How long have you been an FCCMA member and why did you join?
I joined in 2019.
Are you an ICMA member? Why did you join, and how long have you been a member?
Yes. I joined ICMA because it is the premier professional organization representing the interests of those that have joined the profession of public service across the globe. I’ve been a member since 2011.
Please describe your areas of formal/advanced education.
Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration
Master’s degree in Public Administration
Why did you select a career in public service?
Ever since I was 17 years old, I’ve been in public service in one capacity or another. I enjoy helping to make a community and its quality of life better for current and future generations. I don’t think you get that level of satisfaction working for the private sector, unless you own your own business. There is a great deal of satisfaction one gets when driving by a park, fire station, arena or community center and saying “You see that? I got to work on or lead that project.” Making money doesn’t motivate me, seeing the lives of people improve or enriched is what gets me going.
Have you always been in the public sector, or have you had experience in the private sector?
Outside of a brief period working for a for-profit hospital while I was in college at the University of Houston, my entire professional career has been dedicated to public service.
Please tell us about your current position and give a brief job description if you are not a City Administrator/Manager.
Right now, I am fortunate to be the assistant city manager for the City of Lakeland. I have previously served as city manager for Savannah, Georgia and Cape Coral, Florida. Right now, I work for a dynamic and energetic city manager, Shawn Sherrouse, along with the deputy city manager, Emily Colon. I am assigned to oversee our convention, sports and entertainment center, public works, human resources, Lakeland Linder International Airport, internal audit, and retirement services. Lakeland is a mid-sized city with big city amenities experiencing rapid growth. So, it’s a great time to be here.
Please describe your typical day.
My typical day starts in the office before anyone else arrives. I like to be out front and control my day rather than reacting to events. I’m a big news junkie, so the first half hour or so I devote to scouring various news sites, ICMA, FCCMA, and FLC to see what has happened overnight. I live by a strict schedule and my days are usually pre-planned two to three weeks in advance. By the time others arrive in the office, I have already been up to speed with the latest news, read my e-mails and rocking and rolling along.
What is your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part of the job is working on projects that help transform a neighborhood or make life better for the community. I look back fondly on projects that I worked on while I was the deputy county manager in Fulton County, Georgia where we opened fire stations, parks, an amphitheater, cultural arts facilities and so forth. Projects such as these have a long-lasting impact on a community and I am fortunate to have participated in these types of projects in Fulton County, Savannah, Coral Springs, Broward County and Cape Coral. A close second favorite aspect of the job helping the next generation of public administrators grow as professionals by helping guide or mentor them along.
What is your least favorite part of the job?
The least favorite part of the job is dealing with petty politics. Sometimes it feels like we are back in middle school as we deal with the time-consuming and distracting politics from various sources. The growth in social media and erosion of public courtesy and bad behavior are right up there with the political shenanigans we must deal with on a constant basis.
If you are involved in any volunteer or leadership activities in your community, please share with us a bit about what you do and why it is important to you.
I enjoy volunteering at special events, food drives and so forth. It’s not unusual to see me staffing a food or beverage concession or distributing boxes of food to those in need. I take great satisfaction in rolling my sleeves up with other volunteers and employees at these types of events. They helped keep me grounded in reality and allow me to never take myself too seriously or make me believe that I was more important than anyone else.
What is your most memorable experience on the job?
Hard to pick just one, but I think my most memorable experience was leading the effort to revitalize the Fulton Industrial District just outside of downtown Atlanta. In 2008, the once bustling area of more than 50 million square feet of industrial uses was overcome by street level crime, public disorder, and blighted conditions. With the support of the county manager, Zach Williams, we set out to “take-back the boulevard”. It took a lot of work and sustained coordination over several years, but I’m happy to say that as of today, the District has returned to its prominence as one of the largest warehousing, manufacturing and distribution centers east of the Mississippi River.
What are your hobbies/interests?
You can’t keep me from a cruise ship. Here in Florida, we have so many cruise ports to travel from so whenever my wife and I get a chance, you’ll find us on a NCL or Royal Caribbean ship somewhere.
If you could give one piece of advice to people interested in a career in public service, what would it be?
My advice to those interested in public service would be for them to learn as much as possible about public service, diversify their knowledge and experience, and never grow stagnate in a certain position or field. The beauty of public service is the wide expanse of activities that public organizations are involved in – from A to Z – animal control to zoning. There is so much to learn. Newcomers should learn all they can and shouldn’t be afraid to move around the organization, either up or down, or laterally to gain experience. This will make their professional journey more fulfilling by serving and trying out different roles.
The question I would pose to a seasoned manager if I could turn back the hands of time would be how did they manage the petty politics that come with serving in a leadership role?
Who were your mentors and how have you passed this information down to other aspiring public administrators?
I’ve worked alongside some exceptionally smart and capable leaders throughout my career including Jack Osterholt, Bertha Henry and Kathy C. Harris in Broward County; Zachary Williams in Fulton County; and Erdal Donmez in Coral Springs. These individuals gave me the opportunity and space earlier in my career to make things happen and succeed. None of them were insecure nor afraid of failure. They each assigned me difficult projects and stayed out of my way. The confidence they had in me was much appreciated and I enjoyed working for all of them.
What career would you pick if you were to pick another?
I think I would rather drive a school bus. It’s quieter and less distracting than managing a city. No, seriously, I guess if I had to do it over again, I would have gone to law school and into the legal profession since I love to research and argue, I mean debate.
Do you have a story you can share about how being a member of FCCMA has helped you or impacted you in a positive way?
I recently went through a rough period when I was fired from my job as a city manager following a change in the composition of the elected body. I’ve been working since I was 13, and it was the first time I’ve ever been fired in my life. I know that my performance was not the cause; instead, it was all about petty politics among unprincipled people. The way in which it was handled was disrespectful, unprofessional, humiliating and damaging to the reputation I worked for over 35 years to establish in this profession. You know, one minute you think you’ve got everything under control and working well, and the next minute it all falls apart and you’re powerless to gain control over the situation.
I was moved by the phone calls I received from fellow FCCMA members offering me support through my transition from city manager to MIT. Horace McHugh, Alan Rosen, Earl Bosworth, and Greg Harrison are some that come to mind that reached out quickly to help me get my mind straight and navigate through it. They took the time to call, listen, and offer constructive advice on putting termination behind you, learning from it, and remaining focused. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because once you’re terminated in a very public way, no one wants anything to do with you. I came very close to leaving the profession altogether and would have except for the words of encouragement. As FCCMA members, they had a sense of how traumatic getting fired can be and their help in just listening was a tremendous help.
I am also grateful to other FCCMA members like Shawn Sherrouse and Emily Colon who saw past all of the smoke and negative media attention surrounding my situation and offered me the opportunity to join their team in Lakeland.
