This weekend I have another opportunity to represent Concordia doing some teaching for the League of Kansas Municipalities. This will be my fourth year with the Guiding the Municipal Organization. My teaching partner is my friend Don Osenbaugh who works in the field office for the League. Don has a dream job. He works out of his home in Derby and manages the League Worker Compensation Insurance program. Don wouldn’t mind me bragging about him. Under his management, the pool premiums have doubled, not by raising rates but by doubling the Work-Comp business. It is impressive. It is also a good value for cities as we work toward cost containment.

The seminar will involve covering the state of Kansas again. We will be in Colby, Lyons and Chanute the next two weekends. I like the opportunity to visit other cities in Kansas and to see what they are doing. It is also fun to see elected and appointed officials (managers, clerks, various department heads) and hear what they are saying about their communities. I already know we will hear an earful in Lyons. CM John Sweet is caffeine on two legs. John and Lyons are always up to their eyeballs in projects.

The best part of our program is sharing what we know about managing communities. Don and I have an agreement – we must interrupt each other! It helps the audience stay awake and it helps us challenge one another’s thinking.

Every year (each of the four), I ask my city manager friends what they would like their elected officials to learn from this course. It is a basic introduction to municipal management. We cover such things as managing public meetings, how staff and the governing body members have to interact, and why they need to be prepared to do their work. One of my favorite parts has been dealing with the press. I have learned that broadcast media need a short story for their air time. In big business, it is like having a 20 second elevator speech ready when you meet the “Boss.” Most of the time, the press is not out to “get you.” They have a job to do and I help them do it by telling my story.

Since one of Don’s perks is getting around to many cities west of Topeka (that is where the legislature believes the dividing line is from eastern to western Kansas), he has been introduced to a number of good restaurants. So, despite the number of miles I will be putting on the car and the seriously good conversation and food we will have along the way, I will come back charged up from the opportunity to share the practical wisdom I have picked up from the graduate school of hard knocks. The conversations with our class members will be priceless. I will even learn something on the trip I can apply here in Concordia.

Independence Day reflections

Earlier this week, I received an email from my friend David who lives in New Mexico. Just as the Iraq War was concluding, he was offered an opportunity to teach public administration principles to folks in Iraq. He made many friends, including a young man named Ahmed. David and Ahmed have kept in touch since David returned from Iraq.

Included in David's recent email was a copy of a note from Ahmed about our holiday. I wanted to share it with you since it reflects the personal impact two men from different countries can have on one another. Hopefully, Ahmed's views really reflect the majority of Iraqi citizens. There is the same spirit in Ahmed's words that I saw following the reading of our Revolutionary War documents. There is a need in the human spirit to demonstrate free living, the ability to make personal choices, and live without fear of a bully whether it be King George or Sadam. Here is Ahmed's letter:

My American Friends,

Happy Independence Day ! l ask the God to keep you safe, let your celebrations in this day more pleasant to you, and make America more powerful. We, Iraqis, ( if not all, but most ) are grateful for your great favor in liberating our country from the former monster. We, Iraqis hope one day to have such an nice day as yours, hoping love will dominate between the Americans and Iraqis forever. With all my regards to you as an Iraqi man, let me say, " God Bless You All and America".

Ahmed