MME Winter Institute Conference Information
The Michigan Municipal Executives 2025 Winter Institute will bring Michigan’s municipal leaders to Bay City from January 28-31, 2025. This institute will focus on providing professional development opportunities for our members to learn and grow as municipal executives.
Registration now open
Online registration will close on Friday, January 17th at 5:00pm
MME Member: $425
MME Consultant Member: $500
First Time Winter Institute Attendee: $300 (for MME members only, consultants noneligible)
Retired Member Winter Institute Attendee: $300
Manager in Transition: (fee waived)
Emerging Leader: (fee waived)
Guest: $300 (Welcome Reception, Vendor Reception & Conference Meals)
Guest: $150 (Welcome Reception and Vendor Reception Only)
Guest: $75 (Welcome Reception Only)
Activities
Tuesday Activities
Pre-Conference Workshop (Pre-registration required)
Wednesday Activities
Executive Coaching Sessions (Pre-registration required)
Education Tours (Pre-registration required for members, no guests allowed)
- Tri-City Brewing - $20
- Economic Development - $20
- City Hall - $20
Welcome Reception & Manager’s Activity - $10 (Pre-registration required for members and guests)
Thursday Activities
Executive Coaching Sessions (Pre-registration required)
Early Career Outreach Dinner - $10 (Pre-registration required, affiliate/consultant members are not eligible to attend)
Vendor Reception (Pre-registration required for members and guests)
Location
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bay City – Riverfront
One Wenonah Park Place
Bay City, MI 48708
Registration
To register online, visit my.mml.org and follow the instructions provided on the login page. Once you have logged in, you can register by navigating to “Event Registration” using the menu on the left-hand side of the page.
Tuesday, January 28
| 12 – 4 p.m. | Registration Open | |
| 1 – 4 p.m. | Pre-Conference Workshop - Creating a Coaching Organization for Growth and Excellence
This course equips leaders with the tools to build a culture that fosters growth and excellence through coaching. Participants will learn how to establish a coaching framework within their leadership tool kit. We lean on our leadership team for their subject matter expertise, but we also want to grow their ability to lead. Coaching helps build capacity and builds leaders for tomorrow. Each participant will leave with a tool kit to take back with them. Speaker
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Wednesday, January 29
| 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Registration Open |
| 8 – 9 a.m. | Networking Breakfast |
| 8 – 9 a.m. | First Time Attendees Breakfast Meetup
First-Time Attendees – Welcome to your first MME Winter Institute! Grab coffee and your breakfast to get a jump start on networking. Plenty of friendly faces will be here to help you make the most of your conference experience and your MME membership! |
| 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Executive Coaching Sessions (Pre-registration required)
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| 9 – 10:15 a.m. | Opening General Session - Legislative Update
Legislative staff from the Michigan Municipal League will present an update on local government issues being addressed in Lansing. Speakers
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| 10:15 – 10:45 a.m. | Networking Break |
| 10:45 - 11:45 a.m. | Breakout Sessions
Road Funding: Leading Your Community to Better Roads Funding across the state continues to fall behind on necessary investments to maintain adequate roads. Managers are best positioned to lead their communities in educating the council/board and citizens about the problems and possible solutions. This session will discuss the available options for road funding, case studies, and educational aspects to start the discussions to a better road future. Speaker
Establishing an Effective Working Relationship with Your City Attorney A city attorney can be a key asset and resource in running a successful city government. Developing a positive working relationship with them can be critical to your city’s progress and achievements. In this session, a city attorney with over 30 years of experience in working with city managers and other municipal executives will provide insights into the role, duties, and ethical obligations of a city attorney. Learn how to develop an effective and positive working relationship to achieve the maximum benefit for your administration and community. Speaker
What to Expect as the First Ever Manager in a Small to Mid-Size Township Many townships throughout Michigan are beginning to embrace the council-manager form of government and investigating what that means for their community. Often, these first-time township manager roles are fraught with conflict. As such, the struggles and unique role first-time managers play in these communities are complicated, nuanced, and professionally challenging. In this session, you will learn from three accomplished managers who have all held the position of first ever township manager in their respective communities. You will hear highlights of lessons learned and how to avoid major pitfalls. Speakers
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| 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. | Networking Lunch |
| 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. | General Session - 13 Ways to Kill Your Relationships: A Conversation with Peers
Reflecting on 20 years as a local government professional, boss, mentor, employee, husband, father, friend, and many other titles, 13 Ways to Kill Your Relationships spilled from a 0.5 mm Pentel mechanical pencil (yes, a pencil). These observations, although maybe not unique, can serve as a framework for authentic self/group reflection and growth. Speaker
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| 2:15 – 2:45 p.m. | Networking Break |
| 2:30 – 4 p.m. | Education Tours |
| 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
Employee Benefit Best Practices to Recruit and Retain Talent Join Holland City Manager and MERS Board Chair Keith VanBeek along with MERS Lead Regional Manager Marne Daggett for a discussion around recruiting quality employees and communicating the value of a comprehensive retirement package to engage staff. We’ll discuss innovative strategies and best practices for creating benefit plans that meet the diverse needs of your workforce, including strategies you can use to boost retirement readiness through thorough plan design, employee communication, and education. Speakers
Building Your Efficiency Toolbox We all want to make the most of the benefits trickling in from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the state of Michigan to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without a solid plan, you can’t effectively bring in the funds. In this session you will learn strategies to create a plan, become empowered to take action and collect data to measure the outcomes. Speakers
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| 5 – 7 p.m. | Welcome Reception (Pre-registration required)
Pere Marquette Depot Enjoy a drink and a snack while networking with colleagues in a relaxed setting! |
Thursday, January 30
