{"id":495,"date":"2026-08-05T11:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/?p=495"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:22:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T19:22:33","slug":"gfg_ep100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/","title":{"rendered":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

In this 100th episode of the podcast, host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to explore your own local government career options?<\/strong> Download this free guide on how to transition into a successful career in local government: https:\/\/icma.org\/documents\/breaking-local-government-guidebook-career-transitions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

    \n
  1. Melissa transitioned from a photography career to local government.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. She faced significant challenges, including a year-long battle against a landfill development.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The city of Raymore is a pioneer in inclusive playground design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Effective communication is crucial in local government roles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Budget constraints require careful planning and justification for funding requests.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Authenticity in communication fosters trust with the community.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Digital accessibility standards are becoming increasingly important.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Collaboration across departments enhances community service.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Many behind-the-scenes roles in local government are vital to community well-being.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Working in local government can be rewarding and fulfilling.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Sponsored by<\/strong> Switchboard.Live<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Summary In this 100th episode of the podcast, host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technolgies","tag-audiopodcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100 | PhoneLive Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.\" \/>\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\/gfg_ep100\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100 From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ep. 100\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/\" \/>\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=\"2026-08-05T16:07:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T19:22:33+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=\"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100\" \/>\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_ep100\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hugh Plappert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117\"},\"headline\":\"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T16:07:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-05T19:22:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/\"},\"wordCount\":230,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Podcast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Technologies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/\",\"name\":\"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100 | PhoneLive Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T16:07:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-05T19:22:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100\"}]},{\"@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":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100 | PhoneLive Blog","description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100 From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ep. 100","og_description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.","og_url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/","og_site_name":"PhoneLive Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io","article_published_time":"2026-08-05T16:07:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-05T19:22:33+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":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100","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_ep100\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/"},"author":{"name":"Hugh Plappert","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117"},"headline":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100","datePublished":"2026-08-05T16:07:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-05T19:22:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/"},"wordCount":230,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Podcast"],"articleSection":["Technologies"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/","name":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100 | PhoneLive Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-05T16:07:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-05T19:22:33+00:00","description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Melissa Harmer, the Communications Director for Raymore, Missouri. Melissa shares her unique journey from a career in photography to her role in local government, discussing the challenges and successes she has faced along the way. The conversation highlights the importance of communication in local government, the impact of inclusive community projects, and the skills needed to navigate the complexities of public service. Melissa emphasizes the rewarding nature of working in local government and encourages others to consider careers in this field.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep100\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From Photography to Public Service (with Melissa Harmer) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 100"}]},{"@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\/495","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=495"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":502,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495\/revisions\/502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}