Today’s Morning Buzz is by Meredith Reynolds, Deputy City Manager for the City of Long Beach, CA. Connect with Meredith on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
What I’m Watching: Unstable, binge-worthy TV featuring a Chris-Traeger-like Rob Lowe whose character is a biotech genius working through grief with the help of his son (played by his actual son!), who is trying to escape his dad’s shadow.
What I’m Working On: Plotting this year’s #CityHallSelfie. 🤳
What I’m Listening To: Amidst a complete belly flop into the catalog of the Teskey Brothers, a soulful bluesy brother duo from Melbourne, Australia.
Local Govies!! We are a month away from the eighth annual #CityHallSelfie Day! Best day of the year is finally happening! So, synchronize your watches for Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
What is City Hall Selfie Day you ask?!?
Why, City Hall Selfie Day is a celebration of public service showcasing pride in local government. Every year since 2016, government employees, elected officials, members of the media, and community members across the country have participated in this event organized by ELGL. City Hall Selfie Day is a way to celebrate the good local gov work we do with those we do it with! Hundreds of smiling faces staged just so in front of city halls, parks, fire or police stations, some with props or cute animals or signs, putting a little bit of joy into the world. You get it, right?
From the origin of City Hall Selfie Day in 2014, to the first official City Hall Selfie Day in 2016, to the hundreds of selfies over the last eight years, City Hall Selfie Day has become one of the most beloved local gov holidays with unlimited engagement opportunities each year. It has even captured the attention of some famous City Hall Selfies!
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#CityHallSelfie Day is all about local government pride. It doesn’t matter if you work for a town, city, county, library, park, or special district — just hop in front of your building, snap a picture, and use the hashtag to share it with the world! And it doesn’t matter how large (City of Los Angeles, population 3,680,000) or how small your city is (Todd Mission, TX, population 111), City Hall Selfie Day is for everyone!
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So, the question is… Are. You. Ready?
Participation is as easy as 1-2-3:
- Take a picture of yourself, with a group, or with a community in front of your local government building.
- Use the hashtag #CityHallSelfie when posting the photo to social media.
- Tag ELGL on social media: @ELGLNetwork on Facebook, @ELGL50 on Instagram, @ELGL on LinkedIn, @ELGL50 on Twitter, or @localgov on TikTok.
While participation is easy, your selfie may take some planning. But don’t worry, ELGL has that covered!
ELGL proudly supports the annual event with the #CityHallSelfie Day: 2023 Toolkit. Use the logos and sample social media posts, email, newsletter articles, and web content as a springboard to start spreading the word in your organization and community. And it never hurts to get others involved!
Using the toolkit is a great way to start plotting your #CityHallSelfie, but you don’t have to stop there. Many have gotten super creative, upping their city hall selfie game. And your selfie doesn’t have to be limited to city hall — any local government facility, park, library, or station is encouraged! And while it is a celebration and not a competition, ELGL does hand out fun recognitions for the people and organizations showing the most pride and creativity on the big day.
For some inspiration, here are a few of my favorite City Hall Selfies over the years:
From 2016, coming in from the City of Colma, CA where most of the city’s land is dedicated to cemeteries, so the population of the dead outnumbers the living by a ratio of nearly a thousand to one. And City of Raymore, MO invited the Pokémon GO friends to their City Hall Selfie!
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From 2017, Ocean City, MD police staff smuggled a horse into their council chambers!
From 2018, Phoenix, AZ library staff showcased their smiles from their public library building and Battle Creek, MI snapped a selfie at their zoo with a very photogenic giraffe!
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From 2019, City of Fort Collins, CO turned their selfie into art! The street crew from Janesville, WI were up early with the first city hall selfie of the day! And Athens-Clarke County, GA featured their local mascots, because who doesn’t love some spirit in their City Hall Selfie!
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From 2020, while a tough year for gathering, people got creative. Pflugerville, TX took selfies with their four-legged coworkers and Merriam, KS combined their social-distanced photos for a Brady Bunch-like selfie!
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From 2021, Little Rock, AR took it to the next level when they put together a picture of City Hall made of only City Hall Selfies.
From 2022, City of Issaquah, WA went all out with wild costumes, and the parks and reccies from Juneau, AK show off their public art.
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People even take City Hall Selfies while on vacation!
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And of course, I’m looking back at the City of Long Beach #CityHallSelfie photos to see how we might outdo ourselves this year! I can’t wait to see your selfies for the 2023 City Hall Selfie Day!
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