GMA OFFERS TRAINING CLASSES IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

GMA members interested in continuing education classes will have several opportunities to take classes in August and September via the Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute. GMA partners with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government to operate the training institute.

On August 16, two three-hour classes—Open Records (on the required list for certificate program) and Succession Planning: Preparing for Tomorrow’s Workforce Today—will be offered in Dublin, as a pre-conference option for the Small Cities Conference, which beings on August 17. The classes and the conference will be held at the Oconee Fall Line Technical College in Dublin. To register for one of these classes, go to the 2023 Small Cities Conference and Regional Training event on the GMA website.

On August 21, Downtown Development Basic Training Class and Creating a Downtown Renaissance: Advanced DDA Training will be held during the Georgia Downtown Conference in Canton. Registration is available on the event page on GMA’s website.

The 2023 Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute will be held Tuesday, September 26 through Friday, September 29 at the Jekyll Island Convention Center in Jekyll Island.

Named in honor of the former GMA President and Mayor of the city of Thomson from 1979-2007, the Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute is an intensive multi-day course that focuses on helping city officials enhance and sharpen their leadership skills. It is a required course to earn the training institute’s Certificates of Excellence, Distinction and Dedication.

Those eligible for training certificates can earn six hours of credit towards a training certificate for completing the leadership course. Registration and lodging information is available on the events page on GMA’s website.

The two-day Fall Training Event will also be held at the Jekyll Island Convention Center on September 28-29. Those eligible for training certificates can earn six hours of credit towards a training certificate for each class completed.

The event will feature four six-hour classes on Thursday and four six-hour classes on Friday.

THE THURSDAY CLASSES ARE:

• Conflict Resolution (on the required list for certificate program)

• Effective Branding and Marketing Strategies for Municipal Governments (New)

• Governing the Commons: Collective Decision Making in Complex Systems (on the required list for certificate program and advanced leadership track).

• Making Cultural Diversity Work (on the required list for certificate program)

THE FRIDAY CLASSES ARE:

• Building Community Capacity Through Tourism

• Data Literacy and Storytelling for Cities (New)

• How Shall We Live? Practical Ethics for Public Life (on the required list for certificate program and advanced leadership track)

• Public Presentations and Meet the Media

A limited number of Small City Scholarships for cities with a population of 1,500 or less are available for the Fall Training Event. Please email GMA training manager Aileen Harris for a scholarship application.

Registration and lodging information is available on the event page on GMA’s website.

Please note that the GMA 2023 Fall 2-Day Training Event and the Fall 2023 Robert E. Knox Jr. Municipal Training Institute are separate events at the same venue. You can register for one or the other.