Why Public Service Matters at LARA

In honor of Public Service Recognition Week, we’re sitting down with COO Courtney Pendleton to talk about what public service really means, why it matters, and how LARA’s work impacts people across Michigan every day.

https://2026.ourpublicservice.org/public-service-recognition-week#downloads

Transcript

Anastasha Osborn 0:20

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the LARA Living Room podcast. We're so glad that you are here. Today's episode is especially meaningful as we celebrate Public Service Recognition Week, which is taking place right now until May 9th. Now, this week is all about recognizing the people who dedicate their time, talent, and passion to serving others, and that's exactly what we're diving into today. So whether you are a LARA team member, one of our partners or stakeholders, or a Michigander who interacts with our services, today's conversation is really all about you because public service connects all of us. And today I'm joined by Chief Operating Officer Courtney Pendleton, and we're going to talk about how and what public service really means, why it matters, and the impact it has here at LARA and across the state. But before we bring on our guests, don't forget to fill up your coffee or your drink of choice, grab a seat and get comfortable because you are now in the LARA Living Room. Courtney, thank you so much for being here today. Thanks for having me. Yes, so to start off, I kind of want to take a step back and talk about the bigger picture. Public Service Recognition Week is something many people have probably heard of, but maybe they don't have a full understanding of what it represents. We uh, you know, we know it's more than just a date on the calendar, you know, but it's a time for us to really pause and recognize the work that's being done. So I wanted you just to kind of tell us, for those who may be unfamiliar, what is Public Service Recognition Week and why do we celebrate it?

Courtney Pendleton 1:44

Well, I did some research on the history of Public Service Recognition Week because I didn't know myself. And it's actually been around since 1985. Wow. And it's an opportunity to recognize public servants and the work that we do at all levels of government. Okay. Federal, state, county, local, but just recognizing that work. And it was first started by the public employees roundtable, and it's since then been officially recognized by presidential proclamation. So it's been around for a while. And uh there's all sorts of information out there. If anybody wants to go dig in, they can go check out the National Archives, which is where I found some information on the history.

Anastasha Osborn 2:30

Yeah, and we always like to add in some links into our show notes. So we'll make sure to add some um links in there so you can kind of look at some of these different proclamations, some of the archives, as well as where you can find some really cool um toolkits with like social media posts or anything like that. If you work in government or any level of government and you want to participate this week. Um, so yeah, so when we really think about public service, um I feel like sometimes people think of it very broadly. And so I kind of want to zoom in a bit, and from your perspective as our COO, what does public service look like in terms of why it matters, um, both to like the individuals that we serve and then to the strength of our communities here in Michigan?

Courtney Pendleton 3:10

So if you Google, why is public service important? You're gonna get a wide range of information. Um, some of it talking about how vital it is for fostering societal well-being, reducing inequity, maintaining essential infrastructure. Um, the Partnership for Public Service, which is an organization that recognizes Public Service Recognition Week, calls it uh the ability to rely on dedicated individuals who choose to make a positive impact on the world, serving as a pillar of community stability. And so specifically at LARA, public service is all of those things. But it's also all of the people that we here, we have here, uh as part of Team LARA living and working our mission every single day of protecting people and promoting business at all different levels, doing all sorts of different kinds of work. Whether they're answering the phones and helping somebody move forward with their license application, whether they're going out and doing an investigation, uh, whether they're going out and doing an inspection so that a permit in our built environment can be issued, whether it's making sure that our bars and restaurants across the state can get their liquor licenses and all different things, right? So we are looking at ways that we can protect people and promote business. And we only do that because we do have the dedicated people here that care about the work that happens. And so when you care that deeply about making a difference, and sometimes you aren't ever necessarily recognized, um, other than Public Service Recognition Week, um for that work, right? Like it's it's making sure that you know you're doing a good thing and that you're having a positive impact on our communities and our people all across the state, and having that pride in the work that we do.

