The Rocky Mountain Governmental Purchasing …...ISSUE III, YEAR 2015 ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH NOTES 3...

ISSUE I I I , YEAR 2015 ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH NOTES

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JUL-SEP, 2015 Rocky Mountain High Notes

T h e R o c k y M o u n t a i n G o v e r n m e n t a l P u r c h a s i n g A s s o c i a t i o n

Questions about the newsletter? Comments? Contact the editor at [email protected]

Greetings RMGPA Members-

What an exciting 3rd quarter of 2015! First of all I’d like to congratulate all of you for being part of NIGP’s Extra Large Chapter of the year for 2015. We could only achieve this because of you. It was so wonderful to have 36 RMGPA members from all over the state celebrate the special moment. A special thank you to the amazing leadership of our Past President, Kristen Spicola, and all of our volunteers. This was truly a group effort and an honor for all of us to be proud of. If you have not had the opportunity to experience Forum, we look forward to seeing you at National Harbor, MD next year.

Congratulations to the new CPPBs, Jackie Goodall, Boulder Valley School District and Vera Kennedy, Colorado Department of Human Services. Also good luck to those that are taking the CPPO and CPPB tests this October.

If you missed the Fall Conference and Reverse Vendor Trade Show, you missed great vendor relationship sessions by Lisa Premo, NIGP, and the largest RVTS yet! We had 22 agency booths and over 120 vendors attend. At one point during the RVTS, there were 3 or 4 vendors deep at each table making connections. This event allows us to continue to offer excellent professional development opportunities, networking connections, and scholarships for our members. We also added a new feature to the conference business meeting, you can now connect with us via Google Hangout. If you are interested in participating the Winter Conference Business meeting via Google Hangout, please email [email protected]. This winter we have a great conference planned in Colorado Springs. This will be held December 10-11th and the focus of the conference will be on RFPs and evaluations. We look forward to seeing you there to continue to make connections and increase your knowledge in public procurement.

Have a “Fabulous Fall’ and don’t forget to make connections with your peers, co-workers, and suppliers.

~ Molly

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Submitted by Molly McLoughlin, CPPB

Final Newsletter Article Deadline for 2015:

December 16

Letter from the President 1

2015 NIGP Forum Winners!

2-3

A Future in Public Procurement?

4

Fall Conference Recap with Photos

5

Education and Pro-D Committee Report

6

Spotlight on Member Valerie Scott

7

The Power of Fun at Work

8

Negotiating Tactics to use Today & Skeet’s Beat

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Inside this issue:


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2015 NIGP Forum—WINNERS!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Albert H. Hall Memorial Award, NIGP’s Top Honor

Ronald Watkins, FNOGP, CPPO, 2004-2005 NIGP President, Retired, City of Grand Junction, Laramie County School District

Distinguished Service Award Winner

Jeanie Readey, CPPO, CPPB, Retired, State of Colorado Depart-ment of Transportation


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RMGPA Wins Extra-Large Chapter of the Year at the 2015 NIGP Forum!

Standing L-R: Jennie Readey, Molly Randol, Denise Schneider (NIGP Member Council Chair), Joyce Newberry, Tenhee Shoffstall, Betty Standley, Bob Corman, Diana Wilson, Cindy Lombardi, Barbara Ruley, Susan Hyatt, BANNER, Jim O'Neal, Pat Johnson, Molly McLoughlin, Kristen Spicola, Heather MacMillan, Gerry Paul, Mary O'Halloran, Kevin Klatt, Keith Ashby, Jerel Nielsen, Traci Gorman.

Kneeling L-R: Ron Watkins, Curtis Subia, JD Allred, Chris Delany, Dirk Banks, Skeet McCracken

Requirements to submit for Chapter of the Year include:

EXCELLENCE IN MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND ENGAGEMENT

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

EXCELLENCE IN ADVOCACY FOR MEMBERS AND THE PROFESSION

EXCELLENCE IN INSPIRING PROCUREMENT FOR THE FUTURE

EXCELLENCE IN CHAPTER OPERATIONS

If you would like to view the RMGPA Chapter of the Year application, please visit

http://www.flipdocs.com/showbook.aspx?ID=10013238_661074


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NIGP Webinars

Webinars are a great training opportunity and are now offered at NO COST to members. All registrants receive a certificate of completion and one contact hour for attending.

