June 2017 Volume II, Issue 2

Peach State Procurement

Live the Life of Your Dreams…While Working the Day Job!

If Your Customers Had a Choice, Would They Choose You?

Alligator Presentations: How to give those tough presentations

Shades of Grey: Passion in Purchasing

Summer Leadership Seminar Set in Macon Friday, August 18th

Please make plans now to attend GPAG’s Summer Leadership Sem-inar and Business Meeting. The event will be held on August 18, 2017 from 8:00AM to 3:00 PM and will be held at the Middle Georgia State University Conference Center, 100 University Parkway, Macon, Georgia. We have scheduled an outstanding slate of presenters that will pre-sent information on a variety of leadership topics. There is no charge to attend and lunch will be provided.

Registration information is now available on GPAG’s website and the agenda listing speakers and topics will be posted soon.

Spring Conference Survey Responses

Provide Insight Over half of GPAG members who at-

tended the Spring Signature Conference

at Jekyll Island took the time to respond

to the follow up survey. For that, the

Board and Committee Chairs thank you.

Survey results offer insights into the

success (or failure) of a conference and

this data greatly assists in planning fu-

ture conferences.

Of the respondents, 63% rated the

Conference overall as Great or Excel-

lent, with a few Averages but no Poor's.

And, 86% thought the addition of the

Supplier Trade Fair was valuable to the

Conference.

This group was equally divided on

what motivated them to attend. There

were 27% who came for the Continuing

Education and Professional Skills while

12% attended to obtain credits for certi-

fication. Networking with Peers was

most important to 25% of attendees and

25% came for the Speakers and Topics.

The food was rated sub-par by many

and the facility/lodging (ants?!) did not

make everyone happy, but they did en-

joy most of the speakers and presenta-

tions. People loved Becky Daniel and

her Dipper! Some were not so im-

pressed with the keynote , but others

thought Tim Conner was great. All

speakers and topics received great rat-

ings.

What areas and topics would attendees

like at future conferences? Ethics, Pro-

tests and Legal Issues were mentioned,

along with Insurance and Bonding

Guidelines; Legal Language for Con-

tracts and State Laws and Titles; RFP

Structures/Evaluations; and Fixed As-

sets and Inventory.

Who made up this group? Of the 67

attendees, 43% came from K-12 organi-

zations with City and County employees

making up 38%. The other 19% were

divided among State and Other groups.

Of the total in attendance, 74% have

already achieved a certification with the

majority being CPPB and CPPO.

The best result is that 87% would love

to attend another GPAG conference! (continued on pg 5)

Mark Your Calendars!

Fall Reverse Trade Show Scheduled for October 5th

If you have not attended one of our the Reverse Trade Shows, we encour-

age you to do so in the future as we believe it provides you with a great

opportunity to network with other Purchasing professionals, as well as

meet new vendors. Please watch the GPAG website for information on the

upcoming Fall Reverse Trade Show to be held October 5, 2017 in Macon

along with information on next year’s Spring Reverse Trade Show in early

2018. www.gpag.net Thanks to all participants at the Spring show!

1

March was officially "Procurement Month" in Georgia. The Bibb County School District celebrated the month with several events. We received a proclamation, from the Mayor of Macon-Bibb; notating that Procurement Month is a time set-aside “to recognize those in the purchasing and materials management professions who play a significant role in the efficiency and effectiveness in both the public and private sectors by balancing and negotiating time, sourcing and the pricing of goods and services.” The events were kicked off with a trivia contest and several planned events. The first event was held at the Operations Center on Cava-lier Drive on March 10th as a drop-in pizza and prizes get-together. Also, the Procurement and Warehouse Operations Staff were recog-nized at the BCSD Monthly Board Meeting held March 16th and a Proclamation was presented to the entire staff.

The final Procurement Month event was held on March 17th at the downtown Central Offices of BCSD. Several awards were presented recognizing excellence in the implementation of MUNIS including the following: Best Munis Department – CTAE—Certificates of Achievement: Missy Willingham (E.S. Secretary); Lisa Krommes (M.S. Bookkeeper); Shunyette Blasingame (H.S. Bookkeeper); Laurie Grif-fin (Media Specialist); Dr. Shannon Norfleet (Best Munis Approval Turnaround); Debra Ross (Most Improved Requisitioner); Lisa Norris (The Original “1st” Requisitioner); Sheila Jordan (Best Departmental Requisitioner). Congratulations to all! The celebration was wrapped up with door prizes, giveaways, pizza and of course, cake!

BIBB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT PROCUREMENT MONTH CELEBRATED By Elaine Wilson

In the News...

