This article summarizes the various in-service training program strategies employed by Escondido, California City Manager Douglas A. Clark, recipient of ICMA's 1995 In-Service Training Award in Memory of Clarence E. Ridley. ICMA's In-Service Training Award is presented to the administrator or administrators who have developed and implemented highly effective in-service training programs for local government employees. The article discusses how Mr. Clark empowered a group of mid-level managers from nearly every city department to explore ways to provide employees with a wide range of cost-effective educational training and services, the outcome of which laid the foundation for courses offered through the Escondido University.