Taking the Field: Building Resilience and Relationships

As we start the new year, there is much to look forward to. By the time you are reading this, we will have just concluded our 2025 Town & State Dinner in downtown Raleigh. The event brought together more than 500 municipal officials to connect with their legislators over dinner. This is one of my favorite League events. Seeing the interaction between legislators and their local officials breaking bread together and sharing is a great thing. Taking time to interact with your legislators in Raleigh, during session, builds and maintains important relationships that shape crucial decision-making in our state. 

To continue that relationship-building, I invite you to our annual conference, CityVision, April 29–May 1, in Greenville! CityVision is the League’s premier gathering for networking, education and collaboration for our member cities and towns. It’s where city officials from all over the state come together to discuss emerging issues, form valuable connections and learn from one another. CityVision’s impact continues to grow each year with new members and municipalities represented each year. 

CityVision is a time for us to be together. Each year, I am reminded of the real value of this event—relationships formed in the spring lead to tangible, on-the-ground results later in the year. I witness elected officials from all over the state collaborating to tackle challenges and create solutions that have a lasting impact on their communities. North Carolina’s strength lies in its cities and towns, and the strength of those cities and towns is built on the leadership of individuals like you. By embracing education and relationship-building, you are enhancing your leadership capacity and strengthening the future of your community. 

This year, we are excited to celebrate your dedication to education. We will have an awards ceremony to recognize members who have earned certificates through our Advancing Municipal Leaders (AML) program. By attending AML events across the state, and even attending sessions at CityVision, members earn credits that can lead to a certificate in municipal achievement, municipal excellence and municipal dedication. As we celebrate your achievements in education and leadership, contact us if you have any questions about how many credits you have earned. You will be doing it to shape the future of our communities. 

The Legislative Policy Committee was hard at work last fall deliberating over the legislative goals for the board of directors to review and vote on this February. The results of the 2025–2026 legislative biennium goals were certified by membership and debuted at the Town & State Dinner. These goals can be found at www.nclm.org/legislative-hub/legislative-goals.

Looking forward to the year ahead, it’s clear that the challenges we face are matched only by the opportunities to make meaningful change. Our focus remains on collaboration, resilience and progress. We are proud to be a part of this organization and to serve you—our dedicated local leaders. We look forward to a busy spring calendar with you, welcoming newly-elected officials and gathering in Greenville with you all. See you at CityVision!