This summer, VRSA welcomed former local government manager Brian Thrower to the team as local government relations manager. Like Peter Stephenson, Thrower will be providing local government consulting services to members across the Commonwealth.
“It’s great to be on board with VRSA,” said Thrower, who brings 25 years of local government service in city, county, and town management.
He says his background has “enabled me to experience the broad operations of local government from finance, budgeting, public works, economic and community development, downtown revitalization, utilities, and more.”
Together, Stephenson and Thrower will focus on using their combined expertise to provide support to local government managers, a service Stephenson has provided since 2018.
“I’ve been involved in things from training, working with other staff members, team building, facilitating councils, strategic planning, goal setting, and staff retreats,” said Stephenson. “I’ve kind of been an internal and external resource for our members.”
Thrower says that in this role he is most looking forward to sharing his knowledge and helping the next generation of local government managers.
“A lot of new managers have come in [to local government], so helping those managers grow and expand their knowledge,” said Thrower. “I would see us as an extension of their management team to help maximize service delivery and how they run operations.”
While having the right protections in place is essential for protecting member budgets and communities, VRSA offers much more. From free, unlimited training through the VRSA Online University to in-person and virtual engagements designed to help prevent injuries in the workplace, to personalized HR, communications, and public safety consulting, and more, VRSA is committed to assisting members in effectively serving their communities.
To learn more about the services Thrower and Stephenson provide, visit the Local Government Consulting page here and check out the video below.