2 days ago
City of Abilene appoints new city manager
ABILENE, Texas () – The City of Abilene has appointed a new city manager.
Emily H. Crawford, who is the current city manager of Brownwood and has served in local government leadership for the past 14 years.
Crawford will officially move into the city manager role June 25, becoming Abilene's 2nd female city manager. Mindy Patterson, who has served as city manager since former city manger Robert Hanna left in March, was the first.
Prior to serving as City Manager, Crawford served in many roles with the City of Brownwood, including Assistant City Manager, Director of the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation, Community Relations Coordinator of Brownwood Independent School District, and Director of Brownwood Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Read more about Crawford and her qualification provided by the City of Abilene below:
Crawford holds a Master of Science in Organizational Development from Abilene Christian University. Her Bachelor's degree is in Health and Wellness Promotion from Texas State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She also completed executive training at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin and holds a graduate certificate in mediation from ACU and multiple certifications through the National Incident Management System.
Crawford currently serves as President Elect of the Texas City Management Association (TCMA), where she has held a number of leadership roles including Vice President, Region 3 President, 100-Year Anniversary Conference Committee Chair, and Membership Committee Chair. She also serves on the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool Board of Trustees.
In 2023, she was recognized as 'Woman of the Year' by the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Hurt said Crawford's perspective and ideas will help guide the city of Abilene into the future.
'She brings new opportunities for change and isn't afraid to think differently,' he said. 'She's got great ideas for the future, and I'm excited to see how she helps lead Abilene forward.'
Crawford said she and her husband, who pastors Brownwood Community Church, are looking forward to making Abilene their home.
'My husband, Scotty, is a huge supporter of me and my work, and he is excited,' she said. 'It's definitely a sad time for us as well, because we have such great friends and such a wonderful church and a great work environment here. But we are at a place in our lives where we are looking at this as an opportunity for just a new chapter, a new adventure.'
Crawford said she focuses on building excellence into everything she and her current staff does, something she said she knows Abilene shares as a core value.
'When we're putting in infrastructure, we want to make sure that we're doing it in a way that 10 years from now, if it has to be dug up for some reason or another, we did it right — and they're not going to have to go back and fix what we didn't do properly,' she said. 'We don't just want to do it on the fly or on the cheap. That's what I mean about working today with tomorrow in mind. We have to think about what we do every day and how that will impact our future residents.'
Crawford said she also is a big believer in healthy organizations, citing her master's degree from ACU in organizational development.
'I have been able to see what a thriving, healthy organization can be — the enjoyment of having a good workplace environment,' she said. 'People are happy to come to work. They believe in the mission. And I'm not saying that it's not the case in Abilene, but that is a core value of who I am as a city manager and as a leader. I believe when the city organization, the people in it, are healthy and thriving, then the results that the public receives are high quality. That's what I want to bring to Abilene.'
Crawford and her husband have been married since 1996. They have two adult sons and two daughters-in-law.
Outside of work, she enjoys herb gardening, reading, traveling, hosting dinner parties, and spending time with her family.
Crawford worked in other industries before her family moved to Brownwood in 2006, where she became the director of the community's Convention and Visitors Bureau through its Chamber of Commerce.
The role allowed her to interact with the City Council regularly and also introduced her to city officials and its inner workings.
She worked for the Brownwood Independent School District for two years as its Community Relations Coordinator, then became the Director of the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation in April 2011.
It was through those roles that she found her passion for municipal government,
'I just really fell in love with all the aspects of the city — Public Works and public safety and even the landfill,' she said. 'I was just so intrigued by all of the things and the operations that happen on a day-to-day basis that mostly go unseen or unnoticed, especially when they're operating as they should.'
Her predecessor in Brownwood, Bobby Rountree, was a long-tenured city manager who spent most of his career with the City of Baytown.
'He became my mentor, and he saw that I was curious about local government,' she recalled. 'He gave me opportunities to do special projects and learn alongside him.'
As Rountree neared retirement, Crawford served as assistant city manager with him for a year, then was appointed to the Brownwood's top spot upon his retirement.
