Connect with your ICMA regional director and senior advisors.
By Joe Supervielle, ICMA content manager | | Blog Post
Following the devastation from Hurricanes Debby and Helene, Bobby Weaver, city manager of D’Iberville, Mississippi, and president of the Mississippi City/County Managers Association, contacted ICMA Southeast regional director Randy Reid. Weaver expressed his community’s desire to help those impacted in the Big Bend portion of Florida—a rural area of small towns. It was especially important to Weaver and many others to reciprocate the support they received from their peers in Florida and elsewhere after the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Reid then reached out to Mark Ryan, a former city manager now serving as an ICMA senior advisor based out of Tallahassee, Florida. Ryan connected with Jerome Wyche, city manager of Madison, Florida, 60 miles east of Tallahassee. Ryan’s knowledge of the region and real-time status updates from multiple local government contacts made the critical connection that Madison was in need and would be a reasonable five-hour trip from D’lberville.
In October, Weaver and his team delivered badly needed supplies to the city of Madison. In early November, the D’lberville team made a second trip along with members of the city council. The caravan delivered relief supplies and 1,600 meals to Madison and nearby Greenville, Florida, where they were greeted by Ryan and other volunteers.
Trusted Network
The chain of city/county manager in one state, to ICMA regional director, to ICMA senior advisor, to city/county manager in another state is supplemental to formal assistance through state emergency management channels, but is invaluable.
“This network is based on channels of trust and professional networking and assures accountability and distribution of the relief supplies”, Reid said. “It demonstrates several roles of ICMA colleagues in official positions as local managers, senior advisor, and regional director performing functions in disaster response.”
What It Means for You
Hurricanes are obviously not the only catalyst for emergency response. And emergency response is not the only subject where local government networking across town, county, state, or even international lines is a key to problem-solving and delivering the highest quality of service to residents despite the most strenuous circumstances.
The D’lberville to Madison story was a success because of efforts from individuals like Weaver, Ryan, Wyche, Reid, and their teams. It was facilitated by and is replicable through that trusted network.
ICMA wants to ensure more local government leaders can connect in their time of need or offer their help. Meeting your regional director and advisors is a great first step. And join the peer-to-peer conversation on ICMA Connect.
Southeast Regional Director
Regional Director, Randy Reid (rreid@icma.org)
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia