2023 VLGMA Summer Conference

Thinking Outside the Box

Summer 2023 Conference June 7th - June 9th 

Hooray it’s Spring! We’re thrilled to invite you – and your families – to the “Landmarks of Our Nation’s Beginning,” sunny Virginia Beach, for this year’s VLGMA Summer Conference! 

Our conference theme is “Thinking Outside the Box.” While Dillon may have “boxed” us in, it doesn’t mean that we can’t challenge conventional thinking and open our communities – and ourselves – to more prosperous futures. How do we get there? We start with ourselves, and then we think outwardly through: Vision & Ambition. Creativity & Flexibility. Innovation & Collaboration. Empathy & Therapy! That short rap session is just a preview of how we’ll be weaving music into parts of the conference.

We’ve assembled a series of sessions and activities that we hope you’ll find rejuvenating, engaging, inspiring, empowering, and collaborative. Moreover, these sessions will take everyone through a common progression from interpersonal dynamics to interlocal and intergovernmental matters. We certainly hope you will find them “intertaining!”

We’ll begin Wednesday afternoon with a session on Personal and Interpersonal Wellness from Sheila Battle, of The Battlestation. Sheila is a transformational leader, change agent, and human services advocate. Her passion is to see people grow from the inside out, through practical teaching and application of basic principles. Whether managing a team or leading a workshop, her enthusiastic style motivates and inspires from the boardroom to the pulpit. Sheila’s fusion of real-life stories and her conversational techniques connect with her audiences at an intimate, intense, and individual level. A complementary session from your peers will follow.

On Thursday morning, Mr. Daniel Herriges of Strong Towns will help open our minds to more thought-provoking community development matters. Strong Towns is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media advocacy organization with the mission to “seek to replace America’s post-war pattern of development, the Suburban Experiment, with a pattern of development that is financially strong and resilient, advocate for cities of all sizes to be safe, livable, and inviting and elevate local government to be the highest level of collaboration for people working together in a place, not merely the lowest level in a hierarchy of governments.” Complementary sessions involving your peers will follow.

Finally, on Friday Ms. Carmen Mays will synthesize what we’ve learned from the first two days of the conference into a discussion of real-word application in the future of our public spaces. Ms. Mays is an urbanist and creative entrepreneur that believes in the balance of thought leadership and implementation. She affirms that all people have value, and each place holds invaluable stories. Carmen employs a place-based approach that facilitates agency and self-determination to develop blueprints that industry leaders successfully leverage. She has over a decade of public sector experience, with a significant portion of her career spent in community economic development at various local governments.

Did we also mention our lovely host hotel?! We really hope you and your families enjoy your stay at Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront and enjoy the many amenities, beach views, comfortable accommodations, and impressive decor it has to offer. It’s amazing; trust us, we checked!

Other exciting sessions and activities for the week include:

·      Dry-erase boards with engaging questions, opportunities to “doodle,” and have fun!

·      A collaborative VLGMA art project

·      A crowd-sourced VLGMA music playlist of songs that inspire and motivate your peers

·      Promoting Wellness & Self-Care – peer-led wellness activities each morning at sunrise

·      Creative Management Approaches for Celebrating our Differences and Promoting Unity

·      A Toast to the Outdoors with a View – outdoor reception

·      Outside the Box Thinking in Economic Development and Community Revitalization

·      Intergovernmental Relations in a New Era for the Virginia General Assembly

·      A New Grant Opportunity and Interlocal Best Practices in Securing Grants Collaboratively

·      A VLGMA Luau

·      Several facilitated discussions of “ah-ha moments” and takeaways

·      VLGMA Business Meeting at the conclusion of the conference on Friday

Again, we’re thrilled to host you and hope you’ll join us for these three days!

Summer Conference Co-Chairs:

J. David Conmy, Deputy County Administrator & Econ. Development Director, Sussex County

Vivian Seay, County Administrator & County Attorney, King & Queen County

VLGMA 3rd Vice-President & Professional Development Chair:

India Adams-Jacobs, Town Manager, Colonial Beach