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Greetings Region 6 |
 2007 has been a great year for Region 6!
My personal highlights have been visiting the Chapters and meeting all the great people in the Region. In the last two years, I had the opportunity to visit with each Chapter except TAPP and the New Orleans Chapter – SORRY! – but, I will be there soon! We are also in the process of chartering a new Chapter in Alabama, which is exciting news.
The NIGP Board of Directors has been committed to providing valuable resources to the membership base and will continue to look for new ways to make your membership with NIGP a great value. Educational opportunities are constantly being added to provide you with professional development opportunities. These classes are a great way to prepare for a certification exam, and our Region has many who have become certified in 2007. Congratulations to all of you!
It has truly been an honor and a pleasure to serve as your Region 6 Board Representative, and I look forward to fulfilling the responsibilities of this position to the best of my ability in the future. I say most of this because I do truly want to thank you, but I also say this to encourage you to consider taking advantage of volunteer opportunities if you are able to do so in the future. I can speak from experience of just how much I have gained from volunteering. My service to NIGP at the national level started with serving on a committee. What I learned from that service helped me both professionally and personally.
We have so much going for our Region, and I want you to benefit from participating in the exciting activities – whether it be at the local, regional, or national level – as I do. If there is ever anything that I can do for any of you, please let me know. Let’s all have a wonderful 2008!
Respectfully submitted,
Stephanie Creed, CPPO, CPPB
Region 6 Representative
screed@co.pulaski.ar.us
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2007 NIGP Compensation Survey Report Now Available |
The NIGP Compensation Survey Report is an invaluable reference for procurement managers, practitioners, and human resource offices.
Issued every two years, the results of NIGP's comprehensive study of public procurement pay scales, roles and responsibilities, and regional comparisons provide an outstanding reference for budgeting and validation purposes.
The 2007 NIGP Compensation Survey Report is now available FREE in an electronic format to all NIGP members. Hardcopy reports can be purchased through the NIGP Store.
Non-members can also purchase the 2007 NIGP Compensation Survey Report by contacting Tina Borger at tborger@nigp.org.
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Education: New Course Offering - Presentation Skills For Procurement Officials |
Do you want to communicate more confidently and persuasively? This new NIGP course may be your answer.
Presentation Skills for Procurement Officials is a two-day, highly interactive class that teaches you how to structure and deliver an effective presentation. Procurement officials often have to present information, ideas, and facts to vendors, user groups, boards, committees or pre-proposal meetings. Successful presentation skills are a strategically effective way to show your professional ability to speak in public while displaying confidences and credibility in delivering a message to impact your audience.
Course Objectives:
• Develop a structured presentation
• Learn effective persuasion techniques
• Understand body language
Presented By:
Alan H. Culpeper, CPPO, VPO
Director of Procurement and Communications
Culpeper County, Virginia
Any chapter or agency wishing to request this course should complete the Seminar Request Form.
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NIGP Unveils Executive Certificate In Public Procurement |
The Executive Certificate in Public Procurement reflects a professional’s commitment to excellence in the field and their pursuit to master a body of knowledge. The certificate is designed for professionals who have an existing foundation of experience and coursework in procurement and wish to enhance their learning potential and market value through advanced theoretical and practical procurement knowledge.
The Executive Certificate in Public Procurement provides the framework for Executive Certificate candidates to be formally recognized for their achievement in one of five procurement specialties:
• Contract Management
• Leadership
• Planning
• Solicitation Development
• Supply Management
The program utilizes the Capstone Experience which synthesizes all of the learning outcomes into one final opportunity for case studies and research. The culmination of the Capstone Experience is a presentation by candidates of independent research papers offered for evaluation and critique by other candidates and a FAU profession. These research papers can be considered as manuscripts to be submitted to the Journal of Public Procurement (JoPP) published by the Public Procurement Research Center (PPRC). Once all coursework is completed and the candidate has successfully participated in the capstone experience, an Executive Certificate in Public Procurement will be awarded in the area of concentration.
The Executive Certificate in Public Procurement is a certificate program produced by accomplished faculty from NIGP and Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Students who have successfully attained either the Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) or the Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) designation are eligible to enroll in this program.
You may be surprised at how close you are to attaining the Executive Certificate in Public Procurement. Think of all the courses you have taken toward certification already! Call Carol Hodes, CAE, Director of Education at 800-367-6447 x253 to find out your education history.
For more detailed information about the Executive Certificate Program, visit ECPP.
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Ready To Get Hit By Tremendous Ideas? |
Charlotte, North Carolina, and the historic Blake Hotel
play host to this year's TIPPS symposium.
Register Today for this three-day series of insightful workshops, panel discussions, joint sessions, and case studies. All sessions focus on the issues important to public procurement professionals concerned about eProcurement and purchasing for public schools. 