Blended Learning and Mentoring in Cobb County School District By Richard Pennington, J.D., LL.M., CPPO

excerpt from HotTopics/Government Procurement Magazine/ April/May 2017

The Cobb County, GA, School District is an Achievement of Excellence in Procurement award winner from the National Pro-

curement Institute for the 12th consecutive year and holds five consecutive three-year Outstanding Agency Accreditation

Achievement Awards, an honor given by NIGP. This school district has credited much of its success to its blended learning and

mentoring programs. David Odom is the Director of CCSD Procurement Services Department.

In regards to mentoring, Barbara Bates, assistant director of CCSD Procurement Services Department, offers the example of a

recent on-boarding of an employee who had 19 years experience with a local county but none with a school district. When the

new employee arrived, the office assembled a notebook covering topics including procurement regulations, relevant district

board policies, and internal instructions for managing proposals, bids, quotes, and open records requests. They also provided

an excel list of topics of training requirements with descriptions and locations. The training encompasses all policies and pro-

cedures, regulations, templates, and retention schedules. Other areas are covered with the mentor in one on one sessions.

"Shadowing” is also a part of the training with the new employee

being given opportunities to attend meetings, pre bid conferences and

evaluation meetings.`

Bates says the training program is designed to take “little steps”

in learning. She used personal experiences from moving from the

district to school bookkeeper where she saw the value of patience in a “

professional development approach.

Mentoring requires an atmosphere of trust and new employees are

asked to review their colleagues work, even senior level—a learning

experience for both.

According to Jill Vestal, Sr. Exec. Dir., CCSD Business Services

Division, ‘this approach has been instrumental to the stability and success

of the CCSD Procurement Services Department.’

Cobb County School District Procurement Team

Bibb County

School District Team

3

GPAG Sponsor Vendor Registry Names Purchaser of the Month

City of Griffin’s Cindy Fay is Recognized

By John Barron, Vendor Registry—Buyer Success Manager

Cindy Fay, procurement analyst for the City of Griffin, Georgia, has been named Vendor Registry’s June 2017 Purchaser of the Month!Vendor Registry would like to recognize her hard work and show our appreciation for all the time and dedication that she puts into making the City of Griffin’s purchasing department the best it can be. Take a look at our spotlight Q&A with Cindy in which she shares some valuable insight on her career (and a fun bonus question, too!). To celebrate, we had a fun Q & A session with Cindy so she could share some valuable insight on her career and how she’s become one of the great women in her field. Cindy also serves as GPAG’s Legislative Chairperson. Congratulations, Cindy! We’re grateful to work with you and the City of Griffin!

How many years have you worked in purchasing?

I am a relative newbie of 9 years in Public Procurement. I started with the City of Griffin in 2008 and until then, I had no real concept of what public procurement was all about. I was, however, armed with a very diverse background as a Functional Analyst in the Training & Support division of a financial software company...with my primary product being Accounts Payable and my secondary product Pur-chase Order, so I was accustomed to different regulations and policies as well as dealing with a wide variety of issues.

When I started with the City, I quickly discovered that the Procurement department consisted mainly of a handwritten requisition log with an occasional bid submitted and published. There was no in-house training, so I took every available class that Georgia DOAS-SPD (Dept. of Administrative Services – State Procurement Division) offered the non-state agencies, and I became certified both with the State and NIGP.

How long has your agency used Vendor Registry?

Griffin started using Vendor Registry in May 2015. Sometime in April, I remember getting a ‘cold call’ from Vendor Registry. Being a one-person shop I normally do not have the time that I would like to have to devote to sales reps. This was one I wanted to hear; I had just been discussing options with a peer that could help with the workload just earlier that week. I remember they had mentioned Vendor Registry, but since I had no budget to work with, I had dismissed it. Whether it was an omen or curiosity, when I got the call, I felt that I needed to find out more.

Why did you choose Vendor Registry?

There are several reasons that I chose Vendor Registry to present to my management. The most prominent ones are:

First, I knew I needed help. Georgia agencies were still getting acclimated to the new requirements of O.C.G.A. §13-10-91 (E-Verify) and §50-36-1 (SAVE). It was a confusing time that put a tremendous additional workload on all Georgia agencies.

There were no fees for Vendor Registry’s basic services. There was no way I would ask my vendors to pay to do business with us when they were already getting that service for free. Vendor self-service put the responsibility of keeping the records current back on the vendor, where it belongs. No more accusing calls when they did not get a notice because we did not have a correct commodity code.

