Friday 11/26 - Turkey Day II

Many years ago, Kathy and I agreed that we'd start and maintain our own holiday traditions. Kathy had almost aways depended upon her family for that support. But I was always unfortable in such large family outings. And I was usually hungry hours before they ever got any food out and served.

So we compromised. We'd do our own things first and then visit for dessert. And if we were lucky, they'd just be eating around that time anyway. It just worked out better that way. And Kathy never had to endure the indignity of stopping at McDonalds on Thanksgiving to get me something so I wouldn't be so grouchy if we didn't eat for 5 or 6 hours.

So this year presented a bit of a challenge. What to do? I knew that the boys and I would be most comfortable doing something here. So we invited everyone over.

I think the headcount came to over 12. Jon was most excited to see his cousins back from college. We ate, we drank, we watched Shrek2 and School of Rock.

Kathy's sister Barb was a great help in getting things under control with me in the kitchen. We had all the regular itms: ham, turkey, stuffing, green beans. Even made the dessert kathy liked the most: sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping. Plus apple, pumnpkin and pecan pies.

It's what Kathy would have expected us to do.

Thursday 11/25 - Turkey Day Part 1

I decided to make this Thanksgiving a bit diiferent and ran in the Chesterfield MO 5k race this morning. I'm just glad I finished. But I was slower on the first mile than I wanted to be. There was too much black ice on the ground and I was very concerned about slipping. I already fell in the parking lot just getting out of the car. So with my right hand throbbing and elbow bruised up, I was not about to do it again running a 7 minute mile. My chip time was just over 26 minutes. I know I did a lousy 10 minute run the first mile, a little over 8 on the second and then started to regain my time on the third mile. But it was exciting to do, despite the ice and 26 degree weather.

Chesterfield Turkey Trot, Nov 2004

• Overall
• By Age Group

Friday 11/19 - Lifetime Achievement

Today, The East West Gateway Council of Governments (http://www.ewgateway.org) held their annual business meeting and awards luncheon. It was held downtown St. Louis with about 500 attendees, including many notable county and city officials (county executives, mayors, councilmen, and staff)

I accepted an award to Kathleen for Lifetime Achievement. Many of Kathleen's friends and professional colleagues were also in attendance.

Gateway Lifetime Achievement Award
Outstanding Local Government Achievement Awards
East West Gateway Council of Governments

Kathleen M. Mansfield (posthumously)

Nominated by: Mark Perkins, City Administrator, Creve Coeur

Michael McDowell, City Manager Olivette

The late Kathleen M. Mansfield, Assistant City Administrator for the City of Creve Coeur, Missouri, is nominated for the Gateway Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004. While it is recognized that a posthumous nomination for this recognition is unusual, the nominators suggest that the life of Kathleen Mansfield serves as a shining beacon of unselfish and professional public service to the entire St. Louis Region and an enviable example for all who strive to serve the public with honor.

Kathleen was born and raised in Berkeley, Missouri and her family has deep roots in the St. Louis area. She received a Bachelors degree from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Mississippi State University. She began her professional local government career with the City of Berkeley and was appointed as Assistant to the City Administrator for the City of Creve Coeur in 1987, serving three City Administrators over 16 years.

Her duties with the City during her tenure were many and varied, including human resources administrator, budget officer, management oversight over operating departments, liaison to several City boards and commissions, advising the City’s elected officials on critical issues, and working with employees and citizens. At all times, her service to the City and its citizens set the standard for professionalism and committed public service. A former Mayor of Creve Coeur said, “She was the most dedicated city employee that any city could hope to have. She had a personal relationship with every staff member, and they returned that attention with loyalty and kindness. Her one goal was to do what was right and what was best for the city of Creve Coeur. She was the most ethical person one could hope to have working for any organization. She was the consummate professional. Everybody who knew her will miss her terribly."

Included among Kathleen’s many accomplishments with Creve Coeur are:

• Development and regular updating of a comprehensive personnel policy for the City
• Primary responsibility for annual budget development that consistently received GFOA recognition for Outstanding Budget Presentation
• Development and management of an exemplery Performance Management Program for employee compensation and performance oversight
• Receipt of the 1995 Police Chief’s Award for crime prevention contributions to the community
• Primary liaison to the Creve Coeur Ethics Commission
• Developed and updated Creve Coeur’s first web page in partnership with her husband
• Chaired and implemented the City’s Information Technology Task Force
• Assisted the Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation in its efforts to preserve the historic Tappmeyer Homestead that was threatened by development
• Developed and implemented numerous administrative policies and procedures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the City’s service delivery systems
• Served as Interim City Administrator and interim department head during transition periods
• Wrote and edited the Creve Coeur citizen newsletter
• Served as a mentor and counselor to numerous City employees serving the City

This short listing of accomplishments only partially illustrates that respect and esteem that her fellow employees, elected officials, and citizens felt for Kathleen during the sixteen years that she served Creve Coeur. During that time, she set a high standard that will stand as an example for years to come.

In addition to her professional service in Creve Coeur, Kathleen Mansfield was also widely recognized and honored in the St. Louis Region and throughout Missouri for her public service contributions. The many honors and recognitions that came her way were a result of her active service to the public service community and her strong and unswerving commitment to excellence in all that she did. The most hated words in her vocabulary were “that’s good enough for government work” and she displayed her commitment by constantly encouraging her colleagues to better their skills and renew their commitments to public service.