Anastasha Osborn 5:12

Yeah, and you actually kind of brought up a question that as you're kind of going through that, and I'm thinking about all these different services that we offer, all the different programs that we have, and all these different instances where we are interacting with um these communities and these people, and you know, for you personally, what does that mean to be a public servant? So, you know, you're you're kind of giving you know this broader view of what that means, but for you, how has that really shaped like your leadership um and how you approach your role as a COO?

Courtney Pendleton 5:43

Oh, that's a good question. Um so I've been a state employee for going on 27, I mean you're 27. She looks 27. Well, thank you very much. Um, so you know, I originally started down this path um with very different ideas of where I was gonna end up. And I wanted to work at the State Travel Bureau because I wanted to help promote the travel and the tourism that we have all over Michigan. And so I got some excellent advice at one point to get a job within the state. Um, and then, you know, that can also open up additional doors to help me get to the State Travel Bureau. Um, and then once I got here and found out some of the work that was happening and the impact that we have and what we can do to help people, um, it took me on a very different path. At every every place that I've that I've been within state government and I've had the opportunity to work for multiple departments, I am continually impressed and proud of the state employees that we have because they care about the work, they care about the people, they care about making a difference. And you know, sometimes it's literally only a pat on the back that we can give people, but you just do it because you know it's a good thing to do and it's the right thing to do. And are we perfect? Absolutely not. But we are always looking for those opportunities to do something better to serve to serve the people.

Anastasha Osborn 7:15

Yeah, and I think it's it's nice because we do it in a variety of ways, right? So, how we are doing those things, um, you know, one of the things I I know we've been working on, you and I specifically have been the cutting red tape report and just really working to make licensing easier, but that requires the team behind that to really care about the people that are gonna be impacted by us cutting this red tape. Like who are the people who are being impacted and not able to, you know, get a license easier or be able to find this process easier on our website, whatever it might be. These people have to care enough about their work as public servants to then do the work that needs to be done. Um, so I think that kind of brings me into a different question and kind of a different realm is can you share a couple of examples um of how public service shows up here in Lara's work?

Courtney Pendleton 8:07

We've talked about this with others across the department, giving the example of, you know, a day in the life. You're going about your day, and you get up in the morning and maybe you make breakfast and you burn your toast and it sets off your smoke alarm along there. Right? And so that's our Bureau of Fire Services. They have they give smoke alarms to local communities to distribute to people to make sure that they're safe in the event that there's a fire in their home. And then you get in your car and you drive down the street, maybe you pass the local hospital. Well, we're involved in that because we make sure that that hospital is licensed so that they can serve the people that you know need them and the doctors that work there and the nurses. And then you drop your kiddos off at school. And we're involved there too because our Bureau of Construction Codes helps inspect those buildings to make sure that the built environment in each of our schools is safe and is meeting the code. And then, you know, maybe you come to work at Lara and you see the things. And we have licensees that work here. I was just gonna say that bringing their expertise into the job to make sure that you know we're aligning what we're doing with what's needed for that license with for that profession. Yes. And so just all different aspects. And honestly, my favorite one of my favorite things about Lara is that we'll have this impact, and most people will never know that we had the opportunity.

Anastasha Osborn 9:31

Very true. Which makes me want to talk a little bit about appreciation for our Lara people. Um, you know, taking the time to acknowledge that these individuals who are making all of this stuff possible, um, you know, that includes everybody from our frontline people who are out in the communities and working, you know, face to face with these businesses and individuals, and then of course the people who are behind the scenes doing more of the operation, um, you know, licensing and stuff like that. So, from your perspective, why is it important for us to recognize and celebrate public servants?

Courtney Pendleton 10:04

So being a public servant is hard. I'm not saying that all jobs are not hard, but it it's hard, right? You want to make sure that you're doing the very best job. And sometimes we have some very specific rules and constraints that we have to follow that sometimes don't exist in the private sector. And uh, you know, we for example, we can't just give our staff bonuses. Yeah. Right? So like me too sometimes. Uh-huh. But like uh, you know, if you're if you're if you do sales for your job, right? And sometimes if you meet certain thresholds or you go above and beyond, right, you're eligible for bonuses, things like that. We don't we don't have monetary appreciation that we can show.

