Kansas Society of Certified Public Managers®

By Shirley Hollis, CPM, President
Shirley_Hollis@kdor.state.ks.us

Greetings from Kansas and “Hi!” to our friends in many other states. We hope the weather has been kind to you this year. When I hear weather reports for different areas, I think of the CPM friends in that state. Most of Kansas has fared fairly well – at least not many terrible tornados so far this year but even a small one is devastating if it wipes out your property. Some parts of the state are receiving rain, but this year has been relatively decent.

With CPM, we are moving right along. Everyone who works for state government – along with some areas of our local units of government – is dealing with major budget shortfalls. State government is facing lay offs, furloughs, and reduction of percent of current pay – who knows what else the legislature will target to meet the shortfall? With the management education and experience we have, we must act in the most fiscally responsible manner to face these challenges.

For the last several years, the Society has visited the new CPM classes during the first few months of the year. We familiarize the new CPM class members with the Society and let them know we are there for them if they have any questions. Our initial visits have included cookies or breakfast items, a presentation, and a short time to visit. The last couple of years, we provided lunch to the CPM classes at various locations – this has enabled society members to have more time to get acquainted with the class members. This entailed the board members traveling some distances with additional time away from the office.

This year, we tried a new approach. During April, all current CPM class members gathered in Topeka, Kansas, for a large networking conference. Attendees got acquainted with fellow class members in the various classes scattered throughout the state of Kansas and attended management seminars during the conference. Current class members as well as Society board members heard presentations on last year’s top Capstone projects. This helped board members who will select the Kansas Askew Award winner jointly with the Kansas program Consortium member. The Askew Award winner will be honored in Florida later in the year.

The Society then provided lunch for all current CPM class members at a local park. All current KSCPM members were invited to attend at no charge. For a nominal fee, past non-member graduates and other managers were invited to attend. The afternoon program involved management topics presented by several speakers. This proved to be a very wonderful afternoon for the society and everyone in attendance. We had time to get to know the current CPM class members better and saved on travel time and society costs.

So – we think we have found an ideal, cost-efficient approach for our society to interact with current class members. As funds run short not only in work situations, but also within the society, we need to accomplish tasks in the most fiscally responsible manner.

We are now planning to host a fall conference for CPM students, graduates, and any interested management associate. The program will offer reputable speakers on relevant management issues/concerns, include a meal, and allow time for networking.

We hope to send some society representatives to the AACPM conference in Florida later this year. We know it will be a wonderful conference.

Thanks to all the members who serve on our national AACPM Board for the time and effort they put forth on our behalf. Our appreciation to them!!

See you in Florida – until then, Happy Trails!!

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