Some of those regional honors and recognitions included:

• Serving as President of the St. Louis Area City Management Association
• Recognition as Missouri’s “Outstanding Local Government Assistant” in 1997 by the Missouri City Management Association
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the Missouri City Management Association in 2004
• Leadership in the Local Government CECH-UP Program at UM-St. Louis designed to expose middle school students to the local government environment
• President of the St. Louis Chapter of the International Personnel Management Association in 1995-96
• Served on the national Assistants Steering Committee of the International City/County Management Association
• Active in the CORO Foundation Midwestern Center for Women in Leadership
• Served on the Board of Directors of the Missouri City Management Association

More important than these specific accomplishments, however, was Kathleen’s positive influence on everyone she came in contact with. Kathleen loved being in local city government and most importantly loved sharing the profession with schoolkids and graduate students who wanted to follow her into her noble (but often misunderstood) profession. She was usually the first to invite new professionals into the "old boys club" and to welcome them into their professional associations. She also knew that through outreach and diversity, her chosen profession would be stronger than ever.

Kathleen was recognized as the primary mentor and support structure for numerous young local government professionals beginning their careers in the region. Over the past few months, many of these professionals have given testimony to her positive encouragement and career support as they have moved through their careers. Through hard work, personal sacrifice, and her ever-present love of people, she earned the universal respect and admiration of her professional colleagues in the region, across the State of Missouri, and nationally. These personal contacts and close relationships have directly impacted the quality of local government in our region and the commitment of local government professionals and elected officials to serve the public with integrity, honor, and excellence.

Kathleen Mansfield passed away on July 8, 2004 after a courageous four-year battle with scleroderma, a rare, chronic autoimmune (arthritis) disease that primarily affects females who are 30 to 50 years old. Kathleen was 44 at the time of her death. She leaves a loving husband, Rodger, and two sons, Jonathan and Alex.

Rodger Mansfield is currently establishing the Kathleen M. Mansfield Foundation to continue the legacy and commitment of Kathleen to excellence in local government. The Foundation will sponsor programs to educate young people about government and citizenship responsbilities, to encourage students and young professionals in the pursuit of local government careers, and to increase the knowledge among the general public about the value of quality local government in their lives. The Foundation is expected to begin operations in 2005.

This posthumous award is offered on behalf of the numerous people in the St. Louis Region whose lives were touched and made better by their friendship with and love for this remarkable woman. In her too-short 44 years, she had a disproportionate influence, in both local government and in life, in making our region a better place to live. We will always remember her example of excellence, commitment, courage, integrity, laughter, love of family, and uncompromising faith. Most of all, we will remember the many lessons that she taught by her life:

Kathleen taught us all how to laugh and how to love; how to win and how to lose.
She taught us how to live; and finally, she taught us how to die.

Sunday 11/14 - Internet Radio

As most of you know, I am a transplant to STL from Los Angeles, CA. Even after all of these years, I still think of my self as from LA.

The Internet has certainly helped to keep folks like me connected with our hometowns. When I first moved here, Kathy would often buy me a Los Angeles Times - Sunday Edition as a special treat. It was $7.00 from world news in West Port. And it was available on the following Wednesday. Now, I'm just a click away from reading the LA Times online each morning.

But an even better otpion is still listen to the local radio stations in your homeown. The kins folks at MIT started many years agao a listing of radio stations, especially those who had live feeds.

It's still around and better than ever. So if you are away from STL and want to here KWMU or KSHE live, check it out at http://www.radio-locator.com

Saturday 11/13 - Firefox 1.0

A few weeks ago I told you about a new broswer called FireFox. I've been using it for a a couple of months and think it's a great new PC tool. The beta testing is over and the version 1.0 has been released. Check it out. just remember that you'll still need IE on your PC for window security updates (ughhh) and some websites that only work with IE.

Just a few reasons to use it over internet Explorer:

Popup Blocking
Stop annoying popup ads in their tracks with Firefox's built in popup blocker.

Tabbed Browsing

View more than one web page in a single window with this time saving feature. Open links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them.

Privacy and Security

Built with your security in mind, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by not loading harmful ActiveX controls. A comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity your business.

Smarter Search

Google Search is built right into the toolbar, and there are a plethora of other search tools including Smart Keywords (type "dict " in the Location bar), and the new Find bar (which finds text as you type without covering up anything).

Live Bookmarks

RSS integration lets you read the latest news headlines and read updates to your favorite sites that are syndicated.

Hassle-Free Downloading

Files you download are automatically saved to your Desktop so they're easy to find. Fewer prompts mean files download quicker.

Fits Like a Glove

Simple and intuitive, yet fully featured, Firefox has all the functions you're used to - Bookmarks, History, Full Screen, Text Zooming to make pages with small text easier to read, etc.

Thursday 11/11 - 6 Months

It's been six months since Kathy went to St. John's. Just a minor problem. Back by the afternoon.

Four weeks in the regular hospital. Four weeks in ICU. The service. We made our trip to North Carolina. The pool party. First day of school. The birthdays. Our Anniversary. Halloween.

Where has the time gone?

Here are some of my favorite posts on the Kathy Report (http://kathyreport.blogspot.com)

• I Remember Kathleen
• What We Learned
• Jon's Post 7/8
• Today is a Good Day

Saturday 11/6 - Sclero What?

I still run across people who ask about Kathy. How's she doing? I expect a lot more as the holidays approach.

After the initial shock, we discuss scleroderma. Many still do not know about the disease.

So, some refreshers:

- All About Scleroderma from the Kathy Report
- Dr. Donohue's Syndicated Coumn Discusses Scleroderma

Finally, The Today Show will run a story on Scleroderma on Monday, November 8. I'll post