New Hampshire Association of Certified Public Managers®

By Charlene Cutting, CPM
charfarm@comcast.net

There is snow, snow and more snow in New Hampshire. It is beautiful, although it is quite a bit of work to keep the roads, rooftops and sidewalks safe. But, that is typical for New England in February. As I was preparing this article, my husband, Kenny, was cleaning off our roof—no need for a ladder. The snow bank in front of the house was tall enough for him to stand on to clear off the edges!

Elections took place and two new members were sworn in to the NHACPM Board during the January Annual Membership meeting. We’re pleased to welcome Tricia Foster as Secretary and Wanda Botticello as Member at Large. The addition of new members will certainly be an asset as we plan for the future for our society.

On March 14, 2008, the NHACPM will be hosting a conference titled Proven Strategies for the Public Manager. We have been fortunate to work with representatives of New England College on this conference and to have them as co-hosts. Sessions include: The Perfect Storm; a Legislative Panel; The Roots of American Democracy; Retirement, Are You Ready?; Why Should Anyone Follow You?; and The Effect of Collective Bargaining on Public Policy. Keynote speakers will be management specialist Sam McKeeman and Richard Keating, Dean of New England College. The program is very relevant to public sector managers during this time of tightened funding and the expectation to do more with less staff.

We are looking forward to a continued relationship with New England College, a college that recognizes the Certified Public Manager® Program and grants credits toward the Masters Degree for a number of classes taken in the course of the CPM program.

NHACPM is evaluating itself and attempting to find projects our members can be involved with and receive recognition. We hope discussions at our February 28th Board meeting will lead to some decisions that will be worthwhile for our members.

I would love to receive ideas and suggestions from other societies on how they manage to keep a solid membership base and provide ways to develop and move forward with their society.

As memberships are received this year, renewing and new members will receive a letter, a certificate and an AACPM luggage gripper to thank them for their support. The response has been positive and we have 44 members to date.

© Copyright 2008, American Association of Certified Public Managers®