{"id":372,"date":"2026-06-03T15:27:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.phonelive.io\/?p=372"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:27:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:27:22","slug":"gfg_ep74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/","title":{"rendered":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this episode of Ground Floor Government, host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard’s journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Joseph Vizard grew up in Waltham and pursued a career in government.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Navigating elections during COVID-19 was a significant challenge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Community involvement is crucial for successful local projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Effective communication is key in local government roles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Budgeting requires creativity and adherence to regulations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Approval for purchases in local government involves multiple steps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. People skills are essential for managing various stakeholders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Local government is heavily regulated by state and federal laws.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Ownership of tasks can improve team productivity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. A career in local government offers long-term rewards and community impact.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Summary In this episode of Ground Floor Government, host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard’s journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills […]<\/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-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technolgies","tag-audiopodcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74 | PhoneLive Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard's journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74 A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ep. 74\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard's journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PhoneLive Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T20:27:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T20:27:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/PL_Site.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hugh Plappert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PhoneLive_io\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PhoneLive_io\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hugh Plappert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hugh Plappert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117\"},\"headline\":\"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T20:27:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-03T20:27:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/\"},\"wordCount\":188,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Podcast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Technologies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/\",\"name\":\"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74 | PhoneLive Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T20:27:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-03T20:27:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard's journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"PhoneLive.io Church Tech Blog\",\"description\":\"Turn your live stream into a phone call. Phone streaming for churches and local governments \u2014 reach seniors and offline members, no internet needed.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"PL - Church Tech Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PhoneLive.io\",\"alternateName\":\"PL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"PhoneLive.io\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/PhoneLive_io\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phonelive\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@PhoneLive\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117\",\"name\":\"Hugh Plappert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hugh Plappert\"},\"description\":\"Hugh Plappert co-founded PhoneLive with his son David, building the phone-streaming platform now used by 1,200+ churches and local governments to reach members and residents who cannot get online. Drawing on 41 years in ministry and operations, Hugh leads PhoneLive's operations and customer success, keeping the technology simple enough for any volunteer to run so homebound and offline members are never left behind. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/plappert\/\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Co-founder & Chief Officer, PhoneLive\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74 | PhoneLive Blog","description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard's journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74 A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ep. 74","og_description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard's journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.","og_url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/","og_site_name":"PhoneLive Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T20:27:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-03T20:27:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/PL_Site.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Hugh Plappert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74","twitter_creator":"@PhoneLive_io","twitter_site":"@PhoneLive_io","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hugh Plappert","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/"},"author":{"name":"Hugh Plappert","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117"},"headline":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74","datePublished":"2026-06-03T20:27:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-03T20:27:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/"},"wordCount":188,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Podcast"],"articleSection":["Technologies"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/","name":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74 | PhoneLive Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-03T20:27:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-03T20:27:22+00:00","description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Joseph Vizard, the city clerk of Waltham, Massachusetts. They discuss Vizard's journey in local government, the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of community engagement in local projects. Vizard shares insights on effective communication, the budgeting process, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of local government. He emphasizes the rewarding nature of public service and encourages those considering a career in local government to pursue it despite the challenges.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep74\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Journey in Public Service (with Joseph Vizard) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 74"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/","name":"PhoneLive.io Church Tech Blog","description":"Turn your live stream into a phone call. Phone streaming for churches and local governments \u2014 reach seniors and offline members, no internet needed.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization"},"alternateName":"PL - Church Tech Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization","name":"PhoneLive.io","alternateName":"PL","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"PhoneLive.io"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io","https:\/\/x.com\/PhoneLive_io","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phonelive","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@PhoneLive"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117","name":"Hugh Plappert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hugh Plappert"},"description":"Hugh Plappert co-founded PhoneLive with his son David, building the phone-streaming platform now used by 1,200+ churches and local governments to reach members and residents who cannot get online. Drawing on 41 years in ministry and operations, Hugh leads PhoneLive's operations and customer success, keeping the technology simple enough for any volunteer to run so homebound and offline members are never left behind. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/plappert\/"],"jobTitle":"Co-founder & Chief Officer, PhoneLive"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}