Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 8, 1990 TAG: 9007060301
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
"That's a little quirk of mine," said the Blacksburg town manager, who, as always, was impeccably dressed for a recent interview. "I have difficulty keeping things a-clutter."
His love for organization is so strong that if he weren't a public servant, Secrist said, he would like to run a warehouse. "Keep things in the little bins and all kinds of stuff. I love organization and a sense of order about things."
But this little quirk for keeping things organized and running smoothly has proved one of his greatest assets as he handles the everyday affairs and long-term planning for Virginia's biggest town.
When confronted by some messy issue - like the South Main Street medians or the Patrick Henry Drive proposal that would have taken several homes - Secrist sorts through the facts, processes the different angles and comes up with alternatives.
"That's my business," he says quite simply, a grin spreading easily across his boyish face. "I'm in the business of finding solutions."
Not all solutions please all people, of course. But Secrist, aside from being a neat freak, happens to be a nice guy who takes a genuine interest in people and their concerns.
By all accounts, Ron Secrist, 39, is the perfect town manager for Blacksburg. After 18 months on the job, he has gained the unshakable trust of the Town Council and the respect of his peers and business leaders.
"We feel like Ron is definitely interested in what the business community has to say," says Dwayne Kittle, president of the Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce. "He never has a closed mind."
With his staff, Secrist stresses teamwork. Everyone - including himself - is a team player. Town Attorney Richard Kaufman, who works with the manager daily, says Secrist is "amazingly adept at keeping all the plates in the air in terms of what's going on" and delegates responsibilities while tackling the more important issues himself.
A round table dominates his office where he meets with employees and visitors, evidence of his commitment to being accessible and open.
And he has endeared himself to the community. He's suave, but not stuffy, friendly and good-looking, with blue eyes and meticulously cropped graying hair.
He's also charming and gracious, according to longtime resident Virginia Hummel, who attends almost all the Town Council meetings, and he listens to people's complaints - big or small.
"I'm always fussing about the safety of pedestrians, and darned if he didn't get tape put down on the crosswalks by my house," Hummel said. "He's a splendid town manager."
In almost a dozen interviews with council members and others about their impressions of the manager, the word "diplomatic" came up repeatedly.
"He's more diplomatic than I," said Councilman Lewis Barnett. "He's more of a politician than most of us are. Maybe he has to be."
As town manager, Secrist is responsible for the welfare and concerns, sometimes conflicting, of 35,000 Blacksburg residents.
He also is responsible for about 300 full-time and part-time town employees, not to mention his seven bosses - the members of council - who don't always agree on things.
"He has a way of making mad people understand the situation better, even though it doesn't make them feel better," Mayor Roger Hedgepeth said.
Much of the job involves working on the town's transportation network - and, as the manager himself said, "there's not a road project alive that's not been controversial."
For instance, Hedgepeth said, Secrist last year successfully juggled the diverse opinions of four government entities and dozens of citizen groups over Snyder Hunt Corp.'s plan to extend South Gate Drive into its proposed Hethwood II residential community.
The solution was a proposal connecting Hubbard Street to South Gate Drive that would not funnel traffic through the Airport Road neighborhood; a full-blown interchange at the bypass; and the road into Hethwood II.
The plan also called for a future access road, no specific location was named, to areas west of Blacksburg without destroying the self-contained quality of the Hethwood planned community.
Secrist is also attuned to the concerns of neighborhood groups, which have a strong political presence in town.
Before citizens had a chance to upbraid council for the proposed Patrick Henry Drive extension recently, Secrist had diffused the situation. He recommended - and council quickly adopted the resolution - to ask the state to ditch the proposal that would have taken several homes and study another connection to Patrick Henry Drive.
"We're impressed with his concern for the quality of Blacksburg," said Jim Ruggiero, a steering committee member for the Federation of Neighborhood Associations.
Another member, Tom Sherman, said, "I never get the sense I'm being put off or patronized. I really think he's personally responsible."
Because of his position as the town's point man, Secrist often ends up taking heat from citizens on controversial issues.
"As manager, he's there in Town Hall, whereas me and the other council members - at least they [the citizens] have to find us," Hedgepeth said.
How does the diplomatic manager handle difficult people?
"I try very hard to speak softer, speak more slowly and more deliberately." The idea, he said, is to force the other person to settle down and listen harder to what he's saying.
And it usually works. He confesses that sometimes he loses his temper, one of his greatest disappointments, although none of the people interviewed could recall a single instance when he got angry.
"He always seems very much in control, and I'm sure we're very frustrating to him sometimes," Councilwoman Joyce Lewis said.
Secrist's self-control comes to him naturally and by training, after working as a public official in college towns for 17 years.
Prior to coming here, he worked in Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina, five years as director of parks and recreation and five years as assistant town manager. He also was director of recreation in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., another college town.
He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in recreation and earned a master's degree in public parks and recreation administration from Indiana University.
To Secrist there are no "problems" in Blacksburg. Rather, there are "management opportunities" - different words for the same thing, but it illustrates how he has cultivated his approach to public service.
The fact is, Secrist likes being town manager, for which he earns $70,410, and says he has no desire to leave Blacksburg, despite the constant pressure and the 60-hour weeks more often than not.
"He never lets his burden down, so to speak," says Kaufman. "I think Ron is always on duty, always thinking, always reading, always listening and always looking."
Kaufman said that the manager, on weekends or on his way home from work, often drives by a neighborhood or area of town where some "management opportunity" has arisen.
Another little quirk: The guy is always doing something. Not even on Sunday, which is after all a sanctified day of rest, can he sit through a whole ball game, read the paper or play with his two sons - Ron, 13 and Dan, 10 - for very long without getting sidetracked on some town business.
"You don't truly relax unless you leave town," Secrist said. "I do try really hard to forget about the town . . . ." He says he has to force himself not to call back to the office, but he always leaves a number where he can be reached.
His one professed escape from work is reading fiction - mostly historic novels. He says he toyed with the idea once of being a history teacher, but decided against it.
Now, he's helping Blacksburg make history.
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB