Oklahoma local government news, winter 1995

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Winter 
OKLAHOMA LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEWS
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE CENTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY. OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY. SPONSORED JOINTLY BY THE
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION. THE OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE OKLAHOMA COMMISSION ON COUNTY
GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL, EDUCATION AND TRAINING.
308 CITD
Stillwater, OK
74078
405-744-6049
Winter 1995
edited by Douglas Wright
From the Director
by Mike Hughes
As the new CLGT director, I want to say thanks to
all of the patient and considerate local government
officials who have helped me enter my new job.
Everyone has been really great to help me get my
feet wet.
It is always difficult to come to a new job wanting
to do right things and not knowing what has been
accomplished in the past.  Although I knew a little
about the Center and the contributions made by
Dr. Jim, it was not until I met many of you that I
realized what a positive impact he made for local
government in Oklahoma.  It would take more than
this article to only highlight some of his
accomplishments as well as the successes enjoyed by
the Center under his direction.
I was told when I interviewed for the position, that I
was too tall, had too much hair, and regardless of
the size of my feet, I would not be able to fill his
shoes.  The past few weeks have demonstrated that
the warning was correct.  Few people if any, could
ever hope to make the contributions that Dr. Jim
has for his state.
Although he has officially retired, he has not
confined himself to the rocking chair.  He is still in
the classroom at OSU this semester sharing his
wealth of knowledge and wisdom with young people
aspiring to make engineering a profession.  But
then, as I am beginning to understand, that's the
type of individual he is.
I was recently asked what new ideas I might have
regarding the products and services provided by the
Center.  Are we going to change our operation now
that Dr. Jim has left? The answer is no.
CLGT Director, Dr. Mike Hughes
Most organizations have adopted a continuous
improvement process or program, and I want to
have a similar process for the Center.  Simply put,
we want to continue to improve what we have
traditionally done in the past, yet bring new services
to you within the normal constraints of funding.
Surveys of what we have been doing right and what
we could be doing better have already begun.  We
will continue to do those things that have been
successful and useful to you in the past and I am
confident new products and services will be
available in the near future.  If you have
suggestions, I would appreciate your insight, so
please call me.
As I close this brief article, I want to say thanks to
Jim Shamblin for having the vision by creating the
Center for Local Government Technology.  We will
work hard to perpetuate what you created.