More than 1,000 local officials attend Annual Meeting

More than 1,000 local officials gathered in Boston on Jan. 20 and 21 for the MMA’s 33rd Annual Meeting & Trade Show, an event that took place amid signs of an improving budget climate in Massachusetts but also uncertainty about what will happen at the federal level.
 
The Annual Meeting kicked off Friday morning with Lt. Gov. Tim Murray announcing proposed local aid figures for fiscal 2013 that are largely in line with the current year’s. During the closing session on Jan. 21, U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Congressman Edward Markey expressed frustration with the failure of the Congressional “super committee” to reach an agreement this past fall, which could lead to a significant loss of federal revenue for cities and towns.
 
Other Annual Meeting speakers included Capt. Mike Abrashoff, who urged local officials to rethink how they engage with city and town employees, and Col. Marian McGovern, the first woman to serve as superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.
 
At the Friday dinner, hockey great Cam Neely, now president of the Boston Bruins, spoke about the events leading up to the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup in 2011. He also discussed his role as president of the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. The foundation provides housing for cancer patients and their families while they are receiving treatment at the New England Medical Center in Boston.
 
Personnel and economic development issues were the focus of many of the 28 Annual Meeting workshops. Other topics ranged from social media and cloud computing to ethics and municipal law.
 
“Congratulations to our members, Board of Directors, and every member of our staff on an exciting and record-breaking annual meeting,” said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith. “We had more local officials and exhibitors than ever before, and everyone contributed to making this our best conference yet.”
 
The MMA Annual Meeting was green for the second year. Constellation Energy supplied green energy-certified renewable energy certificates from wind energy facilities located throughout the country and matched 100 percent of all the electricity used during the Annual Meeting.
 
The Trade Show featured roughly 200 exhibitors. The 40-plus first-time exhibitors included a GIS consulting company, a recreational specialist, and various green-energy and engineering companies. Several vendors also included education institutions.
 
“Made in Massachusetts,” a new feature to this year’s Trade Show, featured eight prominent local companies whose products are manufactured and assembled in Massachusetts. The companies included a clock designer, a historical replication and restoration company, and a steel manufacturer.
 
Local and state officials at the Friday evening dinner honored the winner of the MMA’s sixth annual sixth-grade student essay contest.
 
At the Saturday evening banquet, the band Twist and Shout entertained the crowd with early Beatles songs, concluding with a rousing rendition of the song for which the band is named.
 
The MMA Annual Meeting & Trade Show, the largest annual gathering of municipal officials in the state, also featured the business meetings of MMA member groups for mayors, selectmen, councillors and managers.
 
This year’s Annual Meeting theme was “Recovery, Reinvestment and Renewal: Cities and Towns Look Ahead.”
 
Next year’s Annual Meeting will be held Jan. 25-26, 2013, also at the Hynes Convention Center and Sheraton Boston Hotel.