A Beautiful Day in Washington, DC

Today was one of the most beautiful days that I have ever spent in Washington. The Cherry Blossoms were unbelievable. I had the pleasure of staying at the historic Willard Hotel, one of America's treasures. The reason for my visit was to participate in the Employee Recognition Luncheon for the National League of Cities. With around 102 employees, the National League of Cities has a nice mix of veteran employees and a lot of young faces. I get to work with some employees more than others, but one consistant thing that I notice is that the employees are really dedicated to NLC. The luncheon is held in the Crystal Room of the Willard Hotel and it is quite a royal setting for the event.

Some really sad news from Dyersburg, Tennessee. Several people were killed by the tornado that swept across the mid-west. Mayor Bill Revel has been very active with NLC and we tried to reach him to express our condolences. I know his community is hurting and our prayers are with them.

Natural disasters seem to be an increasing fact of life in cities. Very few of us have dodged the bullet and most everyone realizes that it is only a matter of time until something befalls our community. A sad fact of life, but one that we need to constantly prepare for.

I picked up some riders on my way back to Clarksburg. NLC's Deputy Director Chris Becker and Janice Pauline rode back to West Virginia with me. They are doing a site visit at the Stonewall Jackson Resort in Lewis County. The resort will be the site of the NLC Summer Board Meeting. I'm looking forward to hosting this meeting. I think it will be a memorable trip and a little different from many of the sites that the board has visited. Our city is excited to be hosting this event and I want to make sure that everyone gets to participate.

I forget if I mentioned in a past post, that Atlanta, GA is the latest Inclusive Community. This is great news and I look forward to posting our sign in Atlanta. This is really taking off and I get more excited each day.

So long after another great day as NLC President.