By Bill Herman, CPM
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Without question, the future of our Academy and the professional recognition of the Certified Public Manager® credential are in very solid hands with our colleagues around the country. And there are many things that we can and do continue to learn from each other.

In the last edition of The CPM Connection, AACPM President-elect Julie Felice reported on her participation in the Yuma, Arizona CPM graduation (and her first taste of cactus for breakfast!), while former AACPM President Ron Buchholz told of his keynoting the most recent Virginia CPM Graduation ceremonies. And our Member at Large for Member Affairs Robinil Jameson ventured to Ohio to participate in the Buckeye State’s CPM graduation ceremonies.

During the past few months, I have had the opportunity to travel to Arkansas, Arizona, Mississippi and Utah on behalf of the Academy, and am extremely heartened with the interest and support I have witnessed in the CPM Program.

As AACPM President, I was very pleased to be able to travel to Little Rock, Arkansas to participate in the impressive Arkansas CPM Program graduation. Held under the rotunda of the historic State House, the graduation ceremonies not only included the Arkansas CPM program, but also the Arkansas Governmental Manager Program and the Certified Volunteer Manager Program. Nearly 60 graduates were recognized between the three programs, including Arkansas CPM Program Coordinator Naomi Fletcher, who received her CPM credential.

The CPM Program in The Natural State is offered by the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium (APAC), which is a collaborative effort including Arkansas State University; the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Beyond the impressive setting of the State Capitol, the CPM certificates being presented to graduates particularly caught my eye. The credentials were signed jointly by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee; Michael Waters, Administrator of the Arkansas Public Administration Consortium; Imelda Roberts, Chair of the National CPM Consortium, and myself as AACPM President.

Not only are the certificates impressive recognitions of the hard work and effort made by the graduates, but to me they visibly symbolized the strong partnership of the Consortium and the Academy, both of whom are striving to set high standards for public sector managers.

Several weeks later I was fortunate to be able to extend some planned vacation travel and venture to Phoenix, Arizona for the Spring 2006 Graduation of the Arizona Certified Public Manager® Program. The second oldest CPM program in the country, the Arizona program was established in 1978 following Georgia’s initiation of a CPM Program in 1976. Today, the Grand Canyon State’s program has the distinction of being the longest continuous serving program nationally in the CPM Consortium.

Nearly 50 Arizona public sector managers from state, county and local government agencies received their CPM credentials during the Phoenix ceremony, and joined the approximately 1,200 Arizona program graduates before them. Appropriately, the graduation ceremony was held in the Arizona State University (ASU) Downtown Center. The CPM program is sponsored by ASU’s School of Public Affairs at the College of Public Program, in collaboration with the federal, state and local governments. With construction underway of a new ASU facility in the very heart of the city, the Spring graduation may have been the last to be held in the ASU Downtown Center.

One of the most memorable items from this May day was its record-setting temperature of 102 degrees…but it was a dry heat!

June brought me to Jackson, Mississippi and it’s proclamation as “The Best of the New South”. The beautifully restored Central High School building a block from the State Capitol building was the setting for the CPM Program graduation. The former high school facility is now home to the Mississippi Department of Education. Thirty-eight individuals were awarded with Certificates in Supervisory Management (CSM), while 24 individuals received their CPM credentials.

MAGNOLIA STATE LINE UP -- CPM officials and guest speakers gather at the close of the June 2006 Mississippi Certified Public Manager® Program Graduation in Jackson, MS. From left are Robert Bass, Executive Director of the Mississippi State Personnel Board, Master of Ceremonies; Tommye Dale Favre, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Key Note Speaker; Bill Webb, CPM of the Mississippi Development Authority, Graduating Class Representative; AACPM President Bill Herman, CPM of New Hampshire; and Mississippi Society of Certified Public Managers® President-elect Ray Balentine, CPM.

The Mississippi Certified Public Manager® Program graduation has outgrown the space available at the State Capitol (one of the closest in appearances to the United States Capitol that I have seen), and moved to the nearby Department of Education Auditorium. The enthusiasm of the program graduates, the Mississippi CPM Society members present and the CPM Program officials, many of whom are CPM graduates themselves, was truly something that you could only appreciate by being present.

And most recently, I have returned from the Beehive State where I experienced the largest CPM graduation in my 10 year involvement with the CPM program. Fully 138 individuals from all levels of Utah state and local government received their CPM credentials during impressive ceremonies held at the beautiful Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City, Utah, just outside of the state capital of Salt Lake City. Most impressive was the original signature of Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., on the bottom center of Utah’s CPM certificates.

Particularly moving was the graduate address offered by Melanie Bike of the Utah Department of Rehabilitative Services. Melanie spoke movingly of her experience with the CPM Program in terms that both evoked laughter and more serious emotions, particularly as she challenged her fellow graduates to apply what they have learned and improve their service to the public.

It was a great pleasure to follow the graduation ceremony with the monthly meeting of the Utah Society of Certified Public Managers®. Lively discussion and several ideas came forth concerning the future of the Academy, the CPM credential and further certification efforts. It was particularly good to see former AACPM President Craig Odekirk of Utah at the meeting. Craig has recently returned to Utah following a near two year deployment with the U.S. Army in support of operations in the Middle East.

In their own ways, each of these states has done things that have elevated the recognition and stature of the CPM program and the CPM designation. The holding of graduation ceremonies in the State House in Arkansas was an immediately visible and impressive symbol of recognition, and offers lasting memories for the graduates. The Governor’s original signature on the Utah CPM Certificates enhances the prestige of the certificate. In both Arizona and Utah, a representative of the graduates’ sponsoring agency participated in the presentation of the CPM credential to the graduate…yet another way of recognizing the value of the CPM designation, and affording additional opportunities to gain public recognition for the program. And what I see as becoming a trend, the enrollment of CPM Program Directors and staff members in their own CPM programs, which isn’t more evidenced than it is in Mississippi, provides emphatic recognition and understanding of the program.

These visits will surely be among the highlights in my memories for my tour of duty as AACPM President.

© Copyright 2006, American Association of Certified Public Managers®