October 22—The Scoop on Scopes, Specs, Minimums and Back-grounds

Offered at various times during the day, a Webinar includes 60-70 minutes of information followed by a Q&A session.

Register for the above webinars by going to www.NIGP.org. Online classes are also available for purchase. Go to www.NIGP.org for a complete current list.

A Future in Public Procurement? Submitted by Skeet McCracken, CPPO, CPPB, Vice President

Terra Thiebaut, the DECA Advisor at Fort Collins High School, invited RMGPA Vice President Skeet McCracken to join a class session at Fort Collins High School on September 24, 2015 to discuss careers in public purchasing. About ten students involved in DECA attended the fifty minute classroom session to learn more about public procurement opportunities. Along with Skeet McCracken, CPPO and CPPB, Senior Buyer for Poudre School District, Ed Bonnette, CPPB, Senior Buyer for the City of Fort Collins, and Jill Wilson, Buyer for the City of Fort Collins presented specific examples of work- related scenarios and attributes entailed to be successful in spearheading procurement activities within an organization. Some students inquired about the specific roles/

responsibilities of a buyer within a public organization. Salary and benefit information was also shared with the students. They were encouraged to take business-related courses in college and pursue CPPB/CPPO certifications to maximize their efforts in pursuing a career in this growing field.

What a great opportunity for these students!


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RMGPA 2015 Fall Conference Recap Submitted by Valerie Scott, CPPB. Programs Committee Chair

The 2015 Fall Conference was held in conjunction with the Reverse Vendor Trade show at the Denver Police Protective Association Event Center on September 11. The conference featured guest speaker Lisa Premo, the Global Best Practices Developer for NIGP. She spoke about how the practices are developed and she facilitated sessions about supplier relationship management and the place of procurement within the entity. Her presentations were infused with real scenarios from our members.

For the first time, the Programs Committee was able to extend invitations to all members to participate in the business meeting via Google Hangout. Eight RMGPA members opted to join the Hangout. Overall, it was a successful first effort and the participants were able to provide feedback to help refine future sessions.

Lunch for the vendors who sponsored the Reverse Vendor Trade Show and for conference attendees was sponsored by the Colorado Department of Transportation. During the lunch, vendor sponsors were recognized, and President Molly McLoughlin gave a special thanks to Pete Toth with the City of Arvada for his innovative idea to work with Bidnet to reach out to vendors about the trade show.


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Fundamentals of Colorado Procurement Training

The Colorado State Purchasing Office started offering this course and has extended it to a 2 day course beginning with the fall course on August 6 and 7, 2015. It includes presentations from the DPA Office of the State Controller's Central Contracts Unit and the DPA Division of Human Re-sources' Office of Risk Management. These departments will focus on Risk Manage-ment/Insurance and Contract Administration.

Classes are held the first Thursday and Friday of every month, except July and December.

The expanded training agenda offers a Certificate for a total of 14 Seminar Contact hours that may be used for Professional Certification.

All Government Offices, including State Agencies, Institutions of Higher Education, and Local Government are encouraged to attend this training at NO CHARGE.

Registration information can be found on the RMGPA website.

Education & Professional Development Report Submitted by Diana Cantu, CPPB, Education & Professional Development Committee Chair

The Risk Management in the Public Sector course, scheduled for November 5-6, 2015, has been canceled due to low registration.

No other courses are scheduled for the balance of 2015.


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SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBER...

