Join us on the web on Thursday, December 6, at 10:00 a.m. for a media relations webinar entitled "The Bad News Bear...Effective Media Relations When the News is Unflattering, Unpopular, or Unappealing!" Read more

In 2008, there will be five seats open on the ACMA Board. Please review the following information carefully.

Nominating Committee
Per the ACMA by-laws, a Nominating Committee has been selected to recommend a slate of ACMA Executive Board members for consideration by the membership at the Annual Business Meeting. The 2008 Nominating Committee is composed of Gayle Mabery, Clarkdale; George Pettit, Gilbert; Mary Jacobs, Sierra Vista; and Andrea Costello, Sedona. Read more

Congratulations to the following ACMA members and local communities that received special recognition at the recent ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh:
Read more

By James H. Svara
Professor, School of Public Affairs, and Director, Center for Urban Innovation Arizona State University

What do members of the "next generation" think about their careers? There is widespread recognition of the generational change that will be occurring in the personnel in local government. In separate but related efforts, the Alliance for Innovation and the ICMA Strategic Planning Committee are seeking to identify the major forces shaping change in local government. Generational turnover is certainly one of them. There is much discussion and many actions being taken to attract a new generation of professionals to local government in general and to prepare to become city and county managers in particular. It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to figure out how to entice young people to pursue the same career path for the same reasons as earlier generations. It appears that young professionals have different attitudes about careers that must be taken into account in developing effective recruitment and development plans. Read more

Nominations for the following awards are now being accepted:

2008 John J. DeBolske Professional Excellence Award
2008 Catherine F. Connolly Award
2008 Associate's Award for Excellence in Leadership
2008 Life Membership

Click on the above links to download the nomination forms. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact ACMA.

By Charlie McClendon
City Manager, Avondale

I was fortunate to be able to participate in the Senior Executives program this summer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. First let me say thank you to ACMA and the selection committee members who awarded me a scholarship to attend. The program was fantastic and I will always be grateful to ACMA for the opportunity to be a part of it. Read more

Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator
City of Chandler

Where are you originally from?
A very small town in Southeast Iowa, but I have been in the Phoenix area for a long time. A friend of mine and I wanted to move away from Iowa so we put about two dozen city names in a bowl and picked one out. We moved here on a whim and I have been here ever since. It really has been the land of opportunity for me.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in local government?
My dad was the mayor of my hometown so I grew up with the understanding that local government has real value to people on a day-to-day level. I had done a variety of jobs as I worked my way through my bachelor's and master's degrees. It wasn't until I got an internship at the Legislature that I realized I really enjoy public policy issues. When the job at Chandler came up, it just seemed like a very good fit for me --and, after all these years-- local government has never failed to challenge me. Read more

City Manager
City of Show Low

Where are you originally from?
Although I was born in Phoenix, I was raised in Show Low, so I consider Show Low my hometown.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in local government?
My previous occupation required a lot of travel and I wanted to settle down and raise a family. I read about an opening at the City of Show Low, was hired, and have worked in local government for the past 19 years. Read more

Shane Dille
sdille@gmail.com

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. ACMA members are encouraged to contact these individuals to offer support and/or information about employment opportunities.

Active
Edward Muder, City Manager, City of Show Low
Orlando Moreno, Chief Executive Officer, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

Associate
Amber Cole, Management Assistant II, City of Phoenix
Lisa Garcia, Town Clerk, Town of Florence
Claudia Lujan, Senior Human Resources Consultant, City of Peoria
Sylvia Jane Silva, Human Resources Director, City of Coolidge

Student
Chad Ryan Anderson, City of Tucson
Catherine Gerl
Jessena Serese Godfrey, City of Tucson
Alexis G. Silva, University of Arizona
Stephen Sparks
Nicole Urban-Lopez
Robert C. Valdez, University of Arizona