Independence Day is an opportunity to acknowledge and honor the selfless people who have chosen public service as their profession. So many public servants go the distance at all levels of government and education. The American public depends on public leaders for the services they need to thrive: from education, to public safety to clean drinking water. The men and women who protect and sustain our common resources work daily and quietly despite changes in administration and for this service we celebrate and thank you on this fourth of July.
Take a moment to read this article, entitled ‘How Can I Help’? which was inspired by a Municipal Leadership practice that is predicated on Service. “It sounds so simple, but the discipline of asking this question, ‘How can I help?’ can become the hallmark of how you lead, hire staff, and measure performance. It is probably the essence of truly great public leadership.”
As our country takes on many challenges facing us and the world, this time of celebration is also a time to look back at the wisdom of the men and women upon whose shoulders we stand.
Wisdom and Service from our Founding Parents
The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American People.
George Washington
I’ve always felt that a person’s intelligence is directly reflected by the number of conflicting points of view they can entertain simultaneously on the same topic.
Abigail Adams
This I hope will be the age of experiments in governance and that their basis will be founded on principles of honesty not of mere force.
Thomas Jefferson
This I hope will be the age of experiments in governance and that their basis will be founded on principles of honesty not of mere force.
Thomas Jefferson