Collinsville manager gains accreditation

RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
3/17/2009

CREDENTIALS
City Manager Pam Polk: The Collinsville official is the only female city manager or administrator in Oklahoma to be credentialed through the International City/County Management Association. She was hired by Collinsville in June 2005.

COLLINSVILLE — City Manager Pam Polk recently became accredited with the International City/County Management Association, officials said.

Polk, 51, is a Credentialed Manager through the Washington, D.C.-based group.

The designation means that a member is qualified by a combination of education and experience, adherence to high standards of integrity, and an assessed commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

To maintain the accreditation, Polk must submit an annual report describing 40 hours of professional development during the previous year.

"It felt good," she said. "It's a commitment to lifelong learning and professional development.

"Learning to me is the key to everything. I really wanted to be the best I could be in the field that I'm in."

Polk is the only female city manager/town administrator in Oklahoman to be credentialed through the group, said Missy Dean, the Oklahoma Municipal League's director of intergovernmental relations and membership.

Polk is among 16 female city managers/town administrators in the state, Dean said.

The International City/County Management Association represents more than 8,000 local government executives and urban experts across the world.

Polk was hired as Collinsville's city manager in June 2005.

She was the city clerk in Mangum, in southwestern Oklahoma, from 1996 to 2002, before serving as the city manager there for three years.

"Collinsville is growing even in these dire economic times," Polk said.

"We have a great group of citizens and a great volunteer base. The commission is very progressive.

"We just keep moving forward," she said.