The old adage 'you only get one chance to make a first impression' holds true especially for local government managers when they are new to a community. Any lapse in judgment or appearance of impropriety – no matter how big or small – can have lasting negative effects on the public's trust of the manager and the profession. This article presents three common situations that a manager could experience when new to a jurisdiction and provides advice on how to combat the opportunity for unethical conduct.