By Aaron Desentz
We are just a couple of short weeks away from the 2022 Winter Institute. This year we are in Troy, Michigan, January 25-28. Make sure that you have booked your lodging. You do not want to miss this conference. Registration information can be found here.
The Professional Development Committee has put together a conference with a wide offering of topics. Ethics will be a reoccurring theme throughout the conference. The opening keynote will focus on Troy as a case study. How has this community changed the culture and reinstated trust in the government following a very public ethical dilemma involving a previous city manager? We will find out all of this and more. Plus, more content related to ethics from many of our fellow city managers.
Another theme you will see is in teamwork. We will have several sessions dedicated to building a team, leading a team, and finding partnerships outside of our organizations. There will be a variety of other sessions throughout the conference from finance to recruiting to community round table discussions. As always, the conference will offer something for everybody.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2022, PDC has several offerings. Following the success of 2021, the PDC will host two (2) more single-day training sessions. These sessions will be in the spring and fall each year moving forward. The date and topic are still yet to be decided. A survey to gauge member interest in particular topics will be sent out to the membership. I encourage everyone to take part in the survey as the feedback will be valuable to providing future professional development offerings.
Lastly, our Summer Workshop will be hosted in beautiful Holland, Michigan. The Summer Workshop will be from July 19th through the 22nd. The PDC team has been working with our friends in Holland to ensure a wonderful time for everyone.
Aaron Desentz
Chair, Professional Development Committee
Mt. Pleasant City Manager
Aaron Desentz began his career in public administration in the Village of Shelby as the village administrator in 2013. Following that, Aaron served as the city manager in Leslie and later in Eaton Rapids. He became Mt. Pleasant City Manager in 2021. Over that period of time, Aaron has served as a volunteer firefighter, a certified zoning administrator through Michigan State University, and as an assessor. He spends most of his free time working. He can be reached at adesentz@cityofeatonrapids.com..