The customer service and support people that I have worked with have been exceptional; they are always willing to help and go the ex-tra mile to help us resolve a problem. I have periodically done some “it would be really nice if” scenarios. Whether it is a good idea they want to incorporate, a good idea that they aren’t able to do at present, something that may just benefit a couple of people or even a ‘what were you thinking’ idea, I always get honest feedback and feel that my comments, even the ridiculous ones, are appreciated. That’s im-portant to me.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Most people in Procurement are short-staffed and overloaded, so hearing ‘favorite thing’ sometimes brings a chuckle. After that chuckle, I would say I have two things I like about my job. First, I’m always doing something different. In the nine years I have been here, I doubt that I’ve had two days the same. That keeps me learning. The second is more specific to this job. I thrive on making a difference, hopeful-ly for the better. Since there was no official Procurement process here, almost everything I have done has made a difference and that makes me proud.

Bonus question: You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why? That one’s easy for me. Purple is my color and I have two shades – Violet for when I need to be bold and assertive and Mauve for those softer times.

Know someone who should be nominated for Purchaser of the Month? Send a nomination to John Barron at jbar-ron@vendorregistry.com, including your name, the name of the person you’re nominating, their contact information and why that person (or department) deserves recognition.

Highlights from

2017 Spring Signature Conference/Supplier Trade Show

and

Spring Reverse Trade Show

4

Many Thanks to

Ernie Webster

and Mendi Bod-

die for these

great photos.

Spring Reverse Trade Show—Kennesaw State University

Spring Signature Conference/Trade Show at Jekyll Island

5

Legislative Update

By Ted Burgess, Legislative Committee

At the state level, this year’s session of the General Assembly ended on

March 30, 2017. No legislation impacting local procurement passed this time, but several bills

were introduced. They included:

House Bill 189, the Contract Cancellation Act: This bill would have created a new section

under Title 36 of Georgia Law. It would require any service contract to contain perfor-

mance and cost criteria, and would allow the local government to cancel the contract if the

vendor did not comply with required reporting.

House Bill 489: A new Code section created by this legislation would have required local gov-

ernments and boards of education to advertise in the Georgia Procurement Registry, in

addition to the county’s official legal organ, for solicitations over $10,000 for goods and

services, or over $100,000 for public works construction projects.

Senate Bill 22: Any business entity whose contracts with local agencies totaled more than

$50,000 would have been prohibited from making contributions to a candidate or his/her

campaign committee.

At the Federal level, there is a fair amount of discussion on transportation and infrastructure

grants. In looking collectively at these individual initiatives, one can see continued emphasis on

accountability, transparency, and ethics at the state level.

Buy American: On April 18, 2017, the President signed Executive Order 13788 which directed

federal agencies to strengthen the impact of Buy American laws. Within 150 days it re-

quires each agency to propose policies to ensure that Federal financial assistance awards

maximize the use of materials produced in the U.S.. Within 220 days, it requires the Sec-

retary of Commerce to recommend ways to strengthen Buy American laws, including do-

mestic procurement preference policies. Ultimately, this could impact local government

costs and administrative requirements when using Federal grant funds.

Infrastructure Initiative: The President’s initiative, as well as his proposed budget, promote up

to $1 trillion in spending on infrastructure improvements. Actually, this would consist of

about $200 billion of Federal money, leveraged to equal $1 trillion of state, local, private,

and Federal funds and includes spending on surface transportation, drinking and waste

water, broadband, and other components of infrastructure.

Regulatory Reforms: Stakeholders have been in discussions with Federal officials about updat-

ing and improving laws, rules and regulations that local entities must follow when using

Federal Grant funds.

Peach State

Procurement

Peach State Procurement is

the current official newslet-

ter of the Governmental Pro-

curement Association of

Georgia (GPAG)

It is produced quarterly by

the Public Relations / His-

torical Committee, Penny

Murphy, Chair. Other Com-

mittee members are Mendi

Boddie and Stephanie Brice.

To submit articles or photos,

please send to Penny Mur-

phy at

penmurph@gmail.com

The newsletters are pub-

lished prior to the next gen-

eral business meeting or

conference each quarter.

C o n t r i b u t o r s t o t h e

June 2017 Edition include:

Mendi Boddie, Stephanie

Brice, Joe Tommie, Elaine

Wilson, Ernie Webster, Cin-

dy Fay, Ted Burgess and

Penny Murphy.

GPAG Members On the Move…

Congratulations to Len Bernat who retired from Jackson County! Look for his inspiring leadership essays on LinkedIn, presentations at GPAG Conferences

and more...

NIGP Recognizes Chapters Milestone Agency Anniversaries

30 Years: City of Valdosta; Muscogee County School District; Hall County

Board of Commissioners; City of Roswell.

25 Years: City of Rome; Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

www.gpag.net to

( C o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 )

Leadership is already planning the Fall

Trends and Mentoring Conference in

late fall at Brasstown Valley Lodge and

Resort in Young Harris. More on this

to come so visit www.gpag.net for de-

tails as they are revealed.

@ www.gpag.net