WHAT I'VE LEARNED

What I’ve Learned Patrick Lawton

FORMER CITY ADMINISTRATOR, CITY OF GERMANTOWN

Interview conducted by Stephanie Painter. Photography by Alex Ginsburg Photographics

After I retire, I’m sure to frequent the greenways and spend time with my wife and family and five grandkids.

I’ll spend my retirement trying to be a positive influence on others around me. I’d like to share the knowledge I’ve gained during my time as Germantown City Administrator and continue to contribute to the field of public service. There will be travel and fun things to do, but I want to dedicate myself to my family and the community. If opportunities arise, I may serve on a voluntary board or commission and would love to give back in that way.

My greatest personal accomplishment is my marriage

to my wife Cathy for 41-plus years. We raised three beautiful children who, along with their spouses, are contributing to the Germantown and Memphis communities in meaningful ways.

From a professional standpoint, I’m pleased with the legacy I’m leaving in terms of total quality management, and progress toward the Germantown Forward

2030 strategic plan. I am leaving the city in a better place, and that’s the goal of any good city administrator. I’m extremely proud of my participation in the establishment of the Germantown Municipal School District. That was a vision our elected officials and others had for quite some time, and it came to fruition.

The attainment of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award

is an example of what a world-class city looks like. The award is the validation of all the good things that happen in this organization and how we deliver service to our residents. Baldrige is not the destination, but just one step on the journey to continue to make Germantown the premier city in the Southeast.

I greatly admire the three mayors I’ve worked with, Mayors Salvaggio, Goldsworthy and Palazzolo, and

their service to the community. I also admire as a collective group the men and women who serve on various boards and commissions who help validate the decisions of the governmental body. Our residents are highly educated, informed and involved.

My favorite quote relates to COVID, and it was the rallying cry that I put out to my department directors

in March 2020 when things were shutting down. The quote is from Admiral James Stockdale, the longest serving POW in the Vietnam War, who spoke about dealing with circumstances and conditions of your time and not letting that define you. He said, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” This was our rallying cry through pandemic ups and downs.

I love reading and enjoyed Jon Meacham’s The Soul

of America. I discovered Amor Towles, author of The Lincoln Highway and A Gentleman in Moscow. His prose, sentence structure and story flow are captivating.

The best things about living here are superior pub-

lic safety and education. There is a feeling that you’re home. Germantown absolutely has a brand, and it’s up to us to ensure the reputational, legal and ethical elements that make up that brand are upheld. To me, Germantown is greater than the sum of its parts. Our employees, boards, commissions and residents make sure that we stay true to the brand.

I like to get a cross-section of new employees together from different departments and sit down with them and

get to know them. It’s a great way to break the ice and for people to meet one another. I’m all about relationship building. You’ll never work for an organization that does as many things as a local government. As local government professionals, we cover everything from A to Z, animal control to zoning and everything in-between.

Never forget where you came from, and that you’re

no better than anyone else. Then you will always treat people with respect and dignity no matter who they are or what role they play in an organization.

My advice to someone just starting out is don’t be

afraid to get your hands dirty. There’s enough work for everyone to pitch in, and it doesn’t matter your name, rank or serial number. If there’s a job to be done, stop and do it, whether it’s picking up trash or answering the phone for someone who is not at their desk.

Stay away from the ‘agenda of the unimportant’ or things that distract you and take you away from fo-

cusing your energy on the residents’ expectations. It may sound interesting but has nothing to do with the track you are taking. I’ve seen other communities get caught up in that kind of thinking, and it detracts from the work that needs to be done.