McCordsville, Indiana<br />When a town manager is engaged and monitoring events that can affect her jurisdiction, changes can be managed with little disruption or opposition. This is evidenced by the successful annexation of about 1,000 acres of land and five miles of road by McCordsville, Indiana, that helped the mostly residential community respond to and prepare…

Take a moment and think back to your first job as an adult. What were you looking for? You probably hoped to find a stable job with good benefits in an organization where you could grow, make a decent living, and retire after many years of service. Well, I’m here to tell you that priorities…

Morgantown, Kentucky<br />As the first CAO in Morgantown, KY, Jerrod Barks was facing some serious challenges for the town of 2,500 that lost 60 jobs and was saddled with a large amount of debt when Kentucky Copper went bankrupt. But instead of guessing or acting on anecdotal information, he conducted a survey, researched deeply, and came up…

Life, Well Run received a wonderful response to the call for Community Hero Nominations. Nominees were submitted from across the country including states such as Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New York, Nevada, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Heroes come from all roles in local government, from waste collector to assistant city manager, from police officer to the…

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania<br />If anyone were to doubt that being a professional manager is akin to the role of a corporate chief executive officer, one need only to look at Chambersburg, PA and the scope of ongoing and completed projects accomplished in recent years.  From operating its own utilities, implementing award-winning “green’ programs, and launching plans for…

As a young man, I remember the impact on my career of people who were willing to take a chance on me.