By Al Vanderberg
The Experience Committee has a full slate of work to accomplish in 2022. The MME Award nomination and review process netted several award winners that will be honored at the upcoming Winter Institute. As usual there will also be recognition for “retiring” Board members.
Responsibility for the MME Scholarship Program for professional development was reassigned to the Experience Committee as part of the implementation of the most recent strategic plan. Of course, COVID-19 happened almost concurrently so there has not been much activity on the scholarship front. We did get our first application in some time and have a manager interested in attending the Gettysburg Leadership Institute.
If you are interested in resuming more professional development activity, please check out the full range of program and scholarship activities under the Professional Development tab on the MME website. There are four application deadlines throughout the year, and we do have funds available to help make these very significant learning and growth opportunities a reality. I am also reestablishing contact with the Saginaw Valley State University with whom MME partners on the Certified Public Manager Program. The latest information on the website is from 2018 so we will get that up to speed.
In March and April our attention will focus on nominations for the many different ICMA Awards. We will also consider submitting another Michigan retired manager for the ICMA Distinguished Service Award.
Another significant 2022 initiative will be substantial completion of the MCMA-MLGMA-MME history book which was last updated in 1992. The 1992 updated version celebrated the 75th anniversary of the association and covered the beginning of the association in 1925 through 1992. Ideally, at the 2023 Winter Institute, we will be prepared to present the history covering the first 100 years of the association. Please contact me or another committee member if you have stories, photos, or other items of interest that you would like to include in the history.
Lastly, we hope to make significant progress on having profiles for each MME Member on the website. We will be sending out a template and asking members to complete the profiles soon.
Happy New Year from the Experience Committee, we look forward to a great 2022!
Al Vanderberg
Chair, Experience Committee
Kent County Administrator/Controller
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 Degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan and Master of Public Administration Degree 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.