Michigan Municipal Executives

Engaging Local Leaders

Race & Community Relations

This year we tried something new at Convention – Meet-Ups – and it seems to have sparked a lot of talk at the event and beyond. Meet-Ups offer an opportunity for small groups of people to gather informally and have a conversation on a topic of interest. The Meet-Ups were held in a variety of comfortable, relaxed settings in and around the Grand Hotel, including the Jockey Club, the parlor, and the hotel’s fabulous porch overlooking Lake Michigan. Topics included:

• Civic Innovation and Public Engagement
• League Technology
• Michigan Municipal Executives
• Race and Community Relations
• MEDC Follow-up
• Engaging Local Leaders
• Membership Engagement
• Municipal Finance
• Regional Transit
• The Little City That Could

Some Meet-Ups – like Civic Innovation and Engaging Local Leaders – were follow-ups to General Sessions or Breakouts. Conventioneers who headed to these groups had a chance to delve into the topic a little deeper with the presenters and ask questions specific to their community. In the Engaging Local Leaders, led by presenters Bridget Doyle (community relations director, Sterling Heights) and Kirsten Wyatt (executive director and co-founder, Engaging Local Government Leaders), much of the discussion centered on the challenges and opportunities involved in hiring millennials in local government. Wyatt said it takes an innovative city manager to realize the potential in bringing millennials into leadership positions.

Other Meet-Ups covered a  range of relevant topics. For those who joined the Michigan Municipal Executives Meet-Up, led by MME president Dale Kerbyson, the initial subject was the rationale behind the organization’s recent name change and how the branding will roll out. But two councilmembers from Harper Woods concerned about succession planning in their community found it a convenient time to tap into the wisdom of the seasoned city managers gathered around the table.

At the Community and Race Relations Meet-Up, discussion leader Lois Allen Richardson, Ypsilanti mayor pro tem, reminded the group that the top is off the race relations box so we need to deal with it at every level. Many in this group then chimed in with programs and initiatives – such as Diversity Dinners – that they have set in motion in their communities to develop positive race relations.

All of these Meet-Ups seem to have generated interesting conversations, so we just may do this again. Start thinking of some cool topics that will create conversational buzz at a future event!