In her time in Brownwood, Crawford said one of her top three projects as city manager would include a public safety initiative coordinated with other agencies in Brown County to update radio systems.
'That was a massive undertaking because of the age of all of our equipment and the radio infrastructure,' she said. 'We were able to upgrade our public safety radio system along with our dispatch center, allowing every single first responder in Brown County to communicate while expanding the reach of the radio system.'
That project aided first responders in doing their jobs with speed and accuracy, allowing greater overall communications and increasing first responder and residents' safety.
'I'm really proud that the county, other area cities, and all the fire agencies were able to come to an agreement on the best service and the best product, and we all invested in it at the same time so that it could be a comprehensive upgrade,' she said.
Another key accomplishment, Crawford said, is in what she'd call 'place-making,' a concentrated effort to make public spaces such as parks and recreation areas more enjoyable.
Those upgrades, such as splash pads, enhanced green spaces, and enhancing sports complexes, added in both value and safety.
Crawford said she loves Parks & Recreation because it provides experiences families can enjoy while encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Related goals have seen the city enhance the community's downtown district with attractive, walkable shopping, dining, and entertainment options.
'We've had a huge boom in our downtown district of new businesses, almost all of which were local Brownwood people who were taking a risk in opening a new business,' she said. 'They have been very successful, and now downtown is the place to be.'
A capstone of accomplishments during her tenure would be the new Brownwood Event Center complex.
A decade in the making, the center is now the gem of the community's downtown, she said.
'We've already hosted so many conferences and business expos and weddings,' she said. 'It's become the place to go, the place to be. And I'm really so proud that when people think of their happy memories and special moments in Brownwood, it's going to be at the event center.'
Growth and renewal is tied directly to an individual city council's desire to reinvest in the community and its future, Crawford said.
'I'm very fortunate that I have been able to work with the Mayor and Council here in Brownwood, who not only want to service the needs of the residents today but look to the future — what kind of a city are we building for our children and our grandchildren?' Crawford said. 'When we collectively have that type of an outlook, then it really makes growth possible.'
Another key component of growth is tied to community partnerships, whether they be local business, industry, medical, and more.
It's like putting puzzle pieces together, she said, and when they fit, 'that's when the magic happens.'
'The city alone cannot create growth,' she said. 'We have to create a foundation and policies and an environment where business can thrive.'
That can be done through code, incentive packages, or a variety of other strategies, she said, but all need to be geared to ensuring existing enterprises thrive and entrepreneurship can be fostered.
When Hanna announced earlier this year he planned to retire, Crawford saw Abilene as a natural next step in her professional journey.
Brownwood essentially sees Abilene as its neighbor — or its 'big sister' up the road, Crawford said.
'One of the reasons why I was drawn to Abilene is because I was very familiar with the city,' she said, from entities such as Hendrick Medical System to the West Central Texas Council of Governments and local colleges such as ACU and TSTC.
That will give her a level of familiarity and comfort, she said, with enough room to really dig in and get to know the city's inner workings.
'I feel like I understand the West Texas culture, which we also share in Brownwood,' she said.
'Being out here with no really close neighbors creates a sense of independence, but it also creates a sense of community connection. We all have to pull together and make things happen. I think that instills a real strength, and that's something I see in Abilene. If we want something to happen, we have to pull together and make it happen.'
That sense of connection and value of place also is transferable to demographics and economics, Crawford said.
'When you look at industry, healthcare, higher education, those are all very, very similar dynamics to Brownwood,' she said.
The proximity to Brownwood means that Crawford and her family can also maintain ties with her parents, who live there, and friends and contacts she's made there, while letting her dig into her new home.
'I plan to bring a perspective that places a strong emphasis on collaboration and partnerships, because I see that happening in Abilene — with the city, with the Development Corporation of Abilene, with the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, with nonprofit organizations and foundations,' she said. 'I love partnership and collaboration, because, like I said, the city alone doesn't have the only piece that's needed to build healthy communities. It takes all of those pieces working together.'
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