What Was Your Favorite Moment From the 2013 Annual Conference?

The displays are packed away, the presentations complete, and it's time to take a moment to reflect on what was the 2013 Annual Conference and Centennial Celebration! Uff da!

Thank you to the more than 500 city officials/staff and members of the business community who registered to participate in the awards, elections, break-out sessions, speakers, social events, and more. We already miss you. (Really!) Wanna stay in touch? Register by July 1 to participate in an LMC Policy Committee. 

In the meantime, here's a handful of photographs taken by Paul Lundquist that captures some of the spirit of the Annual Conference, including a few laugh-out-loud moments. What was your favorite moment from June 19-21? Tell us in the comments!

Check out additional photos from the 2013 Annual Conference in this week's issue of the Cities Bulletin.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream…Ice Cream!

Love the occasional ice cream treat? We thought you’d get a kick out of the above—another little mystery we stumbled upon in LMC’s archives.

It’s a letter dated June 29, 1964 from a League administrative assistant to the vice president of a local milk and ice cream supply company. In it, the assistant thanks the VP for his “quick and helpful response” regarding all of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream cartons and assures him they were “put to good use throughout the week of our convention.” (Mind you we’re talking about the cartons, not the cool, creamy goodness that usually comes with them.)

Whatever were those ice cream cartons used for? It’s a mystery to us! If any of you were at LMC’s 1964 Annual Convention and know the answer, please enlighten us in the comments section below.

Speaking of sweet treats…our 2013 Annual Conference is underway! We hope those of you who have joined us in St. Paul are enjoying yourselves so far.

Though Mother Nature hasn’t exactly held up her end of the bargain so far this year, the calendar does say it’s summer. So what better way to celebrate the season than with some cool treats? Be sure to join us for the ice cream social in Rice Park from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. (You'll actually grab your treat just across the street from Rice Park—on the sidewalk outside the east side of the RiverCentre near the Herb Brooks statue—and then stroll over to the park to enjoy!)

And be sure to check out the full schedule of annual conference events…we’ve got lots in store.

In the meantime, here’s to hoping this summer brings us all ample opportunity for some good old fashioned frozen treats!

Photos: Bright Lights at the First Exhibit Hall, 1927

When you arrive in St. Paul next week for the Annual Conference, don't forget about the Marketplace! The very first "Exhibit Hall" in 1927, seen in these photos, showcased everything from playground equipment to city tourism bureaus. Pretty festive, huh?

Nowadays, what we call the Marketplace is still populated with businesses and organizations offering products and services designed with city government in mind.  

Bonus: Visit LMC staff at booths 321, 322, and 324 this year for special centennial activities (photo booth! popcorn and a movie! interactive history displays!), as well as friendly faces and an introduction to the 4M Fund.

Rest assured, we're as excited about this important feature of the Annual Conference as we were in 1927, even without all that bunting.

View the Virtual Exhibit Hall here. We'll see you at the Marketplace!

Marketplace Details:
Thursday, June 20
4-8 p.m.
Exhibit Hall A (lower level)
RiverCentre

A Polite Presidential Gem from 1950

If you haven't noticed, we're kind of jazzed about history.

So imagine our completely star-struck state when this little gem surfaced in a file from 1950.

Start at the top.

Read the polite little note.

Analyze the signature ... and ... yup.

Eleanor Roosevelt.

As in, former first lady of the United States.

That one.

History fans, it was a special moment. Yes, she's turning down an invite to LMC's Annual Conference in favor of a trip to Europe, but hey, we salute the League employee who had the hutzpah to invite her in the first place.

Inspired, we're now contemplating expanding our guest list for next year. You never know who may say yes!

In the meantime, don't be an Eleanor (unless, of course, you have a fabulous trip to Europe planned)—register for our 2013 Annual Conference today!

LMC Core Values: A Few Ground Rules

You don't make it 100 years without setting a few ground rules. As part of the 2000-2003 strategic plan, the League Board of Directors set out to document and update the values that have gotten us through the past, and with plenty of hard work will help us achieve our mission of serving cities for years to come.

 In this video, League staff members count down the League values that they work to realize every day.

Starring (in the order of appearance):
Anne Finn—Assistant Intergovernmental Relations Director
Kevin Frazell—Director of Member Services
Garnelle Boudreau—Receptionist
Jason Little—Advertising and Sponsorship Associate
Jeanette Behr—Research Manager
Rebecca Hardel—Human Resources Representative
Laura Honeck—LMCIT Program Assistant
Jon Wilebski—Accountant
Mike Witham—Applications Manager

Check out the list of Core Values here.

 Do you have an example of League staff demonstrating one of the Core Values? Let us know in the comments.

A Message from the LMC President: Collaboration and the Future of Cities

What does the future hold? Unless you've got a crystal ball, the best we can do is work to make the future as bright as can be.

And good leadership is a nice place to start.

Each year, the League elects a president to lead the Board of Directors during the upcoming year. J.E. Jenks of St. Cloud paved the way, holding the position for the first two years of the League's existence.

One hundred years later, Betsy Hodges, a city councilmember from Minneapolis, was elected president just in time for the League's centennial year. Lucky duck? Fate? You decide.

But leadership isn't the only tool to a strong organization. Working together can be a skillful way to help strengthen our neighbors and ourselves in the process.

In this video, Hodges takes a few minutes to think about the future, and how a spirit of collaboration can help us be smarter and stronger when we get there, no mystical orb required.

Moments in Time: Training for Minnesota City Officials

This photo of the lucky winners was run in The Journal in International Falls.

Did you know that in 1959, the LMC Annual Conference attendee in International Falls with the most pennies in her purse won a sightseeing flight over the Canadian border? Mrs. Harry Carlson (second from left, in the photo above) was likely pleased as punch when she produced 31 pennies to win the contest and that fabulous plane ride! She even got to bring along two of her pals—that experience was surely something she never forgot.

What about your memories of LMC training events? Were you there this March when a commissioner of Beltrami County sang “Happy Birthday” to Twitter at the 2013 Joint Legislative Conference?

While these moments (as well as the “aha!” learning lightbulbs that members experience at events) have been a constant across the years, the face of training itself has certainly evolved. Things we used to offer—like a training school for firefighters established in 1929 that drew from the Upper Midwest, and correspondence courses for municipal accounting that were popular in the mid-century—have now been replaced by things such as Safety and Loss Control Workshops and regular webinars.

No matter the topic, LMC has always strived to provide members with information that is timely, useful, and accessible. Members consistently cite the value of networking with other colleagues and getting info from the pros as their top reasons to attend an event. But you never know when a spontaneous serenade or an unexpected opportunity will arise and make the event that much more special.

So join us for one of our upcoming training opportunities! Whether it’s our annual fall Regional Meetings when we take the show on the road to cities across Minnesota, our City Learning Point courses that are available online anytime and anywhere, or our special Centennial-year Annual Conference and Marketplace in St. Paul this June—there are sure to be more memorable moments.