be set
prohibitively higher, or we would have to serve crackers and Kool-Aid at our
functions and completely forego quality speakers and programs. Nobody would be
happy with that.
Sponsorships are like NASCAR. Those Tide and Go Daddy and Viagra
sponsorships are keeping the costs down so more folks can enjoy racing, but
nobody is making you buy those products - whether you need them or not!
So, please take a few minutes to look through your contact list, business card
pile, and accounts payable records and see if you can identify a potential sponsor.
Let Molly know if you know of a business that might like to help sponsor an event
at our next conference (or the VLGMA Scholarship Fund) and she will make the
"ask." Increased sponsorship is a sustainability measure. We need them and they
need us. Help us make more connections.
--Steve
Contact Steve Owen
Tedd's Take
A DAO in the Life
VA Local Governments
Keep Doing
Great Things
It's been my pleasure this
year to serve as a judge for
both the Virginia Municipal
League and Virginia Association of
Counties' local government awards
programs. Working with staffers David
Parsons (VML) and Gage Harter (VACo) is
always enjoyable because of their
enthusiasm for local government and the
positivity of their respective programs.
It's all about good stuff!
The key point I want to make is that
both award programs illustrate the fact
that, no matter how fiscally or
politically tough things become, Virginia
local governments stay the course and
keep doing great things. Many of the
applications depict projects years in the
making or programs with a history of
success. The environments these
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What Local
Government
Does Best
I learned a new
word this summer derecho - a storm
that seems to be a
Anne Marie Green
cross between a
hurricane and a
tornado. One ripped through the
Roanoke Valley around 9 PM on June 30
with no warning. It just hit, taking
hundreds, if not thousands, of trees with
it. When dawn broke on July 1, the
devastation became apparent.
Electricity was out for thousands of
people in the Valley and broken limbs
and uprooted trees were on almost every
block. Two main county administrative
buildings were also off-line, forcing staff
to set up office space in the generator
powered Public Safety Center. In an
instant, the work week changed - the
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VLGMA August eNews
localities operate in has changed
dramatically over the past few years,
but those challenges have not deterred
them from going the extra mile, being
creative, finding new and innovative
solutions, and shaping a better quality of
life for their citizens.
The award applications themselves
take considerable time and effort to
prepare. The pride of accomplishment
displayed, no matter how big or small,
simple or complex the endeavor, is
clear. Each reinforces my pride in
Virginia local government, and its
well-earned reputation as one of the
very best in municipal management.
These awards programs may seem
trivial to some, but most understand
that, especially now, we need to
celebrate and share our successes,
particularly the most extraordinary ones.
Judging these awards is a tough job
since there are so many excellent
submittals. It is truly encouraging at a
time when the outlook for local
government is unsettled, at best.
Contact Tedd Povar
Innovation Edge
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hours increased, we were in temporary
office space with laptops and portable
radios, and the challenges were varied.
But this is part of being a DAO - leaving
your home and family to help the
citizens who need you more. It took a
week for the power to be fully restored,
so many people had no air conditioning
and lost food in refrigerators and
freezers. It was a strong reminder of
what local government does best and
why we are so motivated to do our jobs.
The front line staff becomes the face of
the government for the citizens during
disaster recovery. Trash collectors,
public safety personnel, office staff and
librarians all had a hand in helping to
alleviate the stress that hot, tired
citizens felt as they tried to clean up
and restore some sense of normalcy for
their families, even though many of
those employees faced the same issues
in their own homes. It is what we do
every day, but a crisis can help us
remember why we do it.
Contact Anne Marie Green
Certificate News
The Certificate
program is getting
Leader's
Challenge in ready to wrap up
another successful
Arlington
summer! The
County, VA
three courses
The Leader's Challenge program in
being taught this summer have offered
Arlington County Government was
our students new insights into the varied
created as a fast track program to train and complex workings of local
high potential employees to take on
government in Virginia. Furthermore,
senior management level jobs. "High
the students have been given many
potential" employees are identified using opportunities to have discussions with
the Corporate Executive Board definition each other and other local government
- someone with the ability, engagement, professionals in order to see all aspects
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and aspiration to rise to and succeed in
more senior, critical positions.
The primary goal of the Leader's
Challenge Program is to increase the
number of leaders ready to compete for
promotional positions as a significant
number of retirements in leadership are
anticipated in the next three to five
years. Secondly, the County is seeking to
develop leaders who can work
effectively in cross-functional teams on
complex problems that require crossdepartmental solutions and cooperation.
In the program these teams are created
and they use action learning techniques
to develop innovative solutions to
complex County issues. The teams are
sponsored by senior leaders of the
organization, where they are exposed to
the leadership of the organization and
vice versa. The third goal is to develop
self-aware, resilient leaders who
understand that a critical aspect of
leadership is a journey of self-discovery,
managing energy and personal
engagement. Continue Reading and/or
view their presentation from the 2012
TLG Conference.
Visit the Alliance for Innovation for
more information or contact Toni Shope,
East Regional Director at
[email protected]
Local Government Virginia News
Stay connected via Facebook
with relevant stories from our
group called " Local
Government Virginia
News " - simply request to be a member
of this group (it is a closed group
so only other accepted members
participate). Once you're a member,
feel free to comment on postings and
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of local government administration. In
fact, students consistently say that the
class discussions with their peers are the
best part of the Certificate courses. So,
in those times when public service can
seem challenging and isolating, these
discussions with peers in the field can be
both educational and uplifting!
In addition to the summer courses
coming to an end, the Certificate
program is looking forward to an
amazing fall. The program is on track to
have some of its highest course
enrollments yet. When classes start at
the end of August, there will be more
than 60 students enrolled in Certificate
courses. This illustrates the great
demand for the top-notch Certificate
program in Virginia.
As the excitement grows for the
upcoming semester, remember it is
never too early to start thinking about
the possibility of beginning the
Certificate program. Applications to
begin the program in the spring will be
accepted through December 1. Please
contact Bob Stripling if you or anyone
else you know is interested in starting
the program. Even though he will be
teaching a course this fall, Bob is always
willing to discuss the Certificate program
with anyone (usually while wearing a
Virginia Tech polo shirt). Feel free to
contact him at [email protected] or
540-448-1102.
Find the Certificate online:
Future Newsletter Articles
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post stories from your local
government to share with others. This
new communications tool is
designed for us to share, network and
learn.
Calendar
Upcoming
Events
PDC Meeting August 24th in
Staunton
VML Conference - September 23-25 in
Williamsburg
PDC Meeting - September 24,
10-11:45 a.m. at VML Conference
Executive Committee Meeting September 24, 1 p.m. at VML
Conference
A goal of this
e-newsletter is
to keep you
informed on
activities
relative to our
profession. As
with any membership-based
organization, contributions by members
are welcome and encouraged. Topics
can range from a recent achievement in
your locality to an upcoming event with
networking potential to human interest
stories about current or retired
members. To contribute simply send
your brief e-newsletter content (~5
sentences or less) via email to Molly
Harlow.
More Dates
Quick Links
VLGMA Website
ICMA Website
Alliance for Innovation
Virginia Municipal League
VA Association of Counties
Weldon Cooper Center forPublic Service
Website Contact
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