Shortly after Tom Bonfield accepted the position as Durham’s City Manager in 2009, he challenged the steering team of DurhamFirst to create a “Culture of Service” in our organization. When Tom talks about Culture of Service, he speaks about the choice to work in public service, the ability of every employee to make a difference in the lives of citizens and the community, and the opportunity we have to look back at the end of our careers and realize that what we did matters.

The steering team took up the challenge and has built the Culture of Service initiative on the foundation of DurhamFirst. This avoids “flavor of the month” associations and highlights the importance and staying power of DurhamFirst. The Culture of Service initiative provides varied and numerous pathways for employees to connect their idea of “service” to their life’s purpose at work.