My Fellow ICMA Members,

I have been thinking a great deal about you—and about the weight you are carrying in service to your communities.

Each day, you show up in council/commission chambers, staff meetings, and neighborhoods, navigating complex issues with care, professionalism, and resolve. 

You may not have all the answers at every moment. I know I don’t. 

And many of us may feel that we did not sign up for everything that is coming at us now. Still, because we have each other, I am confident in the steadiness of this profession—steadiness shaped by purpose, ethics, and care.

Leadership in our field has always lived in the space between law and humanity, responsibility, and empathy. That tension is not a failure of leadership. It is the work of leadership.

Often through quiet acts and without recognition or applause, you leave your communities more trusted, more whole, and more beautiful than you found them. You speak calmly with facts. You preserve dignity under tremendous pressure. You keep systems working. You treat people with kindness and care.

If the weight feels heavier now, it is because you are in the arena—absorbing it rather than passing it on. Please remember you are not alone in this work. Lean on one another.  Name the weight. Stay steady. When the moment arises—and it always does—you are already rising.

Thank you for your choice to serve others first. Thank you for the personal and professional sacrifices you are making. It is a humbling honor to serve alongside such a dedicated cohort of professionals.

As part of that service, I want to share a brief snapshot of activities and focus areas from my first four months as ICMA President:

• Participating in weekly coordination meetings with the executive director, president-elect, and past president to ensure continuity, alignment, and responsiveness.
• Attending virtual executive board meetings in December and February, and an in-person board meeting in January in Coppell, Texas, including a “Howdy Reception” with more than 150 city and county managers, assistant managers, students, board members, staff, and local elected officials.
• Ongoing listening to hearing concerns, understanding local realities, and communicating those perspectives back to the board and staff.
• Engaging with state and affiliate leaders.
• Participating in the Conference Education Committee in Long Beach, California, where more than 700 session proposals were reviewed for the annual conference—building on the strong momentum from Tampa and shaping a program centered on civic leadership, community trust, ethics, innovation, the future of work, infrastructure, and personal sustainability in public leadership.
• Attending state conferences to visit with members, including: 
  • Alaska, where managers serve in isolated communities facing extreme environmental conditions, limited workforce pools, infrastructure challenges, and remarkable resilience.
  • California, where managers across diverse regions are navigating federal program reductions, budget pressures, immigration impacts, and evolving emergency management priorities, while focusing on approachability, professionalism, and personal well‑being.
  • Florida, where significant attention has been devoted to crisis communication, decision-making under pressure, and the implications of proposed changes to property taxation for local services.
• Serving on the Regional Nominating Committee interview process for the Midwest Region.
• Serving as ICMA’s liaison to the MissionSquare Board during its February quarterly meeting.

This work continues to reinforce what I already knew: the strength of this profession lies in its people—in your integrity, your steadiness, and your care for one another and for the communities you serve.

Please take care of yourself. Take care of each other and engage with ICMA—we are better when you are involved.

With respect and appreciation,

Mike Land, City Manager, Coppell, Texas
ICMA President