Linden’s Music City Texas building is turned around a bit as the audience is pictured instead of the performing stage. The group is a meeting of city managers from the East Texas region and is a chapter of the Texas City Managers Association.Linden offi
One of the more peaceful sights along Highway 11 in Linden is a trailer load of Jubilee watermelons from Ray Werline’s patch not too far away from Linden. Give him a place to park and a bit of shade, and Werline can provide a bit of sweet relief from th
Linden hosts city manager’s meeting
Linden city officials put the town’s best foot forward recently to host a chapter meeting of the East Texas City Managers Association. Some 40 city managers from among the 75 members of the chapter attended.
“We were glad for them to see our historic Cass County Courthouse and Music City Texas building,” said Linden City Administrator Lee Elliott.
But, in addition, the Linden city manager pointed out that the chapter city managers got to hear about a program of professional development for public administrators in which even some Linden employees have expressed interest.
The program is a two-year associate of applied science degree in public administration offered by Tyler Junior College. The city managers got to hear from two TJC officials that the program is one of only three in the state. The degree can be taken online and at one-third the cost of attending on campus.
“This is a program especially designed for the working adult,” said an official with the TJC program. “You can prepare one’s employees, especially the government employee, for the field of publication administration. We at TJC want to partner with East Texas city managers to offer such a needed, quality academic education program.”
For his part, Elliott added, “As an example, we have an intern in our Linden Economic Development Corporation office in Austin Williams who is thinking about the TJC 60-hour BAAS public administration program as a way to prepare himself for employment in this field. It’s a win-win for us, the school and the public,” Elliott said.
Elliott said the managers who were attending the luncheon here seemed glad to know about the Tyler program and “to find out even more about Linden and what we have to offer. It was a first time for such a group to meet here.”
Elliott continued saying he believes Linden is getting a seat the the table of participation in state programs.
“We were recently singled out in the Texas Municipal League’s July issue of Texas Town & City magazine for our work on succession planning. And I’ve been asked to participate on the TML’s Small City Advisory Council. Now we’ve just joined with the leaders of the East Texas City Managers’ Association to invite them here to be impressed hearing about Tyler Junior College’s public administrator’s degree program.
“I think Linden and this whole area is getting noticed and the right kind of publicity for being a town and an area that is on the right track.”