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Florida's First 2005 Symposium, Officer Installation and Awards Banquet, and Face-to-face Board Meeting Many consider me an "Old Certified Public Manager®" since there are not many 1988 Florida CPM Graduates still operating in the Florida Society of Certified Public Managers®. I have been active in the Society since 1992 and have enjoyed spending my time, talents, energy and love of the professional organization to help it grow and prosper. The "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME OR I WON'T DO IT” (WIIFM) philosophy has never stopped me. I know that I have received from the Certified Public Manager® Training and the Florida Society of Certified Public Managers® far more than I have or ever will be able to put into it! The Florida Department of Corrections paid for me to take the CPM training 17 years ago, and that training helped me in the human resource arena in the Department of Corrections and the Department of Children and Families. That training assisted me in commanding a provisional Corps Support Battalion in the Florida National Guard, bringing it to a Federalized Recognition within 18 months. The training has also allowed me to be successful with many fraternal and civic organizations to include the Freemasons, Shriners, Order of the Eastern Star, Rotary, Union County Historical Society, VFW and the American Legion. Additionally, the CPM training has helped me as an adjunct instructor with Lake City Community College, and even with teaching an adult Sunday School Class for many years. David Cash mentioned in our FSCPM Lake Mary Symposium that the CPM training assisted him as he worked the Emergency Operations Center in Polk County for hurricanes Charlie, Jeanne and Frances that ripped through his county in a six week period this past year. Yet, like David Cash, I believe that the greatest advantage the CPM training provides is the close contact one has with other CPM members from the many different state, county and municipal agencies both in and out of Florida. The Florida Society of Certified Public Managersâ allows us to renew our associations on a "face-to-face" basis several times each year, and our quarterly teleconferences, AACPM newsletters and CPM Times Newsletters keep our associations and exchange of innovative ideas flowing. As the "old Certified Public Manager®" I retired from my HR Director's position at Northeast Florida State Hospital in Macclenny, Florida on April 1, 2004. At the time I retired, I was still obligated to the Florida Society of Certified Public Managersâ as a Board Member (Past President). Also, as Florida Society of Certified Public Manager's® CPM of the Year and Henning Award Nominee for 2003, I automatically became a FSCPM delegate to the American Academy of Certified Public Manager'sâ (AACPM) Symposium in Topeka, Kansas last June. Additionally, by our Bylaws, I was automatically designated the FSCPM Awards Chairman for the 2004 and the coordinator for the presentation of those awards at our Lake Mary FSCPM Banquet Friday evening, January 13, 2005. Between my FSCPM obligations and those of the several fraternal, civic and Sunday School classes, I remained busy and far from being bored! My retirement was only from my state position and I remain active with the Florida Society as the immediate FSCPM Past President and FSCPM Board Member. This brings me to the Lake Mary Marriott where the 2005 Symposium and Awards Banquet was held. I reflected upon President Chris Grasso's Annual Report to the AACPM, thinking that the Florida Society now has almost 450 members and remains the largest and, in my opinion, best Society in the American Academy of Certified Public Managers®! I listened to Stacey Reece, our new Chairperson for the Continuing Education Committee, and thought, "Yes! We have the first and so far only voluntary continuing education program for CPMs in the nation. That is a great accomplishment that fosters the growth of anyone seeking to be a professional in public management. I looked at the group in attendance and saw mostly the "workers"- the ones that make the FSCPM grow and that really work at being better managers and leaders. Yet, I know that the "workers" are only as good as the whole Society. Those that hold the CPM designation, to be known as CPM Graduates and to be associated with the outstanding CPM training, and those “CPMers” that are primarily interested in political and social contact, as well as to have fun and entertainment are also very important to our Society and its continued success. Our leadership has provided the vision and goals that all three subgroups within our membership have used to advance the Florida Society of Certified Public Managers®. The "workers" that have allowed us to grow and prosper as a professional society, but the other two subgroups have made a very positive impact to our success as a professional society of Certified Public Managers®. Our synergism has resulted in a very satisfying feeling, but we have work to do! I see three Chapters that need leadership to stimulate them into achieving the Chapter Effectiveness Criteria and the Chapter Effectiveness Award for 2005. The new officers need to review the Chapter Effectiveness Criteria now and continuously present that criteria to their membership throughout the year. These criteria specify the direction and goals that make a chapter effective and successful.
I want to thank Sally Wolfe and the members of her Central Florida Chapter’s team that set up the January Symposium, banquet and first "face-to-face" FSCPM Board Meeting for 2005. The entire conference was outstanding and reflects the leadership and management skills we have in the Central Florida Chapter! The "Leadership During Times of Uncertainty" theme was covered well by David Cash, CPM, Elizabeth Ferguson, from the Southeastern Library Network, Howard Tipton, Chief Administrative Officer for the Orange County Clerk of the Courts, Dr. James Ely, Chief Executive Officer for the Florida Turnpike Enterprise, and Ellen Whitos, HR Director for the JW Marriott Orlando. As Jim Ely said, "the time of crisis is when the public managers are at their best." From the hurricane preparation phase through the after action phase for lessons learned, we visited the issues Polk County's Emergency Operations Center faced, and the Florida Turnpike Enterprise used for evacuations of millions of motorists fleeing the four hurricanes that hit Florida last year within a six week period. We learned how to protect our documents and most of all to have leadership that knows how to build a balanced team in advance of a crisis and that accommodates that team and their families. The key is for our leaders and managers is to start today to get where we need to be tomorrow!
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