Futures Made of Virtual Technology

CCM’s all-virtual convention did not disappoint

At the end of a tumultuous year, CCM held our first ever virtual Convention. While the format might have changed, our staff made sure that this is still the best possible convention. Since announcing the pivot to a virtual format, our team put together over a dozen workshops, roundtable topics, and a special CCM CARES race equity forum.

Many of the workshops held specifically covered topics that were brought to the forefront this year. There were panels on Digital Accessiblity, Economic Development in the COVID-19 Era, and Qualified Immunity.

CIRMA worked on two different workshops this year, both crucial in the post-COVID-19 world. The first told municipal officials how to build operational resiliency during times of crisis or potential disruptions in normal business procedures. The second was on “navigating the new era.” There’s no doubt that COVID-19 changed the landscape in ways that will be permanent. CIRMA’s Risk Management team shared their expertise and resources to help you manage the new normal.

Since we lost the space to network face to face, this year’s convention included roundtable discussions where attendees were able to learn from their peers and shared their innovative ideas with others. Broken down into specialized areas, the roundtables were held on Economic Development, Human Resource Administration, Tax Collectors, Public Works, Health, Affordable Housing, Continuing Education, Municipal Law, Communications and Municipal Online Presence, Town Clerks, Small Town Economic Development, Municipal Recruitment, Municipal Budgets, and Sustainabliity and the Environment.

This year’s convention sponsors included CIRMA, Post University, Murtha Cullina, Validas, Halloran Sage, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In addition, our main panel featured national voices on Racial Equity as a continuation of the four local CCM CARES discussions that were held in October. Joining CCM on December 3 was Clarence Anthony, Executive Director of the National League of Cities, writer Wes Moore, former Mayor of Minneapolis Betsy Hodges, writer Tim Wise, and activist Bree Newsome Bass.

They were able to speak to the very important issues that were raised in the local CCM CARES discussions, and they answered thought provoking questions that our community asked in both the Zoom and Facebook chats that time constraints prevented us from getting to.

As we’ve said before, we cannot wait to see everyone in person again. This convention was still a crucial resource for municipal officials in every field, and we hope you were as excited to attend as we were to host!