Big expectations
Brynn Myers becomes first female Temple city manager
Story by Catherine Hosman
Photo by Julie Doughty and Becky Stinehour
There was a loud crack in the ceiling at the City of Temple this past January when Brynn Myers became Temple’s first woman city manager. It is a role she trained for her entire life.
Brynn had been running the city as the interim manager since April of 2017 after Jonathan Graham retired. The “interim” label was removed following a nationwide search when the city council members decided the best candidate was already doing the job. Interestingly, all five of the positions appointed by the Temple council are held by women (Finance Director Traci Barnard, Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Person, City Secretary Lacy Borgeson and City Attorney Kayla Landeros are the others.)
Brynn, who is 38, recognizes that it takes teamwork to get things accomplished. She is the leader of the team — a team that includes more than 900 full- and part-time employees and a budget of nearly $150 million. “There is so much good and amazing work being done in Temple — a lot of projects. No way can one single person make that happen,” Brynn said. “We get the right person on the team, give them the tools, resources — things they need to be successful in their positions. I couldn’t do it all if I wanted to.”
Her day starts around 8:30 a.m., except when the occasional 7 a.m. meeting requires her presence. “If it’s not an early morning, I get the kids ready and we spend time together,” she said of her 7-month-old daughter and 2 ½-year-old son.
She tag teams the home and family responsibilities with her husband, Blake, who owns his own real estate investment company and works from home. “He is busy and has benefits of working for himself,” she said. “He has flexibility, he takes the lead in all household matters, and we have a big family to love and support us.”
Her work days are filled with meetings – each one with a different topic or issue to be addressed, something to be done for the community. “There is no time to be bored,” she said.
She works closely with all departments, boards and commissions including police and fire, code enforcement, planning and zoning. “I don’t attend every board and commission meeting, but I do attend some of them,” she said.
“Once a month I attend department head group meetings and I meet with board members.”
As the city manager, she likes getting involved with the variety of projects. Her attention to detail and analytical mind makes diving into a new topic an enjoyable process.
“It presents the opportunity to learn something new and find solutions to a problem.”
City manager in training
Brynn is a self-described nerd who read Roberts Rules of Order when she was in the eighth grade. She became a member of the Killeen Youth Advisory Council to learn firsthand how meetings are run. During her junior and senior years of high school she served as the council chair.
She was homeschooled through middle and high school, which gave her the flexibility to “explore personal interests and passions which included local government, youth advisory and other volunteer work.
“Homeschooling can look very different depending on the family,” she said. “In my experience, I’ve always been independent in my learning. It helped me in college to be able to work on assignments without direct oversight.”
In between lessons she still found time to study ballet, be active in her church and participate in her church’s Praise band. “I’m not musically inclined at all so I would put together sound on Power Point notes on sheet music; I got to dig in and do Power Point. I love making Power Point presentations. I was able to spend time to hone my skills, know it and have it benefit me personally.”
Brynn knew she wanted a career in local government and majored in political science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. She was a freshman when her advisor suggested she become a volunteer at the city.
“The City of Huntsville was looking for interns,” she said. “There were two vacancies.”
The city needed college students to help put together a budget with narrative and statistical information. Myers applied for the position and was hired. On her first day she was handed a budget from the previous year and told, “Good luck.”
“I like to dive into and solve a problem,” she said. “I start to understand problems and get them fixed. It fits my personality. They don’t have time to show you how to do it. They let you figure it out on your own.”
While her roommate and other friends were out for the evening, Brynn kept on task. She would sit on the floor in her dorm and pore over City of Huntsville budget materials.
“The city manager presented my work to the financial board and I was hired for the job,” said Brynn, who became the part-time budget analyst for the City of Huntsville. She was one month shy of her 19th birthday and a SHSU student. Eventually the position became full-time and she worked while attending college and she was hired as the city’s budget manager.
She cited the city’s financial director, Winston Duke, as a great mentor. “He helped me learn so much about city finances. But my passion was not in budgets — I wanted to be a city manager,” she said. “I needed a mentorship to get started. I always loved it. It’s really my passion. I felt lucky to know what I wanted to do from early on. A lot of people work long before they find their life’s passion.”
True Texan
Brynn is sixth-generation Texan. Her great-great-great grandfather migrated to Texas in 1836 and fought in the battle of San Jacinto to form the Republic of Texas. Her great-grandfather, Hiram B. Reynolds moved to Bell County in 1866. Her ancestors had a farm on land that is now part of Fort Hood.
“In 1942 my family moved from the farm into Killeen when the farm was purchased for the establishment of Fort Hood,” she said. “My grandfather, Robert Preston Reynolds, owned a hardware store in downtown Killeen.”
It was her father’s participation in local government that inspired Brynn’s career in public service. Hiram Reynolds owned a carpentry business and served two terms on the Killeen City Council.“Once in the 1980s and again from 1995 to 2001,” Brynn said. “He sparked my interest and encouraged me. I watched him serve the community and get things done for the betterment of the community.
“He was passionate about helping serve on a program in Killeen that provided utility assistance for seniors with limited income. He saw an issue and was able to effect change and make it happen. Sometimes government seems so big that one person cannot make a difference in the local level. One person can make a difference.”
Continuing the legacy of service
Brynn graduated from SHSU in 2007 and started looking for jobs in finance, which fit her budget experience. But her heart was set on city management. She applied for a position as assistant to then Temple City Manager David Blackburn and was invited to interview. When she was called back for a second interview she had to create a Power Point presentation — a skill she mastered many years before.
She returned to Huntsville and waited. One day, two days, a week went by. She was sure that she wasn’t going to get the job. On the last day of that long week Blackburn called her at 7 a.m. to offer her the position. In March 2008 she began as Blackburn’s assistant. She was promoted to director of administrative services in 2011. “The position was perfect for me. I’d be back to budgets but working for the city manager in a very well-respected community with a lot of goals on the horizon,” she said. “David created the position. I could make it my own. I was exposed to different projects and greatly appreciated it.”
Blackburn said he gave her “as much exposure as possible to many facets of city government as I could.
“That ranged from budget analysis to helping supervise staff in the office,” said Blackburn, who is president of the Temple Economic Development Corporation and the sole candidate for Bell County Judge on the November ballot.
“When I hired her and talked to her about her goals and objectives it was clear to me she had passion, motivation and dedication for local government,” said Blackburn. “I think she’s demonstrated that over the past several years. She is certainly competent and qualified and I expect big things from her.”
Brynn said she enjoys being in a position that helps to get things done in the community.
“I think both staff and community members have great ideas and concepts,” she said. “I enjoy helping to shepherd those things and bring them to fruition.”
