Florida Society of Certified Public Managers®

Fred Levinson, CPM, President
eflev@bellsouth.net

Providing world-class service to our members and agencies is the most important goal of the Florida Society of Certified Public Managers® (FSCPM). Our most important value is trust and our most important process is the open sharing of information, ideas and best practices.

FSCPM does whatever we can at the State and Chapter levels to encourage innovation, creativity, participation, open discussion, self reflection, and support the lessons learned during our CPM training.

So what have we been doing this year? A lot!

Our new FSCPM Board of Directors was elected in November 2009. Since two of our newly elected State Board members were also Chapter Presidents and each Chapter is represented on the FSCPM Board by the Chapter President, we asked them to appoint a delegate to serve as their Chapter representative to the FSCPM Board. Instead of requiring them to resign one of their positions and losing two great leaders at either the State or Chapter level, we gained two additional new leaders at the State level. All of these actions took place with the approval of the existing officers. For a while we had two Boards working together in a synchronized transition. Even though official installation was not until January, we immediately began meeting as a Board, appointed committee chairpersons (and members) and developed our two-year plan. Our new Board eliminated one committee (Graduation), reorganized another (Continuing Education), and formed two new committees (FSCPM/FCPM Liaison and FSCPM Bylaws). By January, we had not only been collaborating together for the previous two months, but our new committees had also begun meeting and delivering initial results!

Our annual FSCPM Symposium and Awards Banquet, held this January in Orlando, has traditionally been a two-day, mid-week event. Due to current economic conditions, the Symposium Committee restructured this as a one-day (Monday) event. We were able to engage great speakers and coordinate interesting activities at a significantly reduced cost to attendees. We experienced our highest attendance in years and more importantly, attracted Tallahassee members to the Keys. Thanks to Turnpike Chapter, Jean Pingston CPM (FSCPM Symposium Committee Chairperson) and Ellen Daniel (FSCPM Awards Committee Chairperson), Turnpike Chapter, for their efforts and hosting the event! Dianne Wilkinson CPM was selected as Florida Certified Public Manager© of the Year. Congratulations to Dianne and all our FSCPM awards recipients. See our website http://www.fscpm.org/Awards.htm for a complete list.

With the assistance of the FSCPM Board, I submitted 53 membership benefit suggestions to the AACPM Membership Committee.

We are posting our state board meetings on  our website and invite all FSCPM members to participate. We are also developing an FSCPM Facebook page. Our Chapters meet on a regular basis. “Lunch ‘n Learns”, “Town Hall” meetings with agency officials, U.S. Olympic Figure Skaters, video conference meetings, joint chapter meetings, book reviews and dinner meetings are examples of the types of events occurring at FSCPM meetings across the State of Florida. With input from the FSCPM Board, the Society President, serving as a member of the AACPM Member Benefits Committee, submitted 53 benefit suggestions for committee consideration.

In the spirit of public service, the North Florida Chapter volunteered at the National Public Radio station in Tallahassee and the Polk County Chapter volunteered at the 2010 Relay for Life in Bartow. Thank you to all members who participated. On June 15, the FSCPM will host a “Town Hall Meeting” and has invited AACPM President, Joyce Doakes Smith, to attend.

For the second consecutive year, the Florida Center for Public Management, “FCPM,” will hold four regional CPM graduations. FSCPM and FCPM have been collaborating to provide the graduates and guests with an outstanding experience. We look forward to this year’s ceremonies. FSCPM chapters will provide local support (including logistics and guest lecturers) and recruit new FSCPM members.

The FSCPM Continuing Education Committee will continue developing a new Continuing Education Program. The committee’s goal is to deliver the new program in January at the 2011 FSCPM Symposium.

So what have we learned so far this year?

1. Nothing is impossible if it is in the best interest of your organization and members. 
2. Just because something has been done the same way for years doesn’t mean it has to continue.
3. Determine the needs and expectations of your members and deliver results!
4. Open communication and discussions – especially outside your comfort zone –  are essential to the success of an organization. If you can’t think or discuss it, it will never happen!     

On behalf of the Florida Society of Certified Public Managers®, we look forward to serving and learning with you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

© Copyright 2010, American Academy of Certified Public Managers®