JuneMonthly Chapter Meeting Minutes
Date: June 10, 2008
Location: Tallahassee-LeonCounty Civic Center
Number in Attendance: 57
Meeting opened by President Janice Pursley
Invocation: Vonnie Allen, Department of Corrections
Pledge: Susan Barr, Department of Corrections
New Business
May minutes were approved as presented in the NIGP newsletter.
Job Openings:
Mark Lovell announced a soon-to-be-posted career opportunity for a Purchasing Specialist at DMS/State Purchasing. This position is on the Carpet and Office Furnishings team.
Affiliated Computer Services announced that they will be filling up to 50 positions ranging from call center employees to trainers and supervisory positions. ACS administers the Florida Healthy Kids and Kid Care programs.
Member Recognition: President Pursley congratulatedLaura Jennings, Agency for Workforce Innovation on her earning the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification.
Deceased Members: NIGP National will honor members that passed away over the past 12 months. President Pursley asked the membership if they were aware of any of our members or previous members that are no longer with us.
Chapter Stipends: President Pursley announced actions from last month’s board meeting that will assist our members during these lean budget times. The board agreed to increase funding for stipends that will be available for members to take professional development classes when their agencies are unable to provide financial support. This was accomplished by reducing the college scholarships as follows:
Hittinger Scholarship: $1,000.00
Guinipero Scholarship: $500.00
NIGP Chapter Minutes
Page 2
June 10, 2008
Free October Seminar: Marchetta Gillespie will be the instructor for two (AM and PM) classes on Tuesday, October 14, 2008. This is our normal meeting date and lunch will be provided, (again, at no charge to all members in good standing.) This will take place at the CarrBuilding, (DEP; 3800 Commonwealth Blvd.). Members must register in advance on for the AM and/or PM sessions, and/or the free lunch.
Marchetta has presented at NIGP National, and her presentations have been very well received.
GSA Presentation Survey: GSA asked our members to complete a survey for January’s presentation on GSA Schedules and their use by State and Local Governmental customers.
Old Business
August Purchasing Conference and Trade Show: Rhonda Mixon began by thanking Gwen Parker and Renee Randall for their support in keeping the vendor packets up to date for recently-registered vendors. 41 booths have been rented (including five “premium” booth locations), and many more are pending. Members that volunteered to assist with the conference have not been forgotten, and can expect to be contacted within the next few weeks.
Our appreciation was given to Charles Covington for his involvement in producing a letter from DMS Secretary Linda South to Executive Agency Heads urging their involvement in this event. Also thanked were Walt Bikowitz (also of DMS/State Purchasing) for getting over 90,000 e-mails distributed to MyFloridaMarketPlace registered vendors and potential participants. Walt offered to send out a second batch, and these will go out closer to the event registration deadline date.
Also commended were Wendi Sellers and Robert Threewitts for their vitally important work on getting agency commitments to participate in the one-on-one sessions.
A question was raised – What if a member’s agency won’t agree to pay the $50 registration fee and allow attendance? President Pursley answered that this scenario has been discussed and is being monitored. She also urged members (for their own satisfaction and professional development) to at least visit the Trade Show and participate in the one-on-one sessions. These events are free to public-sector employees, and help insure the success of this and future Trade Shows.
NIGP Chapter Minutes
Page 3
June 10, 2008
Finally, Rhonda challenged us to reach out to the vendors we work with on a regular basis. “Have you registered for our Vendor Conference and Trade Show?” is a question that should be asked during the course of a conversation. Any questions raised in response should be directed to Rhonda Mixon at , or by phone at (888) 352-6447, ext. 110. She also asked us to offer suggestions for a conference theme.
August Purchasing Conference and Trade Show (cont.): Tim Ellinor then presented the tentative schedule for the Purchasing Conference. The luncheon provided to the vendors on Thursday (August 28) is also available to members at the usual charge of $7.00. There are two important points to remember:
1)Members must register online, in advance and by August 15.
2)There will be no “walk-up” registrations allowed.
Finally, Tim reminded us of the two plenary sessions (Bryan Townsend, “Motivational Humorist”) that will be held on Thursday morning in conjunction with the Trade Show. It is desired that members attend the two (repeated) sessions equally, which will still permit enough time to leisurely enjoy the Trade Show.
Membership Committee Report – Susan Barr: Susan reported that we now have 193 paid members for 2008, including two members that renewed and paid at the door. This is a great way to save a postage stamp, so consider doing this at next month’s luncheon if you haven’t renewed yet. Susan reminded us that if you sponsor three or more new members this year, your 2009 TACNIGP dues will be paid by the chapter.
Treasurer’s Report – Don Tobin: Account balances are (Checking) $10,244 and (CD’s) $88,597. Total of $98,841.97.
TACNIGP 25th Anniversary Committee Report – Clark Rogers: Clark, Mark Lovell and Steve Updike are working to locate names of our previous Chapter Presidents and other Officers and Board Members for the upcoming festivities. This will culminate in a celebration of the Chapter’s Silver Anniversary, beginning at the December Awards Banquet and Installation Ceremony. Sue Harms and other committee members are also assisting on this project.
NIGP Chapter Minutes
Page 4
June 10, 2008
Presentation
Vice President Jessie Moseley introduced C. Christopher (Chris) Anderson III, Chief Assistant General Counsel, State of Florida Commission on Ethics. Mr. Anderson began the presentation by commending our membership for “…going the extra mile by becoming involved with a professional organization through our membership and attendance.” This was a lively presentation that elicited many questions to the speaker. Mr. Anderson was very informative, and referenced his agency’s website,
Drawings:
The winner of next month’s free lunch is Nancy Harrison, FDLE.
Adjourn
Respectfully submitted by
Mark Lovell, 2008 Secretary
Tallahassee-Area Chapter of NIGP