PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

By Ronald L. Buchholz, CPM
ronbuchholz@charter.net

When I wrote my last President’s Message to you, I indicated that I was communicating to you from a new and unique perspective, that as being Academy President for a second time. Clearly, that was perspective that I had not previously thought about or considered.

I am again writing this Message from another new and unique perspective, albeit this time it is one for which I had been planning for and considering for some time. I write to you today from the perspective of being an “official” retiree. I am pleased that I can attest there is life after retiring from your “day job,” and thus far, it has been all I had expected it to be and then some, although at this writing I have only been in this status for a week!

The Board has been very busy since my last message to you. We convened in Arizona (both in Yuma and Phoenix) in late February for the annual Board of Directors Meeting. Greg Hyland and Larry Gordon were outstanding hosts and provided all the hospitality for which the American West is famous. The Board had an opportunity to receive outstanding training from Kay Eldridge regarding the innovative thinking techniques of Edward deBono. Kay was selected to be a presenter at the 2007 Conference here in Madison so you will have an opportunity to meet and learn from her as well. The business meetings of the Board were very productive and fruitful. During our time in Arizona, the Board held a teleconference with Gina Mee from the Ohio CPM Society regarding the planning efforts for the 2008 Conference in Columbus Ohio and held a very successful joint meeting with the National CPM Consortium Executive Board. One social highlight of the trip was a joint dinner with the Consortium Board Members at the Mining Camp restaurant in the Superstition Mountains just outside of Phoenix (location of the famous Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine).

At the meeting, the Board did reaffirm its commitment of the last several years to have Board Members attend as many Society and CPM Program activities as possible in 2007. I am very pleased to report that as of late April, Board Members have traveled to and attended events in Florida and Ohio and will be traveling to Arkansas in May. If you are interested in having an Academy Board Member attend one of your upcoming events (Program Graduation, Society sponsored Conference, etc.), please let me know ASAP and I will make every effort to see if we can arrange to have someone travel to your event.

I can relate to you from personal experience and involvement that the Wisconsin CPM Society is making great strides to ensure that the 19th Annual AACPM Professional Development Conference is one that will be most memorable and one that you certainly will not want to miss. The theme of the Conference is “Forward in Public Management” and the Conference location is on the isthmus between two lakes in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin. Outstanding keynote speakers (including Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor and Chief Supreme Court Justice) and break out session speakers will highlight the Conference. Many of you have already reserved your hotel rooms and have already confirmed your Conference Registration. If you have not already done so, I strongly encourage you to go to the Academy’s Web Site (www.cpmacademy.org) and do so now.

A recurring question posed to the Academy Board is, "What is in it for me to become and remain a member of the AACPM?"

Just what are the AACPM member benefits? The Board has been working very diligently to address this issue and provide you with Member Benefits that warrant becoming and remaining an Academy member. This issue was addressed in two articles in the last edition of the CPM Connection, one by Bill Herman and one by Robinil Jameson. At the time this message is being written, the Board is finalizing a new travel related member benefit. Elsewhere in this edition of the Newsletter is an article written by Robinil Jameson, KY, our At-Large Board Member for Member Affairs that provides more information about this latest development. Please review that article since several new benefits have recently been added.

The answer for me, however, is that the most significant member benefit is one that many, if not most, of you would consider to be an intangible one - the other CPM's I have met, gotten to know and work with, and with whom I have developed friendships (both professional and personal) since joining the Academy in 1996. This is especially true for those with whom I have had the honor and privilege of serving with on the Academy Board. The Board Members and I discussed this very issue during our last Board Meeting. The friendships developed while serving together on the Board cannot be adequately described in words. I have learned from mentors and have had the opportunity to mentor others. I am a close personal friend with a number of persons with whom I have served, and these friendships are very important and of the highest value for me.

So as you ask the question, "What is in it for me to belong to the Academy?" you need to think in terms of the possibility of meeting new people and forming new friendships. With that in mind, I strongly encourage every member of the Academy to seriously consider running for a Board position this year or in the very near future. The return on your investment cannot be calculated.

I look forward to seeing all of you here in Madison, Wisconsin in September!!

© Copyright 2007, American Association of Certified Public Managers®