After two decades of service to the ICMA Senior Advisors program, Greg Bielawski has retired as of June 30, 2022. He is retiring as a Senior Advisor for the Illinois City/County Management Association (ILCMA) and the Chicago Metro region and as ICMA’s Senior Advisor Coordinator.

Senior Advisors (SAs) are retired city managers and assistants who volunteer their time and lend their experience and confidential counsel in support of ICMA members. It’s truly a noble mission. As you can imagine, it would take a very special person to lead this group of honorable members, and Greg Bielawski is that person. For 17 of the 48 years that the Senior Advisors program has been in existence, Greg has been at the helm as the national SA program coordinator, acting as a liaison between SAs, ICMA, and state local government associations. As Kevin Duggan states, “If you find it challenging to work with and be responsive to five or seven elected officials, can you imagine trying to coordinate the efforts of 100 or so former city managers and 29 state partners? Greg Bielawski has done just that with skill, dedication, and effectiveness. He has been a stable, steady presence, helping to anchor incoming SAs in the program and helping long-serving SAs continue their support of members navigating the sometimes turbulent waters of local government service.”

The development and maintenance of these key relationships with the SAs and state partners required effective and timely communication and coordination. In many respects, the credibility and reputation of the program rested on Greg’s shoulders. Whether coordinating quarterly SA calls, planning annual meetings during ICMA conferences (and ensuring SA program presence in the exhibit hall), compiling quarterly activity reports, or providing information to prospective SAs and state partners, Greg’s commitment to the success of the program was always apparent.

Range Riders to Senior Advisors

According to Kevin, one of Greg’s greatest accomplishments as program coordinator was the total refresh and rebranding of the program in 2014 (in conjunction with the program’s fortieth anniversary). While the most visible change was transitioning the program name from “Range Riders” to “Senior Advisors,” the program guidelines were comprehensively reviewed and updated. Greg coordinated the efforts of a committee composed of individuals representing the program participants, the state partners, and ICMA members in general. Greg’s skill at finding consensus was critical to the successful outcome of the effort. He then shepherded through the necessary program updates with the state partners. These changes positioned the program and its partners to better to serve managers and members in all states that participate in the program.

Growing the Program

Mark McDaniel, ICMA-CM (retired), remarked that Greg was an incredible source of support, wisdom, and advocacy over the years. When serving on the ICMA executive board as membership chair in 2014–2015, one of Mark’s areas of focus was enhancing existing SA programs in several states and establishing more SA programs in states where no such program existed. Having already established and attempted to establish SA programs in numerous states, Greg was keenly aware of the steps and hurdles involved. “Together, and really under his humble direction, we went about enhancing programs and establishing new programs, including in my home state of Texas,” said Mark. As a result of Greg’s help and leadership, Texas now has a half-dozen SAs and the program has become an integral and strategic part of the state’s support for city managers, as well as a keystone in the strong ICMA/TCMA working relationship. “Simply put,” says Mark, “This would not have happened without Greg’s servant leader approach to the relationship and his many years of experience and wisdom regarding the Senior Advisor program.”

Commitment, Caring Nature, and Compassionate Advocacy

Rosalyn “Roz” Ceasar, senior program manager at ICMA and administrator of the ICMA Senior Advisor program, worked closely with Greg over the years. “There are a number of wonderful qualities about Greg that have played a part in his positive contribution to the program.”

The first she mentioned is his unwavering commitment. “He always reaches out early in the year without fail to discuss potential agenda items for SA meetings. Greg is always thinking ahead about the needs of SAs. Once he identifies an area for discussion (or a need), he remains laser-focused throughout the year in making this a priority for all.” Second, Roz spoke about Greg’s care and concern for SAs. “You can see this in his consistent outreach to SAs who may be experiencing a life challenge, such as an illness or the death of a loved one. His dedication is also evident in the way he makes himself readily available for both SAs and ICMA staff. There are over 100 SAs, but we have never heard that someone did not get a call back from him or was unable to reach him!” A third wonderful quality that Roz points out about Greg is his posture as an advocate for SAs. “He invariably seeks clarification and direction from ICMA on behalf of SAs where needed. He makes a concerted effort to ensure that strategies for resolution meet ICMA ethics standards so that he can provide clarity for SAs facing complex and nuanced scenarios.”

An Admirable Career and Beyond

Greg has had a full 55-year career in local government, in addition to his two years of service in the U.S. Army. Dawn Peters describes how Greg impacted the SA program in Illinois. Upon his retirement from local government, Greg was recruited by Bob Morris, one of the first ICMA/ILCMA Range Riders (now called Senior Advisors), to help cover the Chicago Metro area. He was very active in ILCMA during his career, having served on the IML Managers Committee and the ILCMA Board, eventually working his way up to the role of ILCMA president in 1986. He was the recipient of an ILCMA Special Service Award, and in 2002, was recognized with the ILCMA Robert B. Morris Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Life Member of ICMA and was honored with the ICMA Distinguished Service Award in 2011.

Not only has Greg been recognized by these two professional associations for his contributions, the village of Carol Stream honored Greg when he retired by naming the Carol Stream Village Hall the “Gregory J. Bielawski Municipal Center.” This is an honor for which Greg is especially proud. At the February ILCMA Board meeting, they voted to rename the ILCMA Service to the Profession Award as the “Gregory J. Bielawski Service to the Profession Award.”

Greg has given so much to professional local government management throughout his career, and upon retirement, he continued to give to the profession through the ICMA/ILCMA Senior Advisors program. He noted in his resignation letter, “I tell all new Senior Advisors that they will find this to be one of the most rewarding activities in their local government professional life. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the program since 2002, and I hope I have provided support and guidance that ILCMA members find valuable and that ILCMA deems valuable as well.”

We are all indebted to Greg for his unrelenting and tireless work to champion ICMA, to support our members, and to build bridges with state associations across the United States and elsewhere. Greg’s selfless provision of time, attention, and energy to the Senior Advisor program, ICMA, the state partner associations, and professionals across the country is not only an example to be emulated, but has had a lasting impact that will continue to serve thousands of local government managers long into the future.