| 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Registration Open |
| 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Executive Coaching Sessions (Pre-registration required)
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| 8 – 9 a.m. | Networking Breakfast |
| 9 – 9:30 a.m. | Opening Remarks, MME Awards & Recognition & ICMA Update |
| 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | General Session - Whole Reset for Whole Wellness Part Deux: Recharging Your Nervous System for Resilience and Performance
When was the last time you felt appreciated at work? Do you remember the last intense conversation with an elected official when you felt attacked? Explore a "Whole Reset" through a nervous system focus, learning techniques like deep breathing, mindful rest, and stress management to reduce triggers, improve sleep, and increase clarity. Speakers
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| 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Networking Break |
| 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Breakout Sessions
Whole Reset for Whole Wellness: Building Your Personalized Wellness Action Plan Building on the foundational insights from Whole Reset for Whole Wellness Part Deux: Recharging Your Nervous System for Resilience and Performance, this interactive session offers attendees an invaluable opportunity to deepen their understanding, connect with peers, and create a personalized wellness action plan. Speakers
Recent Headwinds in Healthcare This session will review the changes and trends in employer-based, public sector healthcare benefits. We will discuss financial, strategic, and resource allocation for multiple topics including overall trend, IRA, Rx (including GLP-1), PA 152, and other topics. Speaker
You Have to Be the Bigger Person: Emotional Resilience and Positive Outcomes in the Face of Incivility In this era of public service, transparency, accountability, engagement, and inclusivity are the expectations. This session is dedicated to exploring the multifaceted nature of discourse in public meetings. While some people provide candid yet considerate feedback, others may offer brutal, demeaning, and harsh critiques, both online and in person. This session emphasizes the importance of civil discourse amid different perspectives. Administrators must adapt their responses when engaging with constituencies ensuring that their communication reflects empathy, cultural awareness, and separates their personal identity from their positional power. Speakers
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| 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. | Networking Lunch & MME Annual Membership Meeting |
| 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. | General Session - Strategic Relationship Management: Harnessing Your Inner Leslie Knope
Relationships are the cornerstone of life. As municipal leaders you have to manage complex relationships with elected officials, your team, partners and neighbors. This session will walk through ways to create and nurture successful relationships while maintaining your passion for communities Speaker
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| 2:15 – 2:45 p.m. | Networking Break |
| 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | Breakout Sessions
Muskegon Infill Housing: How It Started, How It’s Going Muskegon has successfully completed two phases of infill housing and is planning a third. The first iterations also resulted in private-sector housing construction. Muskegon staff will discuss what we’ve learned, changed, and our plans for the future. The discussion will also review program administration and the use of state regulations. Speakers
How to Keep the Chaos at Bay: Ensuring Seamless Transitions by Supporting Remaining Staff In the dynamic environment of local government, the departure or retirement of key staff in Finance, HR, and IT can pose significant challenges. This presentation will provide actionable strategies to set up your organization for a smooth transition during these critical times. Speakers
Into the Frying Pan on Your First Day? This session will provide a case study in bringing down the polarization of an issue that was starting to divide the community and create division of the commission. The Wilson Community Center Project was a flashpoint of two basic governmental principles, fiscal responsibility, and government services. Find out how this project was reset, re-educated, and resurrected via the development of a strategic educational, marketing, and PR plan. Speaker
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| 4 – 5:30 p.m. | Vendor Reception (Pre-registration required)
Connect with the 2025 Winter Institute vendors at this networking event. Help yourself to appetizers and drinks while you learn how our vendors can support your communities. |
| 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. | Past Presidents Dinner (Invitation only)
Old City Hall |
| 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. | Early Career Outreach Dinner (Pre-registration required)
Sponsored by Municipal Financial Consultants, Inc. |
Friday, January 31
| 8 – 9 a.m. | Networking Breakfast |
| 9 – 10:05 a.m. | General Session - Communicating for Influence: How to Improve Workplace Communication for Greater Collaboration
Effective communication is the most important skill any manager or supervisor can possess. In this session, you’ll learn practical strategies and tactics to improve communication with colleagues, boost productivity, create better working relationships, and cultivate a more positive culture. Speakers
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| 10:05 – 10:15 a.m. | Networking Break |
| 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. | Closing General Session - Mentor-Mentee Relationships Know no Bounds
We talk a lot about how important mentorship is, but we don’t often discuss how to do it well. This session will provide attendees with takeaways on what worked, what did not work, how the mentors and mentees found each other, how to get started, how to know when it’s done (if ever), and how to set expectations and goals to be accomplished. Speakers
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| 11:15 a.m. | Closing Comments |
More information coming soon!
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Bay City – Riverfront
One Wenonah Park Place
Bay City, MI 48708
Guestrooms available for $129 per night (plus taxes)
Book Online or call (989) 891-6000 to make reservations.
The cut-off date for the hotel room block is set for Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
Become a Sponsor
2025 Winter Institute sponsorship is closed. Look for details for the 2025 Summer Workshop coming this spring!
For a full listing of MME’s Annual Sponsorship Opportunities, click here.
Purpose
Michigan Municipal Executives (MME) is committed to enabling events at which everyone can participate in an inclusive, respectful, and safe environment. MME events are guided by the highest ethical and professional standards based upon the ICMA Code of Ethics, and all participants are expected to behave with integrity and respect towards all participants attending or involved with any MME Event.
Visit www.mme.org to review the MME Meetings & Conferences Code of Conduct.