The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I." And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say "I." They don't think "I." They think "we;" they think "team." They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but "we" gets the credit... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.

-Peter Drucker

Steve Horton was honored by his peers this week as he was named Administrator of the Year for the Northeast Region of Georgia.

This award recognizes a man who most of us have known for years to be a true and honest administrator and a straight forward leader.

Once in another place and time, a newspaper our general manager published gave a city manager some rough treatment. The two men later met over a cup of coffee, where the city manager reminded the GM that city managers get hired and fired over the same cups of coffee they were sharing.

That's how precarious the position of being a city manager really can be.

Horton has spent several years as the city of Covington's top administrator.

He has managed the city through different elected mayors and councils, and, all the while understanding the first principle of being a paid administrator of any organization, he stayed in the background being content in the knowledge that he is the person who really makes our city perform in a proper way.

Horton has surrounded himself with good people and given them a buy-in to the management of the city.

As you can tell, we like and respect Steve Horton; he is a gentleman, and when he finally puts his spurs on and heads out west to Montana, that will be the day our city will lose a truly great leader.