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Today’s strategic meeting was my first one and consisted of two committee members appointed by the city council, Duke and LeRoy Smalls, as well as the city manager, Tucker Ellis, and me, all seated around a small conference table. In the corner, two of Granville’s news bloggers were in attendance to report on this travesty. I wasn’t sure what the headline would be?City staffers talk about their ‘shrinkage’ problems.
It sounded like we needed to look into erectile dysfunction treatments. I didn’t know about the other guys, but my dick worked just fine, even if it hadn’t been in commission much lately.
I bit the inside of my cheek to maintain a neutral expression as Duke carried on talking about shrinkage. LeRoy cackled, not even attempting to hold back. The man looked as if he belonged in a nursing home, perhaps hospice care, but laughed with the glee of a six-year-old who’d just played a prank on his teacher.
I’d fully expected working for a city to be different from a corporate ad agency. Of course I did. They didn’t have the same kind of budget to work with.
But this…this was bad.
“Okay,” I said gamely when Duke paused for breath. “Maybe we could revise the language we use moving forward, but the sentiment is something I can work with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the name is a bit…” I trailed off, unsure how to express how cringeworthy I found it.
Duke huffed, sounding offended. “We all brainstormed for two weeks to come up with that name. It’s entirely accurate!”
A glance Tucker’s way showed me the expression of a man who’d been through this rodeo a time or two before and knew when to quit.
“It’s been used in the news quite a few times since last year,” he said. “These guys have been covering our plans pretty thoroughly.”
He waved his hand toward Linc Tate, a young auburn-haired guy with a twist to his lips that gave away his amusement, and Elmer Boyd, the sour-faced older man who tapped his foot as if impatient. I knew Linc better, given that he was in the same friend group as my younger brother. But I couldn’t really blame Elmer for his attitude. I also wanted the meeting to end.
“We even got an endorsement fromDeeper Inside Granville,” Duke said proudly. “And Elmer hates everything.”
“And you’ve seen those nice brochures we did up last fall, right?” LeRoy spoke up. “We couldn’t afford to redo those. But it’s funny. People like funny. We’re not all polished and slick like some big city.”
Well, crap. It seemed I was outvoted on that front.
LeRoy did have a point. Not about the choice of name. That was still cringey as fuck. But this would be a totally different undertaking from the corporate marketing campaigns I’d managed.
“What’s the budget we’re working with?”
Tucker grimaced. “Next to nothing. I’ve got a spreadsheet I’ll forward to you that lays out the numbers. But LeRoy is right. This is going to have to be a grass-roots effort.”
“I’m getting the picture,” I said grimly.
Tucker leaned forward, eyes intent. “The real goal here isn’t to win over the public, though we obviously want public support as we move forward, and that would greatly help our ultimate goals of drawing more residents. We have to show we’re making strides forward and craft a proposal for future changes that will qualify us for a small-town innovation grant. That’s where you come in. Once we get that grant, we can continue building on Granville’s progress, but first we have to really showcase our town.”
It was the most energy Tucker had displayed since I walked into the room, and I could sense that even with the silly name, he had a real passion for the goals behind that embarrassing slogan. I could respect that.
“All right. I’ll review the strategic plan in more detail and start working on those goals.”
“Thank you. It’s a big vision, but that also means it’s a big undertaking. There are going to be a lot of meetings along the way, a lot of moving parts. We need a spokesman who can be the face of the project and can keep us from choosing our words poorly.”
Tucker’s lips twisted into a wry smile. I smirked. Too late for that one, but clearly they needed all the help they could get.
Tucker led me to a shared office space, and I took a seat at a desk in the corner and began to read through the plans and budgets he forwarded to me. I was still questioning how in the heck I was going to work with a practically nonexistent budget when my cell phone rang.
The screen displayed the school’s phone number. Never a good sign. Toby was either sick or in trouble.
“Hello, this is Hunter Rhodes.”
“Mr. Rhodes, this is Marcus Martinez, principal at Granville Elementary.”
“How can I help you? I hope Toby isn’t in trouble?”
“No, he’s not.” He paused. “But he has been struggling this year, as you know. We’d like to work on that.”
