Almost every professional city, town, and county manager can tell you a story about being asked exactly what it is that a professional manager does. Many people simply do not understand. A Harris Interactive poll found that only one-third of citizens know that managers oversee the day-to-day operations of their local government, and only five percent could describe what managers do or their important role in shaping a community.

Thanks to the generous financial contributions to date made by ICMA members, state associations, and ICMA-RC, in July ICMA kicked off the national Life, Well Run campaign to raise awareness of and appreciation for the value that professional local government managers bring to building great communities. During this phase, ICMA is using traditional and digital advertising in 10 states, as well as social media to raise awareness among the campaign’s three target audiences: elected officials, business and civic leaders, and students.

ICMA also has developed a packet of resources available to ICMA members and state associations, should they be interested in bringing the Life, Well Run campaign to their community or state. All of the template materials, videos, and advertisements are easily customizable. Using these resources ensures we are sending consistent messages to the target audiences and the public, and will help raise awareness of the great work that professional managers do and the value they bring to our communities. The resources include brochures explaining the work and value of professional management that can be given to people in the target audiences.

Access the documents on the Life, Well Run website. Contact Catherine Smith, campaign manager, at 202-962-3632 or csmith@icma.org with questions about using these materials.

The Life, Well Run website has also been revamped, making it more robust and user friendly to better showcase, through an interactive map, the success stories of professionally-managed communities.

Life, Well Run seeks to achieve a national footprint and add more states as soon as possible. As the campaign evolves and grows, more updates will follow.

If you are attending the 99^th ICMA Annual Conference in Boston, be sure to visit the Life, Well Run educational session, booth, and event.

You can also follow Life, Well Run on Twitter and Facebook.