Contact:

Matt Bach
Assistant Director of Strategic Communications
Michigan Municipal League
(734) 669-6317; C: (810) 874-1073
[email protected]; www.mml.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2021

Battle Creek City Manager to Lead Statewide Association

Rebecca Fleury Named President of Michigan Municipal Executives

LANSING, Michigan – Battle Creek City Manager Rebecca Fleury is the new president of the statewide association representing Michigan’s municipal managers.

Fleury was selected as the 2021 president of the Michigan Municipal Executives (MME) during the organization’s annual Winter Institute, which took place virtually Jan. 26-28. Fleury succeeds Ottawa County Deputy Administrator John Shay, who now serves as immediate past president. Fleury has spent the past year as the organization’s president elect and served as vice president and as a board member.

She is just the third woman selected as president in the organization’s history, and that milestone is not lost on Fleury, who has actively worked to bring more diversity into the
municipal management profession.

“It is a great honor to be selected as MME president,” she said. “Not only for me personally, but for all the women local government leaders in Michigan. They inspire me every day. More women local government leaders are needed, and I strive to lead by example. It means a great deal to be recognized by my colleagues in a profession I firmly and strongly support.”

Fleury has been an active participant in the Michigan Municipal League’s 16/50 Project, which strives to make the municipal executive management profession more diverse in general. In that program, she is a frequent speaker, panelist, and mentor to future and current women leaders. She said there is a particular need for people of color in the profession.

“Our communities have become so much more diverse and I think we, as leaders, should be representative of our community,” Fleury said. “All of us are facing more deep conversations in our communities around diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to be really authentic in that conversation it’s important to have people who look like you on all sides of the discussion.”

Fleury has served in local government management for 21 years, specializing in the areas of public finance, community development, and public safety. She has served as the city manager for Battle Creek since October 2014 and previously was manager for the Village of Middleville. She also has worked for the cities of Kalamazoo and Hastings.

In her year-long term as president, Fleury plans to build on the work started by past President Shay and the MME Board by implementing the organization’s newly approved member engagement effort and strategic plan. This includes following MME’s newly adopted mission: “MME works to provide members’ professional development, support their personal growth, and promote the municipal executive profession in Michigan. In service to its members and their communities, MME seeks to enhance management excellence, continuous improvement, and high ethical standards.”

She also has three main goals that involve working with the board and members to:

1. Prioritize tactics with committee chairs for 2021 goals implementation.
2. Determine processes and systems for evaluating progress being made on strategic plan implementation.
3. Develop an implementation plan for activating the three task forces to include soliciting membership, outlining near term objectives, and prioritizing of responsibilities.

“I feel very fortunate to lead MME at this time because they’ve really spent the past year laying out a road map for what to do in 2021,” Fleury said. “I’m really looking forward to helping make this vision a reality.”

She earned her bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degree in public administration from Western Michigan University. She is very active in her community, currently serving on the Board of Directors of Battle Creek Unlimited, Bronson Battle Creek Community Partners, TCC Leadership Cabinet, Battle Creek Homeless Shelter, Calhoun County Board of Health, and the FireKeepers Local Revenue Sharing Board.

In addition, she is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and is a Credentialed Manager through ICMA. She is married to her husband Matt and they have two adult children, and a grandchild on the way.

“I could not do this work without the love and support of my family, friends, and a firm grasp on my faith,” Fleury said. “Family sees us all through the rough and tough days and the fun and fulfilling days. I also could not be at this place without the support of some really great work teams. A huge shout out to all the executive assistants, assistants, deputies, managers, and department heads that give tirelessly to support our communities. I know I could not be a successful city manager without them.

“Public service is not for the faint of heart, but it does have an abundance of rewards.”

In addition to selecting Fleury as president, the organization elected the following to serve new roles and terms on the board: President-Elect Michael Cain, City Manager, Boyne City; Vice President Christine Burns, Village Manager, Spring Lake; and Trustees Mark Heydlauff, City Manager, Charlevoix City; Sheryl Mitchell-Theriot, City Manager, Lathrup Village; Deborah Stuart, City Manager, Mason; and Julius Suchy, Township Manager, Ada Township. The board also thanked outgoing members for their service – Scott Erbisch, County Administrator, Marquette County; Michael Hughes, City Manager, Sturgis; Timothy Klunder, City Manager, Zeeland; and Elaine Leven, City Manager, Marine City.

MME is a nonprofit, professional organization representing the managers of Michigan’s cities, counties, townships, and villages. Its purpose is to foster and encourage the personal and professional development of its members so that they can better serve their communities and to promote, encourage, and preserve high ethical standards for municipal administrators.

For additional information, contact Matt Bach, assistant director of strategic communications for the Michigan Municipal League, at [email protected] and (810) 874-1073.

MME works to provide members’ professional development, support their personal growth, and promote the municipal executive profession in Michigan. In service to its members and their communities, MME seeks to enhance management excellence, continuous improvement, and high ethical standards.