• Does your school district benefit
from a wellness program?
• What are next generation p-cards?
• What are successful ERP strategies?
• Is your Emergency Management Plan
all it should be?
Registration deadline is Friday, February 22,
but register early to save your space in the
classroom and the hotel.
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Free Webinar: NIGP Chapter Officer Orientation |
Thursday, January 29
1PM – 2:30 PM (Eastern)
Registration Deadline: January 23
The NIGP Chapter Relations staff is hosting a FREE Webinar for chapter leaders. This Webinar is designed to inform and answer questions you may have as an officer of your local chapter.
The following topics will be discussed:
• Overview of Calendar Year
– programs/deadlines/expectations
• Operations
– forms/assessment invoicing/new online resource area
• Communications
– Leaders-in-the-loop emails/Connection newsletter/e-net
discussion list/Chapter Relations Committee
• Recognition and Promotion
– purchasing month/awards/chapter visit program/chapter Forum activities
• Revenue Generation Opportunities from National
– seminars/GCC program/member referral payments
• Leadership Training
– quarterly Webinars/Chapter Leadership Symposium
To participate in this FREE Webinar, please send an email to chapters@nigp.org. Include name, email, chapter affiliation and your Chapter leadership position.
Log-in information will be sent to all registered participants a few days prior to the Webinar session.
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Webinar: Emergency Management Series - Part Two |
Learning From Real Life Public Agency Crisis Incidents
Thursday,  January 17
1PM - 2:30PM (Eastern)
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, January 9
Objective: Know how to better prepare for and manage
crisis situations
• Identify responses to emergency situations
• Understand the elements of crisis management
• Recommendations for handling crises
Presented By: Galen Davis and Darren Muci, CPPO
Galen Davis
Retired Executive Director of Safety Services
Witchita, Kansas Public School System
Darren Muci, CPPO
Operations Division Director
Wichita, Kansas Public Schools
Register Today
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PIE: A Tasty Way To Earn Re-Certification Points |
The Procurement Information Exchange, PIE, is part of NIGP's Specifications Library. From this vast repository, members can give their RFP development process a huge head start by referring to an existing RFP as a template, or for the specifications used by another jurisdiction as they solicited bids for similar materials or services.
Did you know you could earn up to three re-certification points just by sharing your information through PIE? Simply, send your Invitations for Bids and Requests for Proposals in Microsoft Word format to Fuad Abu-Taleb at fabutaleb@nigp.org and you can earn one point for every 25 IFBs/RFPs you share, up to three points.
You may have solved a problem that is still a dilemma for other NIGP members, or you may just help someone avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’. Either way, you can help your fellow NIGP members while you help yourself.
For more information or if you have any questions, visit www.nigp.org, or contact Fuad at 800-367-6447 x241.
Bon Appetite
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Tips For Buying Green Office Furniture |
What constitutes an environmental product? Recycled content matters but so do a variety of other attributes such as how a product is made, packaged, and shipped. The following are key factors to consider when making your next green furniture purchase.
Built To Last
Durability is the foremost green criterion for office furniture purchases. What to look for? The best warranty you can find. There is no better indication of a product’s durability than the manufacturer’s confidence in it.
A word of caution: Beware of “lifetime” warranties that include conditions and qualifiers. A straightforward lifetime warranty that covers multi-shift usage and does not include exclusions is preferrable.
Easy To Change and Reconfigure
Rule of thumb: If it is not easy to reconfigure and reuse, it is probably not worth considering. Modular systems furniture provides environmental responsibility in the workplace. In the past, when an office had to be reconfigured, it meant demolishing fixed walls and filling up landfills with waste.
Cradle To Cradle
Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, most manufacturers have assumed a cradle-to-grave life cycle – that is, you use a product until it wears out and then bury it. Instead, today’s progressive manufacturers are working toward a cradle-to-cradle approach, which assumes that a product eventually will be recycled rather than disposed of.
Cradle-to-cradle manufacturers develop products that are easy to take apart, easy to recycle, and generally easy on the environment – even to the point of evaluating the chemical makeup of raw materials to be sure they are earth friendly.
A Breath Of Fresh Air
Have you noticed how new cars, new construction, and new furniture all have a distinctive odor? That odor indicates harmful contaminants are evaporating into the air. Many government workplaces are subject to stringent regulations pertaining to the emission of these volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
To help protect your employees, choose low-emitting office furniture that meets standards set forth by either the independent Greenguard Environmental Institute or the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer’s Association.