Anastasha Osborn 10:49

Yeah, and I'm glad you gave that example because I was just gonna say, for our listeners, can you explain kind of the differences between you know working in the private sector versus being a public servant?

Courtney Pendleton 10:59

Right. So that that's a big one. Um we can't just tell somebody, you know what, you did a really good job today, why don't you take the day off? You know, I can't just say, Anastasha, you did such a great job with this podcast, go ahead and take the week off. You know, things like that. So some of those more flexible items that you can show appreciation for people, we we cannot do. So you come up with ways to ensure that your staff are engaged, that they understand how important their work is to our mission of protecting people and promoting business. And, you know, why it's so important and making sure that you're showing that appreciation in all different ways. So, you know, that's one of the honestly most challenging but also the most fun parts is to make sure that we are saying thank you to our staff and you know how much we appreciate them. And sometimes that might be the only thing that we can do, but we say it out loud, we put it in writing. Thank you. Thank you for the work that you do every single day because it's important and we're glad you're doing it.

Anastasha Osborn 12:01

Yeah, and I feel like too, we do a really good job here at LARA. I'm gonna shoot our horn a little bit. I feel like we do a really good job too at um when there are moments that you know LARA team members are being highlighted or appreciated or um spotlighted, we make sure that everybody knows that. So we've had a couple instances where we've had some staff that have gone out, either if it's a career fair or they have um gone out to a hospital and did an inspection there, and they you know that hospital had a really good experience with them. They will then send what we have is a Note to LARA. They will send in a kudos or a thank you, and they will spotlight the the staff member that they worked with. And then we will take that back, and then we internally will share that so people can see real life examples of that impact. Um, because like you said, I mean sometimes some of these things people might not get the thank you, you know, for the hard work that they're doing. But when we get those moments, um, we make sure that we make a point to share that with everybody so they can see exactly the impact that they're having. Yes, absolutely. So, um, really for our listeners, I kind of want to talk about, you know, if you are maybe early on in your career or you're considering public service, or maybe even our already LARA team members are listening, you know, this week I want to say is just really a chance for us to reflect on the purpose. Um, we're talking a lot about impact. If you remember from our earlier episodes of the season, that is our word of the year, so you're gonna hear us say it a lot. Um, but Courtney, what advice would you give to someone who wants to make a difference through public service? And um, what continues really to then inspire you in your work and motivate you?

Courtney Pendleton 13:45

So, for those that are interested in public service, um dive right in, right? The the great thing about being a state employee is there's always work to do, right? And you can you can start doing it and just get deeply involved and look at, hey, why do we do this, right? Be able to be okay with asking questions. Can you tell me more about this? Or how does my work fit into the work that's happening across my team, across my department? It's okay to ask those questions and learn because that's how you help grow yourself to see that bigger picture, how you fit into the entire structure of state government. And so just dive in, really is my best, is my best advice if if you're interested. Uh, and if your Team LARA keep doing the awesome work that you're doing and continue to look for those opportunities to talk to other people across the department. Um, and one of the things that motivates me, continues to motivate me every single day is uh is the people that we have here. And I don't care if it sounds corny or not, but it is the most important thing. I couldn't do this job um without Director Brown and Adam. I couldn't do this job without all of you. And it it wouldn't be anywhere near as fun. Um because I do think my job is fun. But it, you know, we have fantastic people here. That's what inspires me every day.

Anastasha Osborn 15:16

Yeah. Well, thank you so much. And I appreciate you being here. I appreciate you taking the time. Um and yeah, just to everybody who's listening that is our LARA staff, um, you know, happy Public Service Recognition Week. And we hope that you get all of the thank yous and kudos that you can this week. Thank you, Team LARA. To our listeners, we hope this conversation gave you a deeper appreciation for Public Service Recognition Week and the people who make it meaningful. If you know someone in public service, please take a moment this week to say thank you. And I promise you just that alone will go a long way. Thank you again for listening and tuning in from our living room to yours. We'll see you next time.