Melinda Brimhall always strives to incorporate her creative touch into her management style. And unifying the thirteen departments she manages as the Grand County council administrator in Moab, Utah, into a cohesive masterpiece isn’t always an easy task.
“I hope to create an atmosphere of trust, friendship, and leadership within the organization and have that spill over into the community,” says Brimhall, a 2002 MPA graduate.
In September 2009 Brimhall was appointed by a seven-member county council to her current position. Overseeing everything from emergency medical services and the road department to community development and building inspections requires ingenuity to ensure a strong, cohesive county council.
To interlace her office with unity and to benefit the community, Brimhall organized a friendly food drive competition between the Grand County council office and the Moab City office for Martin Luther King Day. The county office worked enthusiastically to win the competition and help the local food bank. The county raised 97 percent more food than the previous year and brought almost 75 percent more food than the city office.
“It boosted camaraderie, and a lot of people became involved who hadn’t previously been involved in internal activities,” Brimhall recalls.
But her touch for creativity doesn’t disappear when she leaves the office, it only takes on a different form.
Brimhall has been making jewelry since high school, but for the last seven years it’s taken a more active role in her life. While working in Arizona for the City of Chandler as a management assistant and for the City of Casa Grande as a management analyst, she started buying beads from across the world. Tucson, Arizona, has a yearly gem show where vendors from all over the globe come to sell beads, gems, stones, pearls, and precious metals.
Although she greatly enjoys transforming individual beads to jewelry, her greatest joy is seeing people connect with her jewelry.
“To take different pieces and create something that is beautiful or whimsical and see someone fall in love with it is extremely rewarding,” says Brimhall, whose jewelry has been featured in Bead Trends magazine, in its May/June 2008 and January 2009 editions.
Brimhall has also found a new love in mountain biking, an activity synonymous with the Moab lifestyle. Her bike rides to work and on the trails feed her need for warmth and sunshine. Her new favorite trail is Intrepid Trail at Dead Horse Point because of its amazing views.
