The Golden Nugget June 2025
Working in local government, especially at the management level, is rewarding and fulfilling, but there are many days when the altruism of serving our community is overshadowed by the stress that comes from managing everything in our realm of responsibility. That’s where VLGMA comes in.
As I head into the last month of my term as VLGMA President, I think back over the past year and I’m proud of what our membership has done to continue to support and promote local government management in Virginia. This is not because of anything I personally have done, but because of the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm of our Board, Executive Committee, our members, and those who provide support to our organization.
The VLGMA annual conferences give us the most visibility as an organization, and this past year 3rd Vice President Christian Goodwin and his conference co-chairs really knocked it out of the park. The winter conference in Charlottesville, put together by conference co-chairs Ashley Reynolds Marshall (City of Charlottesville) and Michelle Bixler (Town of Woodstock), drew a crowd despite the snow, and for the first time in many years, ICMA leadership had a solid presence. The summer conference coming up later this month promises to be fantastic—and if past performance is a predictor of future behavior, conference co-chairs Eric Pollitt (Amelia County) and Joseph Quesenbery (Town of Warsaw) have put together a great conference to help us navigate resiliency in challenging times (by the way, if you’ve not yet signed up, it’s not too late—get registered so you can join us at the beach!).
Several years ago, we created a Deputies, Assistants and Others (DAO) subcommittee to create programming to support those who provide valuable assistance to local government managers and administrators. It has been a tremendous success, and the DAO workshops held this yearwere amazing and some of the most well-attended workshops we’ve had. Todd Kilduff (Hanover County) and the communities that hosted the DAO (Louisa County and City of Falls Church) did a fantastic job of creating programs that not only showcased a successful project in their community but also provided a great opportunity to get out of the office and network with colleagues and friends.
As a state affiliate of ICMA, it’s important that we have a relationship with them, and also keep our members informed about their initiatives, programming and resources. With new leadershipboth at the board and executive director levels at ICMA, I believe it’s a new day at ICMA. They are actively engaged in renewing their partnership with their state affiliates to support and promote local government management across the nation. Currently, VLGMA and ICMA are working together to develop a membership strategy for increasing membership in both organizations (right now, ICMA has 166 members in Virginia who are not members of VLGMA, and VLGMA has 44 members who are not members of ICMA—we want to close those gaps). As president of our state affiliate, I had the opportunity this past year to engage more closely with our ICMA colleagues and see first-hand their commitment to “step it up”. I and the presidents from the other states in the southeast region provided feedback on a Governance Task Force proposal to level the playing field in the southeast region when it comes to ICMA board representation. Many thanks to member and past VLGMA president Cindy Mester (City of Falls Church) for her years of work on this task force.
In light of the increasing challenges local government managers are facing, an ad hoc committee of government professionals was created in 2020 to develop strategies for addressing “grand challenges” identified in a report from the National Academy of Public Administration. Over the ensuing years, this group began meeting at ICMA national conferences to discuss these issues and in 2023 included state local government management association representatives. Virginia’s participation on this committee was led by VLGMA Immediate Past President Tim Fitzgerald (Augusta County) and member Eric Campbell (the Berkley Group) who presented the committee’s mission to and solicited input from the membership at the 2024 summer conference.This included a discussion of the ICMA Declaration of Ideals, and challenges faced by managersin shaping policy conversations and effective community leadership. Committee findings have been provided to the ICMA Board and to each state affiliate for action in developing strategies to help local government managers be successful in providing leadership to their organizations and communities. VLGMA has created a subcommittee to work with Tim to determine how this can be accomplished in Virginia—another great way VLGMA is striving to support its membership.
I’ve written this before, but I think it bears repeating. I attended my first VLGMA conference 10 years ago. As a member of VLGMA, never in my career have I felt so personally and professionally supported. Everyone in our profession should have the same benefit of that support. Sometimes they are hesitant to reach out, so we need to reach out to them first, and find out how we can best support them. Do you know someone who’s not a member, but could be? Invite them to get involved. By the way, membership in VLGMA is not limited to just managers or administrators—we have different levels of membership so that anyone who works in, supports or educates about local government can be a member. Do you want to be more involved but don’t know how? Reach out to a member of the VLGMA board and let them know. Each year our nominating committee selects new executive committee members, as well as a slate of officers. With all the challenges we face today in local government management, it’s never been more important to be a part of a group that “gets us”.
It's been a great year for VLGMA, and I am excited for the future of our organization. I want to thank the members of the board, the executive committee, subcommittee members, and our members who got actively involved for all their hard work and support this past year. I also want to extend a debt of gratitude to Janet Areson, our Executive Secretary, and Alysse Dowdy and all the staff at the Virginia Institute of Government, for their unwavering support that helps us all be successful. Rockstars, all of you.
See you at the beach,
Debbie
Welcome to our new members:
Raymond Hudgins, Saltville, VA
Ayana Thurston, Procurement Specialist/Grant Writer, Town of Dumfries
Marie Weber, Deputy City Manager, City of Livermore, CA