You're a good man Bob Simpson

A Farewell to a proven leader

      It was a bit of a surprise as to the timing,  but not so shocking to hear that Bob Simpson our Town Manager here in TOWB will resign his position effective Nov. 1, 2012.

Bob Simpson Town Manager Wrightsville Beach "at Work"
Photo courtesy of TOWB website

Bob Simpson the Leader

     For those of you who have seen Bob in action you have seen a seasoned public servant. His command of the issues facing TOWB is deep and broad. He has always had the situation at the tips of his fingers and quickly to the tip of his tongue. He has provided solid input and advice to the Board of Alderman. His engagement and energy in behalf of our town is laudable.

      “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more and become more, you are a leader.”       
John Quincy Adams

     He has been a strong advocate for the quality, performance and well being of our town employees. He has provided the level of forward thinking and anticipation that our town needs. His leadership in the budgeting process, especially in demonstrating fiscal responsibility for the short and longer term needs of the town has been critical and successful.

The Dark side of town politics

      He has also had to walk the challenging line of Alderman politics. That line is precarious and often demotivating. But his leadership has held true through those dark moments. It has been beyond frustrating to watch the pathetic disarray of the current Board of Aldermen. Their micro-management of staff, lack of strategic focus and individual agendas has created mountainous obstacles for the Town Staff and our Manager in particular.

      Time and again Bob has sought "guidance" from the BOA, only to receive a disarray of way off the mark babble.

      Bob is a seasoned leader through the course of 46 years of military and public service. He has learned and demonstrated that he can get beyond the trivial interference of an inept BOA. He can muster the wisdom to provide professional guidance to such individuals that don't prepare for agenda items, or despite admitting they don't understand an issue, yet balk or push back at Bob's careful re-explanation. Learning is a lifetime journey. It has been a grueling pattern of coaching and spoon-feeding those individual Alderman who are in way over their head. His coaching of the Board, about the consequences of actions or in-actions,  has often gone unacknowledged.

      "The leaders who work most effectively never say "I"  They  don't think "I"  They think "We" They think "Team" They understand their job is to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but "we" gets the credit....This is what creates trust...."
Peter Drucker

      In Bob's resigning, we lose a very capable, high impact player with the energy to deliver a team effort to a broad list of  critical issues facing our town, with the wisdom to see through the complexity and gain focus, with the outward appearance of  patience to tolerate fools on the Board and try to inform.

Some wisdom for the Board of Aldermen

     This is not Monday morning quarterbacking. As we don't have the modern day practice in TOWB of video taping the Public Board Meetings, we can't easily go back and see/hear how poorly the BOA operate. But for those who have seen the meetings, we well know the pathetic pattern of conducting business. Especially now in the powerful hands of the new voting block held by Aldermen, Susan Collins, Darryl Mills and Elizabeth King we need a BOA who can find and recruit a highly capable Town Manager, for the next chapter in our towns history. We do not want nor can we tolerate a malleable candidate who will accept the personal agendas of Board members. It is the needs, of our growing town on the edge of the ocean, that must be front and center.

Filling Bob Simpson's shoes will not be easy and can not be a political game!

They will be wise to engage, staff and citizens in the vetting process.

      If they wish to refute such criticisms, they simply need to approve the previously agreed funding for video recording & streaming of their proceedings, they need to come prepared as individuals to discuss agenda items and to explain their position and  to seek and to contribute to compromise in behalf of the TOWB. Their failure to-date to do this, points to their lack of professional sincerity as Alderman and their pursuit of their individual agendas.

Dear Board of Aldermen:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."     
Margaret Mead

"Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things."
Peter Drucker

"If you don't know where you are going you will end up somewhere else"
Yogi Berra

"Where there is no vision, people perish"
Proverbs 29:18

You're a good man Bob Simpson. 

Thank you for your service.

Dear readers,

      You can contact any of our TOWB officials to give your input:

Mayor and Board of Aldermen
David Cignotti, Mayor	910-256-5817	dcignotti@towb.org
Susan Collins, Mayor Pro Tem	910-256-5072	scollins@towb.org
Bill Sisson, Alderman	910-256-1898	bsisson@towb.org
Elizabeth King, Alderman	910-256-2260	eking@towb.org
Darryl Mills, Alderman	910-228-8552	dmills@towb.org

Thanks for reading,     Noah