This month, our featured user is Richard Hoon, Assistant to the City Manager for Community Relations for the City of Eustis, FL since 2004. As Richard says, his job can be simplified to “Communications.” Known by his colleagues as a “Jack of all trades,” he performs complex professional level community relations and general public information activities, develops news media campaigns and strategies, acts as a liaison with other agencies, public groups and citizen committees, and attends and serves as the City’s spokesperson to media, partnerships and other intergovernmental agencies. As a member of the Executive Management Team, Richard also leads special projects teams such as the Eustis Public Sculpture Program, the Street Banner Program, and all marketing / branding efforts. Richard is also the City’s webmaster, and has implemented and maintains the City’s presence on Facebook and Twitter, making Eustis one of the first municipalities in Florida to do so.

Richard is a retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer who was in the Navy from 1984-2004. He’s currently working on his MPA from Ashford University which he expects to complete in July 2011, and received a Bachelor of the Arts in Organizational Management from Ashford in 2009.

Eustis, FL, incorporated in 1883, has a population of approximately 18,000, and is in the Orlando metropolitan area. It is dedicated to furthering its superior arts and culture community, boasting one of the largest public sculpture programs in the State of Florida. This past April, Eustis began the “Downtown Streetscape Construction Project” with a goal of revitalizing its downtown business district and further developing the economy. The project, set to be completed in October, will yield two-way traffic, 14 inch sidewalks, as well as improvements in pedestrian access, traffic circulation, and drainage. Additionally, the City will be launching a $6.5 million stormwater project in early 2011, for which it has already been awarded $3 million in stormwater grants. Eustis was also the Florida League of Cities’ 2009 City Spirit Award Winner, and is the home of NASA astronaut David M. Walker, Dr. Edgar Banks, who was the inspiration for Indiana Jones, and professional athletes Joe Burnett (football), Solomon Jones (basketball), and Jonathan Lucroy (baseball).

Richard calls his job unique, challenging and fulfilling, but his favorite part of the job is that it gives him the ability to make a difference in the community. He loves working in Eustis as well, because he has been able to work at creating “a dynamic environment of hometown spirit, community awareness, and most importantly, community involvement in local government.” Furthermore, Richard appreciates the transparency of the daily actions of Eustis’ government, as it allows him and others to maintain this type of environment.

Every week, Richard uses the Knowledge Network several times. The parts of the site that he likes most are the employment availability listings and the vast amount of information contained within the various topics, through which he searches frequently for research. He also likes the questions section, which allows him to obtain the opinions and past actions of other professionals, saving time and resources in many aspects of job.

http://icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/people/contact/425016