By Rebecca Fleury
The first month of my Presidency has gone quickly. A big thank you to all the members and retirees who reached out to offer congratulations, support, and words of advice. Your words mean more than I could ever communicate eloquently. I must also thank John Shay for his leadership in 2020; a year like no other. He guided us through unchartered territory and helped acclimate me to the role of President.
For those of you who do not know me, I am in my sixth year of serving in Battle Creek as their city manager and I am in my 22nd year in local government. I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Matt, for 32 years in May. Our favorite things to do are camping, cycling, and spending time with family and friends. We have two adult children, our son, Ryan, and his wife, Elainie, both graduated from Ferris State and they live in Battle Creek and are expecting their first child (my first grandchild!), a boy, this month. Our daughter, Jamie, lives in Grand Rapids and works downtown at a law firm and is a proud graduate of GVSU and the Cook Leadership Academy.
My first month also allowed me the privilege to meet with our committee chairs. They are:
- Advocacy – Matt Baumgarten, City of Berkley
- Early Career Outreach – Justin Breyer, City of Dexter
- Ethics – Nathan Henne, City of Owosso
- Experience – Al Vanderberg, Ottawa County
- Member Success – Mitch Foster, City of Ludington
- Professional Development – Aaron Desentz, City of Eaton Rapids
I look forward to working with each committee chair as they advance their work this year. They rely on their committee members to help advance this work, so if you are a committee member, please roll up your sleeves and lend them a hand. There is plenty of work to go around. I hope that work sees us all together, in-person, at the summer workshop. If not, we look forward to another outstanding virtual event put on by the Professional Development Committee, and we will plan to gather at Winter Institute 2022.
There are many issues our members are passionate about and I appreciate the various questions, comments, and concerns raised. Be assured the Board and I take each one of them seriously, and we do our best to be responsive and transparent. There are going to be times we disagree, but as we do in our jobs, we do so with grace and understanding.
My primary goal this year is implementing our Strategic Plan. It provides an MME road map for the next couple of years. The first steps will be the formation of the three task forces. Members responded in great numbers to our call for volunteers to serve on either the Listserv, Regional Groups or Staffing Support task force. We had 53 volunteers! Thank you!
I will appoint Task Force Chairs and assign one member of the Board to each task force, as we do with our committees. The Chairs will meet with the Executive Committee to outline the task force goals as identified in the Strategic Plan (and shared with members on the listserv) and through questions already raised, as well as timelines. They will then reach out to their task force members and work will begin. The final product may be a recommendation(s) to the Board for consideration.
Calendar year 2021 still finds us in the COVID-19 pandemic and I applaud all of you for continuing to serve your communities and provide municipal services under challenging circumstances. As Michigan Municipal Executives, we are ready for anything!
Rebecca Fleury
President, Michigan Municipal Executives
City Manager, Battle Creek
Rebecca Fleury has served in local government management for 21 years, specializing in the areas of public finance, community development and public safety. She has served as the city manager for Battle Creek since October 2014, and also served in the City of Kalamazoo, the City of Hastings and the Village of Middleville. She is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and is a Credentialed Manager through ICMA, as well as an active member of the Michigan Municipal Executives serving on several committees, and chair of the Professional Development Committee. You may reach her at rlfleury@battlecreekmi.gov.