President’s Message

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

Dear AACPM Friends and Colleagues –

I am writing this message to you in mid-February as I prepare for the upcoming Academy Board Meeting next week in Arizona. It has been a very unusual winter here in Wisconsin with record highs (mid 40’s) and no snow throughout the month of December followed by record lows in January. Needless to say, I am looking forward to traveling to the warmth and hospitality of Arizona next week!

This edition of The CPM Connection provides my second opportunity to communicate with you, the Academy membership at large, as your President. My life these last few months has been a testament to the old adage that you never know what life will present to you! In the past two-and-a-half months, our family has celebrated three birthdays and the Holidays, I had rotator repair surgery on my right shoulder (for the second time), Mary and I announced our retirements from our jobs and the opportunity to serve the Academy again presented itself by means of the Special Election held in January.

I am honored and privileged you have allowed me the opportunity to lead the Academy as President for a second time. I am especially thankful and appreciative for your support and confidence as I undertake the leadership responsibility for the Academy. I promise to continue and build upon the successes achieved by Presidents Debbie Smith and Bill Herman and the other Board Members these past two years, and to undertake new initiatives for the betterment and advancement of the Academy, its Member Societies and each of its members.

The Board of Directors for 2007 (Bill Herman, Greg Hyland, Larry Gordon, Judy Dennis, Robinil Jameson and Becky Bryant) is an extremely capable, dedicated and motivated group of individuals. I have come to know them all well and consider each a personal friend, as well as a professional colleague. Their commitment to the principles of the Certified Public Manager® program and credential is well known and highly regarded. Having those individuals already serving on the Board and the opportunity to be able to work with them again was a major reason for my deciding to run for office again in the Special Election. The Academy is truly blessed by having such outstanding persons serve on the Board as well as the many other dedicated persons who will be working behind the scenes serving on Academy Committees and in other roles and capacities this year.

All of the Board Members are very anxious to undertake the work for 2007. To that end, the Board has a very aggressive agenda planned for its upcoming meeting in Arizona, including continuing work on the Academy’s Strategic Business Plan. Discussion and consideration will take place regarding immediate and ongoing Academy issues, as well as consideration of new initiatives. A joint Meeting with the National CPM Consortium’s Executive Board is also scheduled.

The tag line on my E-Mail messages is a quote from Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts. The message is “Train Them. Trust Them. Let Them Lead.” My first exposure to being a leader came in the Scouting Program, and I firmly believe Baden Powell had it absolutely correct. I adopted his concept as a cornerstone of my leadership philosophy and will practice it while I serve as your President. To that end, the expanded involvement of Academy Members on the AACPM Leadership Team initiated last year will continue this year, offering more members the opportunity to get to know and work with other CPM colleagues and lead on Academy issues and business. The Board will be approving the Chairs and Members of these Committees at their meeting next week and confirmation letters will go out shortly thereafter.

Elsewhere in this Newsletter, you will find articles describing various projects, events, and initiatives now underway. One goal for this year is to update and expand the Resource Catalog originally developed and distributed to each Member Society in 2002. We have a number of new Member Societies join the Academy since then and Becky Bryant will chair the Committee to oversee the updating and distribution of new Resource Catalogs. The CPM Consortium continues to grow and new programs are being established. These new programs offer the opportunity for Academy growth as they graduate their first classes and new CPM Societies are founded. The Mentoring Committee will be working with those new programs (and all the existing Societies) during this upcoming year. This year marks a new partnership with The Public Manager magazine. (See related article by Harry Featherstone, Publisher)  As Academy Members, you will have access to electronic copies of the magazine. This new partnership resulted in large part due to the efforts by Danny Weiss, CPM, and Past President of the DC CPM Society. My thanks to Danny and the others involved in making this happen and adding a new Academy Member Benefit!

Another major factor in my decision to run for Academy President was the unique opportunity to serve as President when the Wisconsin Society hosts the 19th Annual AACPM Professional Development Conference in Madison next September. You saw the enthusiasm and excitement of the Wisconsin CPM’s in Louisville as we promoted the Conference and encouraged everyone to attend. If you have not already done so, you need to make your hotel reservations and complete your Conference Registration now. We began reserving hotel rooms during the Conference in Louisville last September and more than 60% of the block of rooms is already taken. Act now!! The Online Conference Registration System is now posted on the Academy Web Site and you can make your hotel reservations from there as well. I can guarantee you that the Wisconsin CPM’s are doing everything they can to make the 2007 Conference the best and most memorable yet!

© Copyright 2007, American Association of Certified Public Managers®