Arizona City/County Management Association in partnership with Arizona Public Service Company and Greenberg Traurig, Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co; and PinnacleOne will offer three full scholarships this year to ACMA members for the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Normally, two scholarships are offered. However, a cancellation from last year provides us the opportunity to provide an extra scholarship for this year! Read more

During the November 17, 2006 Executive Board Meeting, the Board of Directors voted to bring a bylaws amendment to increase the term for the Chair of the Associates' Committee. The amendment went before the membership for consideration at the February 8, 2007 Annual Business Meeting. Read more

Catherine Connolly was honored at the Winter Conference Recognition Banquet with the unveiling of ACMA's newest Award named after her to recognize Assistant City/County Managers who demonstrate exemplary service to their organization and community. Pam Kavanaugh, Assistant City Manager for the City of Glendale took home the award that night. Read more

During the Conference in Sedona, ACMA honored Lauren Krepitch as the 2007 Esser Scholar. Lauren is a Management Assistant in the Community Development Department for the Town of Queen Creek and is currently attending Graduate School at Arizona State University for her Masters in Public Administration.

William Barnow was honored at the Winter Conference as the 2007 Marvin A. Andrews Scholar. William attends Arizona State University and is working toward his Masters in Public Administration. He currently serves as the Management Intern for the Maricopa County Manager's Office. Read more

Over two hundred ACMA members from across the state converged on Sedona, Arizona to share information and hear from speakers on a wide array of topics.

The conference commenced with an Executive Leadership Seminar on Media Relations: Keeping Up With a Changing World with an opening presentation by Richard DeUriarte, former Press Secretary to the Governor of New Mexico and Editorial Writer for the Arizona Republic. The day long seminar included a press panel discussion as well as hands-on media interview training for participants. Read more

ACMA extends a special thanks to APS for sponsoring this year's Winter Golf Tournament in Sedona.

2007 ACMA/APS Tournament Champions: Read more

By Bob and Janet Denhardt

There's been a lot of talk recently about the soul or spirit of public administration. What values lie at the core of public service? What is the essential character and meaning of what we do? What is the moving force that compels our actions? What gives us strength and inspiration when the trials and turmoil of our work gets us down? These questions and other like them have, of course, been debated throughout the history of public administration in this country and elsewhere. But there seems to be more concern for these issues today than before and we seem to be finding it more difficult to come up with satisfactory answers. Read more

ICMA returns to New Orleans to present this powerful conference to help you learn how to foster community redevelopment and revitalization following a disaster. Learn how to create new approaches and constructively critique old ones; develop position papers; jump start networking opportunities among participants; facilitate real estate deal making; and provide traditional learning opportunities on cutting edge topics surrounding post-disaster recovery. Features more than 40 sessions with experts across a wide-range of topics, case studies, networking opportunities and roundtable discussions. Attendees can also attend pre-conference and post-conference training workshops and organized volunteer programs to lend support to the ongoing recovery efforts underway in the New Orleans area. Click here for more information.

Washington, D.C., - In less than six years, the City of San Antonio, Texas, has more than doubled the number of customer service calls the city receives while at the same cutting the number of calls it loses in half. The success of San Antonio's 311 system in responding to the needs of its citizens and the lessons drawn from that city's experiences with 311 are detailed in a new case study report, "San Antonio Customer Service 311 Call Center Department," released today by ICMA, the premier local government leadership and management organization. The report is the first in a series of case studies, Call 311: Connecting Citizens to Local Government. Read more

Do you have a recent promotion or transition that you would like to announce? This new section of the newsletter recognizes members who have recently been promoted or have changed organizations. If you would like your name to be featured in this section of the newsletter, please contact Mary Vinzant at 602-258-5786 or email: mvinzant@azleague.org. Read more

If you are an ACMA member in transition and would like your contact information featured in this section, please contact Mary Vinzant at 602-258-5786 or mvinzant@azleague.org.

Membership dues for in-transition members are waived for one year and in-transition members receive complimentary registration to a summer and winter conference. ACMA members are encouraged to contact these individuals to offer support and/or information about employment opportunities. Read more

Assistant Town Manager
Town of Oro Valley

Where are you originally from?
My birthplace was Oklahoma City and I was raised in Kansas City until third grade when my parents moved to Phoenix. I gained the best of both worlds - a midwesterner from the heartland, and nearly "Arizona native!" I lived away from Arizona for some years, but moved back permanently in 1994 and always called Arizona home.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in local government?
I grew up planning to serve others on a mission field, but actually started my career in business and got my undergraduate degree in that. It was my first job in the public sector when I knew this is where I belonged and felt comfortable serving. I was in my thirties at the time, so when I pursued my master's degree later, the obvious path was to get an MPA. I moved through various levels of government before making it to local government. Once here, I knew this was what I loved best--the immediacy and delivery of services working with residents where you could see the end results much of the time. Read more

Management Assistant
Town of Queen Creek

Where are you originally from?
I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA but grew up in the East Valley and attended Arizona State University.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in local government?
Local government is important as it helps preserve quality of life. Citizens work hard to afford and maintain their residences and deserve to live in a city, town, or county that upholds standards and codes to make living in that place worthwhile. My career in local government has allowed me to participate in these processes and I enjoy seeing the direct impact on citizens. Read more