{"id":238,"date":"2026-01-24T20:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T02:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.phonelive.io\/?p=238"},"modified":"2026-01-24T20:32:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T02:32:02","slug":"gf_ep18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gf_ep18\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Make Them Ask You Three Times\u201d (with Guest Donna Reed) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 18"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local government is often described as part-time work with full-time responsibility. In this conversation, host Hugh Plappert sits down with Donna Reed to explore how a call to community service\u2014literally three calls\u2014turned into a seat on the city council. From a Facebook group supporting parents during COVID to a platform for youth engagement, Donna shares how she learned the rules, built relationships, and found purpose in public service. She opens up about navigating politics she never planned to enter, facing $8.6 million in budget cuts, and prioritizing \u201cpeople over programs.\u201d Her journey is full of real talk, practical compassion, and a strong belief that leadership is about lifting up others and leaving space for new voices to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u3164<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc64 Guest Bio<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Donna Reed serves as a council member in Jeffersonville, Indiana. A mom of two and a full-time educator, she entered public service after leading a local Facebook group that helped parents during COVID. Donna\u2019s focus on youth engagement, transparency, and accessibility has shaped her approach to city leadership and community building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u3164<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udccc What We Cover<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How a Facebook group turned community leadership into a council seat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The \u201cthree asks\u201d that changed her path to public service<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lessons learned about teamwork, checks and balances, and influence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creating the Youth Advocate position and Summer Works program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Managing an $8.6 million city budget loss while protecting jobs and services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cPeople over programs\u201d: balancing empathy with responsibility<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Building strong relationships with constituents, representatives, and city staff<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why transparency, accessibility, and open communication matter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Advice for anyone considering running for local office<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The importance of lifting up new leaders and building future public servants<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u3164<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udd17 Resources Mentioned<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>City of Jeffersonville website: cityofjeff.net<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Donna\u2019s city email: DREED@cityofjeff.net<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u3164<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Ground Floor Government is hosted by <\/em><em>Hugh Plappert<\/em><em> and produced by PhoneLive.io.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Local government is often described as part-time work with full-time responsibility. In this conversation, host Hugh Plappert sits down with Donna Reed to explore how a call to community service\u2014literally three calls\u2014turned into a seat on the city council. From a Facebook group supporting parents during COVID to a platform for youth engagement, Donna shares [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technolgies","tag-audiopodcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.7 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Don\u2019t Make Them Ask You Three Times\u201d (with Guest Donna Reed) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 18 | PhoneLive Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Local government is often described as part-time work with full-time responsibility. In this conversation, host Hugh Plappert sits down with Donna Reed to explore how a call to community service\u2014literally three calls\u2014turned into a seat on the city council. From a Facebook group supporting parents during COVID to a platform for youth engagement, Donna shares how she learned the rules, built relationships, and found purpose in public service. She opens up about navigating politics she never planned to enter, facing $8.6 million in budget cuts, and prioritizing \u201cpeople over programs.\u201d Her journey is full of real talk, practical compassion, and a strong belief that leadership is about lifting up others and leaving space for new voices to rise.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gf_ep18\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t Make Them Ask You Three Times\u201d (with Guest Donna Reed) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 18 Don\u2019t Make Them Ask You Three Times\u201d (with Guest Donna Reed) | Ep. 18\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Local government is often described as part-time work with full-time responsibility. In this conversation, host Hugh Plappert sits down with Donna Reed to explore how a call to community service\u2014literally three calls\u2014turned into a seat on the city council. From a Facebook group supporting parents during COVID to a platform for youth engagement, Donna shares how she learned the rules, built relationships, and found purpose in public service. 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