R. Marvin Townsend will be presented with a 55-year ICMA Service Award at this year’s ICMA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. When Townsend, executive director of the Texas Municipal League, reflects on his career he recalls how he first heard about ICMA. “As a student at Cornell University with an emphasis in economics and government, I became interested in Cornell’s then Business and Public Administration Program, and obtained an MPA with an emphasis in city management. Professor Hillhouse took the city management students to the ICMA conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to introduce us to ICMA.” Once introduced to ICMA, he remained connected as his career progressed. When he took an administrative aide job in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1956, Russell McClure was the city manager, and ICMA president. In 1960 Townsend became Corpus Christi’s first assistant city manager, and in 1968 he was appointed city manager.

Although, he’s been active in the profession for a long time, Townsend says he doesn’t notice very many changes“The profession hasn’t really changed that much. Maybe we spend too much time thinking about it. The profession is providing local government administration services that the public wants, needs, and is willing to finance. It must be based on good communications with the governing body, and good communications with employees, whether it is through the cable, newsletters, TV programs, newspaper articles, the Internet, or face-to-face, only the tools have really changed, not the profession.”

Whatever changes remain in store for the local government profession, Townsend is grateful for the role he’s played “I am privileged to have been able to serve Corpus Christi and Laredo for 33 years and the 2,740 local government members of the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool these last 22 years”.

Townsend joined ICMA in 1955 and values his membership. “ICMA has been a solid resource throughout my career since my first job in Corpus Christi in 1956.  Its Code of Ethics and publications helped me through the challenges of being Laredo’s first city manager. Thus receiving ICMA recognition is meaningful and appreciated.”