By Keith Van Beek
Sitting at my desk on Valentine’s Day reflecting back on the past several weeks, I can’t help but feel proud of our professional association. For those of you who know me well, talking/writing about love or pride is not a normal practice for me. My Dutch heritage prefers more practical and unemotional pursuits. But after 21 years of marriage, my wife must be positively influencing me, and the fact that Valentine’s Day is also her birthday means I have to work extra hard at personal growth! So bear with me as I “gush” about MME.
My initial thoughts go back a few years, remembering many shared rides to Lansing for various meetings with then-president Michael Young. He was passionate about our profession, and committed to the branding initiative to best position us for the future. We had some great discussions on those rides; about the profession, stories from the past, hope for the future, about friends and family. I am honored to be entrusted by all of you to lead the association, but especially mindful to be as passionate about the work as Michael was.
I think warmly about Dale Kerbyson, our outgoing president; the thoughtfulness and class he portrayed in opening our Winter Institute in Port Huron so soon after Michael’s death, the drive to complete the branding work, and the passion for the profession. A job extremely well done Dale, thank you! That extends to our Board members – retiring, continuing to serve, and new. Thank you for your service!
I reflect on our gathering in Kalamazoo at the annual Winter Institute; reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, laughing at evening events, learning and being challenged. Thank you to Christian Wuerth as chair of the Professional Development Committee for planning the conference with his group of volunteers, and to Jim Ritsema for hosting us in Kalamazoo.
I’m excited about our future, as the work of the past two years has produced a new brand to better reflect the dynamic profession that we enjoy. While a by-product of that initiative is our new name, it is critical that we do the work to better speak to young professionals who are critical to the future of our profession.
So, are you all in with MME? We have much to be proud about, but just as much to be passionate about and invest into our profession. What is your association going to be working on this year, and what can you do to support that work? Here are just a few highlights:
- Committee Work – in addition to the Board of Directors, we have a strong group of committee chairs, vice chairs and members. I have asked each committee to review their mission and crisply define on the MME website what they focus to do and how they are going about completing that work. Please stay updated and supportive of that work, and consider joining in either this year or when the call for committees goes out again next year.
- Partnership with MML – many of you know that Colleen Layton retired last year, and we are lucky to have Summer Minnick step into the role of secretary/treasurer for MME. With annual change in our leadership, the support and institutional knowledge of Summer and her team is critical to our success. (I often joke that a board of managers is a tough board to stick with policy and not be tempted with administration!)
- MME Brand and Website – with Adam Smith leading the Advocacy Committee you can look for a “public relations” push for our message and brand. We will also continue to focus our communications around the website, and formally move away from the periodic “The Manager” newsletters to more regular communications that both keep you updated but connected to the website.
- Senior Advisors – the former “range rider” program is now the ICMA Senior Advisor program, and the Experience Committee will be expanded the number of Senior Advisors and extending the resource to all of us. Look for more information about the senior advisors and how we can all make use of that resource, and encourage our colleagues to do the same.
So thank you once again for the trust and honor you have put in me to serve this year. I commit to all of you that I will serve with passion and dedication.
Keith Van Beek, kvanbeek@miottawa.org
President, Michigan Municipal Executives; Deputy County Administrator, Ottawa County
Keith Van Beek has been the Ottawa County deputy county administrator since 2009, and was previously deputy city administrator for the city of Kentwood. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Cornerstone University. You may reach him at 616-738-4642 or kvanbeek@miottawa.org.