After leading the city through several projects and initiatives for the past 18 years, Ben Thatcher is leaving Southlake as its assistant city manager to become the head city manager for Boerne.
Ben was originally hired as an intern by the city manager’s office in 2002. According to MySouthlakeNews.com, Ben was pursuing his masters of public administration at the University of North Texas when he started working for the city of Southlake.
“I grew up in a city manager family,” Ben says. “My father is a career city manager in East Texas. I’m the oldest of six boys, and five of us work for city government in the Metroplex.”
It didn’t take long for him to be hired as the city manager’s assistant in 2004, then promoted to assistant city manager in 2007. Ben says he’s managed several projects during his time with the city, such as overseeing many of the city’s bond proposals, growing the parks system and establishing a strategic management system.
But one of the accomplishments Ben is most proud of is the work culture he’s helped create with his colleagues.
“We have great people and built a high-performing culture of excellence, service-first mentality for our community,” Ben says. “I’ve either helped hire or promote most of the team. Their spirit of volunteerism, partnerships and being together is a unique synergy that’s all investing into making Southlake one special place.”
The city recognized Ben during its council meeting earlier this month and held a going away party for him last week. City Manager Shana Yelverton says Ben’s ability to create relationships and work with people is unmatched.
“He has established himself as an effective leader,” Shana says to the council during its June 2 meeting. “He’s detail-oriented, and he’s really good at working with employees to help them be their best. Ben really is a people person.”
Ben says that in many ways, Boerne is a rich city filled with heritage and history – not unlike that of Southlake. But he’ll miss the people he’s worked with over the year, and Ben says he’s grateful to Southlake for giving him a chance all those years ago.
“I’ve invested 18 years into this community,” Ben expresses. “I’ll leave here with a lot of fond experiences and memories that I’ll treasure forever. Southlake will always have a special place in my heart.”