ICMA is pleased to announce that David M. Limardi, recently retired city manager of Highland Park, Illinois, and a past president of ICMA, has joined the ICMA staff as the organization’s first Midwest regional director. With almost 35 years of local government service in the state of Illinois, and just as many years of active involvement on ICMA committees and the executive board, Limardi brings a wealth of local government experience and a depth of knowledge of the organization to this new position. He will help build upon ICMA’s close connections to members in the eight Midwest region states.

The Midwest becomes the second ICMA region to benefit from the leadership of an experienced ICMA member and former manager based close to the members with whom he will work. Kevin Duggan, former manager of Mountain View, California, is ICMA’s West Coast regional director. This model brings ICMA closer to the membership and to the associations of professional local government managers in each state.

For the past 100 years, the power of our profession has been our collective ability to take a vision for ethical, transparent, and effective local government, meld it with the vision of elected leaders and citizens for the future of a community and produce results that have made history,” says Limardi. “ICMA, as it approaches its 100th anniversary, has been, and continues to be, the protector of our heritage, the place where we can go to connect with our colleagues, to renew our passion for our work, and to nurture our desire for continuous improvement.”

He adds that “Working at ICMA gives me the opportunity to work with leaders excelling at the craft of motivation and innovation, working with a passion that often yields the ultimate reward, fully engaged in the moment despite the difficulty of the task. For me, the reason I decided to work at ICMA is reflected in the words of Emerson who said “The only true gift is a portion of yourself.”