ICMA president urges public managers to 'stand in the arena,' stresses ethics and service

The speaker, who said they were becoming the president of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), used remarks at the association's business meeting to emphasize the duties of public managers: to provide certainty, uphold a professional code of ethics, and lead communities through crises.

"Our lives are not defined by any one action," the speaker said, later quoting Theodore Roosevelt: "It is not the critic who counts. It is the man, it is the woman, it is the person in the arena, standing in the arena whose face is marred by dust, sweat, and blood." The speaker tied that image to the daily responsibilities of city and county managers.

The speech framed public service as both a professional duty and an act of humility. The speaker described instances in which managers led through natural disasters, fires that approached staff homes, mass-casualty incidents and the personal grief of losing team members. "Standing with grief in one hand, and with our duty in the other hand," the speaker said, illustrated the tension managers often face.

The speaker identified the ICMA code of ethics and the Athenian oath as anchors that help managers resist political pressures and serve communities consistently. The remarks included an anecdote about seeing a trailer for Mission: Impossible '—Final Reckoning' and noting three phrases that resonated with managers: the need for certainty, impossible odds, and the choice to accept a mission.

The speaker thanked mayors, council members, staff, the ICMA executive board, and family members for their support. They cited ICMA membership figures used in the address: 14,500 members who "touch the lives of over a 100,000,000 people around the globe," framing the profession's broad influence and responsibilities.

The speaker closed by invoking Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and a passage from the book of Esther, urging attendees to "rise" when communities face chaos and concluding with blessings for members and their families.

The remarks functioned as a values-centered address to association members rather than a policy presentation or formal rulemaking; no motions or votes were taken during the speech.