By Al Vanderberg
The Experience Committee was delighted to recognize members for outstanding service to their committees and our profession at the recent Winter Institute held in Grand Rapids. The following members were recognized:
- Mentoring Award – Julius Suchy, Ada Township Manager
- Community Leadership Award – Mark Washington, Grand Rapids City Manager
- New Executive Award – Brady Selner, Shelby Village Manager
- Assistant Manager Award – Penny Hill, Traverse City Assistant City Manager
- DEI Award (for service at the City of Kentwood) – Mark Rambo, Kent County Deputy County Administrator
Please join us in congratulating these outstanding managers for their contributions. We have many excellent managers throughout the MME, and though we can only recognize a few each year, we congratulate all on your great transformational work in your communities!
The following outgoing MME Board Members were recognized for their service: Rebecca Fleury, Immediate Past President, Victor Cardenas, Melissa Marsh, Susan Montenegro, and James Wickman. In addition to the normal additional work serving on the MME Board, these folks served during the pandemic and we all appreciate their service.
The ICMA is now accepting nominations for the ICMA 2023 Local Government Excellence Awards to “honor individuals and programs that have created a legacy of change in the local government profession.” There are two categories of awards, Professional Awards that recognize individual achievement and Program Awards that recognize local governments and their chief administrators for innovative and successful programs in several distinct areas.
Professional Awards
- Mark E. Keane – Career Excellence Award
- L.P. Cookingham – Career Development Award
- Buford M. Watson Jr. – Assistant Excellence Award
- Stephen B. Sweeney – Academic Award
- William H. Hansell Jr. – Early Career Leadership Award
Program Awards
- Community Equity and Inclusion
- Community Health and Safety
- Community Partnership
- Community Sustainability
- Strategic Leadership and Governance
ICMA will accept nominations through March 9. Awardees will be notified by the end of July and awards will be conferred at the ICMA Annal Conference in Austin.
MME members are welcome to nominate members for these awards. Please contact me if the MME Experience Committee can be of assistance. Further details can be gleaned by checking out the ICMA website or by putting “2023 ICMA Awards” into your favorite search engine.
ICMA will accept nominations for its highest honor, the ICMA Distinguished Service Award from March 20 through April 2023. Even though Michigan has traditionally had the third-largest number of local government managers, our state has been woefully underrepresented by only having three honored with the Distinguished Service Award up to about three years ago. We have increased those numbers in recent years by obtaining the DSA for Daryl Delabbio and Mark Wollenweber within the past three years. The Experience Committee plans to submit a retired manager annually for this honor. Individual MME members can also submit nominations to ICMA or to the MME Experience Committee.
It is hard to believe that March is upon us already. Before we know it fall will be approaching and we will be seeking nominations for the Patriarche Award, which is given at the MML fall conference. Please keep names in mind for nomination for this award and names can be submitted to me or other committee members at any other time.
Al Vanderberg
Chair, Experience Committee
Administrator/Controller, Kent County
Al Vanderberg serves as county administrator/controller of Kent County since August 2021. Previously, Al served as county administrator of Ottawa County; deputy county administrator/controller of Kent County; city manager of South Haven: and assistant city manager of Greenville. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Michigan and Master of Public Administration from Michigan State University.
Al served as president of the Michigan Municipal Executives and Michigan Association of County Administrative Officials (MACAO), chair of the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC) Board of Directors, and chair of the former West Michigan Strategic Alliance. He was appointed by Gov. Snyder to the Michigan Municipal Services Authority Board of Directors and Executive Committee and was appointed by Gov. Snyder and reappointed by Gov. Whitmer to the Michigan Child Lead Exposure Elimination Commission. Al is a member of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights Council for Government and Education on Equity and Inclusion, the NACo DEI Advisory Group, and the National Association of County Administrators Board of Directors. He is a member of the adjunct faculty of Grand Valley State University where he teaches in the undergraduate and masters programs. He also writes and speaks frequently on local government management topics and issues. He can be reached at al.vanderberg@kentcountymi.gov.