It's probably not the kind of thing most people think about, but there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work required when there's a change in governors.
The first sign progress was being made to convert Missouri government to the Mike Parson administration came in a tweet last weekend from Ryan Burns, the Office of Administration's Communications director.
She said: "#MoGov transitions require a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes orchestration. From changing locks to updating letterhead to readying websites the @MissouriOA & @MoGov teams do it seamlessly & with a smile.
"THANK YOU!! You're in good hands, Missouri."
Parson became governor at 5 p.m. June 1, following the resignation of Eric Greitens.
Parson took his formal oath-of-office about 5:35 p.m. June 1 in a ceremony in the governor's office led by Supreme Court Judge Mary R. Russell.
Parson spent most of last week meeting with legislative leaders and state agency department heads who are members of the governor's Cabinet and mostly were picked by Greitens.
Parson's office also reported he visited with U.S. Sens. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, and Roy Blunt, a Republican, as well as the two Democrats and six Republicans who represent Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He met with several mayors from around the state - including Jefferson City's Carrie Tergin and Brian Treece, of Columbia.
He's giving a short speech - probably about 20 minutes - to a joint session of Missouri's Legislature about 5:05 p.m. Monday.
And, Parson already has scheduled the start of a "Listening Tour" that begins Tuesday in Springfield, Branson, Carthage, St. Joseph and Kansas City. The tour also includes an 8:30 a.m. stop Wednesday at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Gwynn Hall (Room 117), 520 Hitt St.
Burns told the News Tribune the transition work from the Greitens administration to the Parson one is continuing.
"Transitions take an incredible amount of behind-the-scenes orchestration - everything from readying websites with the new governor's name, to turning over facilities like the Governor's Mansion, to printing new letterhead, to live-streaming the swearing in ceremony," Burns explained.
Other transition-related tasks, she said, include "briefing new staff on ongoing bill reviews and outstanding legislative actions - and providing background and historical knowledge to the new governor's team members, in order to help them acclimate to their new positions."
For the time being, Parson's office has said there are no changes being made in the Cabinet.
But Parson last week announced several appointments to his inner circle, including:
- Marylyn Luetkemeyer as the governor's executive assistant.
- Aaron Willard, chief of staff.
- Robert Knodell, deputy chief of staff.
- Christopher K. Limbaugh, Cape Girardeau County's prosecuting attorney, as general counsel - the top lawyer in the governor's office. Limbaugh's father, Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., is a U.S. District Judge and a former Missouri Supreme Court judge, and his grandfather, Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr., retired from the federal judiciary and now is an attorney in private practice.
- Justin Alferman, legislative director.
- Steele Shippy, communications director.
- Kelli Jones, press secretary.
Most Missouri government transitions follow the November general elections, and state law creates a nearly two-month transition process from one officeholder to the next.
"The transition period shall begin on the fifteenth day of November following the election of a governor or lieutenant governor who is not an incumbent and shall end when that governor-elect or lieutenant governor-elect has taken the oath of office," the law says.
But, with Greitens announcing his resignation May 29, to be effective at 5 p.m. June 1, Parson had only three days to plan for the transition - and he was moving cattle on his Bolivar farm when Greitens made the announcement.
"As with every transition, countless team members from the Office of Administration played an essential role, working around the clock - many through the entire weekend - to accomplish a seamless transition process," Burns said.
"Their dedication to supporting a smooth transition of power ensured we were able to accomplish in just a few days what normally takes months of careful planning."
And, she said: "The Office of Administration faced no major problems during this transition thanks to the professionalism of our team.
"Under challenging circumstances and tight deadlines, our employees did whatever was required to tackle the necessary items by the exact time Gov. Parson took office.
"And their work will continue in the coming weeks and months."
She said some of the details on what has been done were not available because of other transition jobs still needing to be completed.
Parson served 12 years as Polk County's elected sheriff, and six years each in the House and Senate before being elected lieutenant governor in 2016.
Burns said that experience likely helped with Parson's transition to his new duties, along with "the decades he has spent building relationships across Missouri."
Before leaving office, Greitens signed about half the bills that lawmakers passed during the General Assembly session that ended May 18.
Parson's administration still must approve or veto the rest of those bills - including the 13 measures that comprise the state's budget for the 2018-19 business year that begins July 1.
He has until July 14 to act on the rest of the bills.