Recycled At The Beginning
Many furniture makers reveal the percentage of recycled content in their products, so it is relatively easy to narrow your choices in this regard. You may even see a breakdown comparing post-consumer to pre-consumer recycled content. Post-consumer is preferable because it encompasses materials that have completed their life cycle in the consumer market and otherwise would be discarded – plastic bottles, for instance. Pre-consumer materials consist largely of manufacturing scrap that was never used in the consumer market.
Recyclable At The End
Is the furniture you purchased recyclable at the end of its useful life? To answer this question, you will want to learn how the piece of furniture is put together – and how easy it is to take apart. If it is difficult to disassemble, its components will probably not be recyclable.
Let It Shine
Can your choice of office furniture reduce your electric bill? Absolutely. Consider glass tiles, translucent screens, low-height panels – anything that lets light reach interior spaces. The more daylight your workplace gets, the less artificial light it needs – and the happier your employees will be.
Wrap It Up
Bulky packaging can sideswipe the best intentions if it ends up in a landfill. Stay green by requesting returnable packaging (like shipping blankets) or recyclable alternatives – corrugated cardboard and polystyrene foam.
Meet The Maker
Consider how the furniture supplier you are evaluating does business, not just how they make products. Does the company still sound green after articulating its policies toward renewable energy, solid-waste recycling, water conservation, and air emissions? Also, are any of its facilities LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council? The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program promotes green construction practices and awards buildings that make the grade.
Given stricter environmental criteria, government buyers are examining the green characteristics of furniture from a broader perspective than ever before. Fortunately, the industry is ready with environmental practices that stand up to scrutiny.
For more information about environmentally responsible purchasing, visit USCommunities.
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LES Foundation: Happy New Year and Thank You! |
As we begin a new calendar year, the LES Foundation wishes to publicly thank all of those who have given so generously throughout 2007 to support the Foundation and its mission to encourage the development of current and future public procurement professionals.
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Tim Aduddell |
Jay McCleary, CPPB* |
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Sal Amadeo, CPPO, CPPB |
John McConville |
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Rob Bezjak |
Minnesota Chapter of NIGP* |
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Tom Blaine, CPPO, FCPM, FCPA* |
Louis Moore, CPPO, CPPB* |
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Bill Brewer, CPPO, C.P.M.* |
Northern Louisiana Chapter of NIGP* |
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Columbia Chapter of NIGP* |
Jane Ogle, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB* |
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Corrine Culver, CPPO, CPPB* |
Oregon Public Purchasing Assoc.* |
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Ann Deatherage* |
Dr. Jack Pitzer, CPPO* |
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Kevin Feeley |
Periscope Holdings, Inc.* |
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Dr. Stephen Gordon, FNIGP, CPPO |
Phil Petry |
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Andrea Gregg |
Gerri Popkin, CPPB, RPPO, CPM, MAS* |
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Rick Grimm, CPPO, CPPB* |
Phyllis Prokopf, CPPO, CPPB |
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Norma Hall, CPPO, CPPB, CPM* |
Robert Sheridan, FNIGP, CPPO, C.P.M., CCPO, RPP* |
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Donna Imme, CPPB |
Sharon Seekins, FNIGP, CPPO, C.P.M.* |
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Barb Johnson, CPPO, CPPB* |
The Toro Company* |
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Bobbi Matthews, CPPO, CPPB* |
Karen Weaver |
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Darin Matthews, CPPO, C.P.M.* |
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*Annual Donors with donations of $50 or more
The Foundation also wishes to bring special recognition to those whose benevolent support of our profession through the Foundation has been consistently offered over time.
We extend our most sincere, heartfelt gratitude for your ongoing commitment.
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Sustaining
$500+ over five years |
Life
$1,000+ over five years |
Benefactor
$2,500+ over five years |
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Tom Blaine, CPPO, FCPM, FCPA |
Nancy Brinkman |
GTSI, Inc. |
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Anne Deatherage |
E. Ray Burnette, CPPO |
Periscope Holdings, Inc. |
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Jay McCleary, CPPB |
Tony Ellis, CPPO |
Stanley Zemansky, FNIGP, CPPO, C.P.M. |
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Minnesota Chapter of NIGP |
Landscape Structures |
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Louis Moore, CPPO, CPPB |
The Toro Company |
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Jane Ogle, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB |
Oracle Corporation |
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Dr. Jack Pitzer, CPPO |
Washington State Chapter of NIGP |
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Rocky Mountain Association of Governmental Purchasing Chapter of NIGP |
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Sharon Seekins, FNIGP, CPPO |
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Southeast Florida Chapter of NIGP |
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Tennessee Association of Public Purchasing Chapter of NIGP |
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To learn more about the LES Foundation, how we can support your professional development goals, or if you would like to join with those who contribute to the success of others in the profession, please contact bmaas@nigp.org.
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