Dear Colleagues and Friends,
On behalf of the citizens of Austin, we welcome members of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) and your distinguished guests to Austin, Texas. It is truly an honor to be the host city of this important Symposium, which is focused on training and development of public servants. We commend NFBPA for their dedication and commitment to serving our ever changing communities.

This year’s Symposium theme, “Time For Change: Equipping You With The Tools To Succeed” is apropos as states, cities and counties across the country are faced with limited resources and an increased number of anticipated retirements .To this end, it is imperative that we collectively develop and implement strategies that enhance the skills and abilities of our future workforce. As public administrators, I encourage you to bring your best thinking to the general sessions and workshops at this symposium and devise a tactical plan for managing our challenges.

While in Austin, I invite you also to experience our city. In the state capital of Texas, we pride ourselves on being far from ordinary. In fact, we celebrate being “weird.” Austin is a hot spot of creativity and embraces its community of musicians, artists, entrepreneurs and progressive thinkers.

We’re home to a singer named Willie, a cyclist named Lance, an Oscar winner named Sandra and a Longhorn steer named Bevo. We’re known for being the Live Music Capital of the World®, a title that we take pretty seriously with nearly 200 live music venues. But that’s not all that forms our landscape. As the gateway to the Texas Hill Country, rolling hills and sparkling waterways abound in Austin. And each night during the summer, we gather to watch 1.5 million bats take flight from underneath the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gather with leading voices in leadership development, attend educational and inspiring workshops and hear engaging discussions. Lastly, our Tex Mex and Barbeque are great!

See you soon in Austin!

Lee Leffingwell, Mayor, City of Austin, Texas