VALERIE SCOTT—Programs Committee Chair

Submitted by Kelly Wooden, Newsletter Committee Co-Chair

Valerie Scott, CPPB, is currently employed with the City of Longmont and has worked as a Procurement Specialist for just over two years. She primarily works with the City Attorney’s Office, City Clerk’s Office, City Manager’s Office, Community Services, Planning and Development, Enterprise Technology Resources and the Downtown Development Authority. She assists these offices with solicitations, contracts and other procurement needs, as well as overseeing several city-wide procurement needs, including computer hardware and software, office equipment and printing services. Aside from the fact that Valerie loves public procurement and the value we bring for the good of our communities, she also loves the people! She very much enjoys the team she is part of and the customers she serves. After the 2013 flood in Longmont, there were and still are many homes in the community that qualify for rehabilitation work under a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program (CDBG-DR). Once a homeowner applies and is accepted to this Program, Valerie works with the Housing and Community Investment Division to coordinate the solicitation, contracting and project management processes for the homeowner in order to bring their home up to code. It is a unique, personal opportunity to see how public procurement provides benefits to the community and citizens. This work has its challenges, as it is different from the City’s “normal” infrastructure construction projects and has a unique set of conditions, guidelines and contracting process that differs from other City procurement projects. It has been a learning and growth opportunity for Valerie. The summer leading into her final semester at Colorado State University, Valerie began working in the CSU Procurement Services office as a student administrative assistant for the University’s P-card program. She continued to work there as an administrative assistant for a few months following graduation. She then pursued a career in the

financial services industry as a financial advisor. After deciding that career was not for her, she was hired back on with CSU. Initially, the position was a blend of p-card administration, e-procurement help desk support and purchasing agent duties. With time, the position shifted to strictly being a purchasing agent. Valerie joined RMGPA in 2010. She appreciates the dedication and passion that each member in our organization has towards bettering our profession and ourselves. She is inspired by so many people who volunteer their time to make RMGPA great. In January 2015, Valerie took on the role of Programs Committee Chair for our organization. She works very closely with the Programs Co-chair, Beth Hewes, other committee members and volunteers. Beth is very excited about what the committee does and this passion fuels her excitement of planning conferences. There is behind-the-scenes work on a daily basis, above and beyond their normal job duties, to plan, coordinate and execute each event. In June, Valerie completed the 2015 Leadership Longmont Program. The Program is coordinated by the Longmont Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the School District for the purpose of developing leadership within the community. Aside from work, Valerie loves yoga. According to Valerie, “It seems to be whatever I need it to be, at the time I need it.” She also has a love for dance. After serving a 3 year stint as a Denver Broncos Cheerleader (GO BRONCOS!) she teaches private dance lessons and substitute teaches on occasion. A frequent Michaels Arts & Crafts store customer, she is also very crafty, enjoying everything from painting to crocheting.


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The Power of FUN at Work Printed with Permission by Walt Stasinki, Med, MPH [email protected]

Walt Stasinski was a speaker at the Summer Conference

In Reader's Digest, Don Snyder tells us that he noticed his employees extending their allotted break time. So he put this sign on their bulletin board.

"Starting immediately, your 15 minute breaks are being cut back from a half-hour to twenty minutes."

He says that using humor, employees got the message.

All our lives we've been told that you have to be so serious to be successful. It's nothing but a myth! According to the business journal, Human Resources Focus, 96% of executives surveyed said people with a sense of humor do better at their jobs than those who

have little or no sense of humor.

I was conducting a Keynote Program on Humor In The Workplace at a sales award dinner for Old Kent Bank. Employees were sitting at tables with colleagues from their bank branch. During my program, I noticed that every table was laughing, but one branch was having more fun than any other branch. After I completed my presentation, the winners of the sales awards were honored. Guess which branch came in first? MMMMM.

Would you like to be successful and have fun doing it? Here's how. Turn the bulletin board in your work area into a Belly Laugh Board. Designate half of the board as a spot solely for humorous items such as comic strips, funny greeting cards, etc.... Post this sign on your board-- "Budget is a Latin word which means, ‘Whatever you need, you can't have.'" A manager had this sign in his office: "Which way did they go? How many were there? How fast were they going? I must find them. I'm their leader!"

Turn your staff meetings into laff meetings by starting the meeting with humor. Have each employee tell a funny story about a recent incident at work. Employees vote on which story is the funniest, and a reward is given to the winner. It could be a candy bar, a dollar, free lunch or the employee gets to leave work 15 minutes early which is a very popular reward. Why do this? Several research studies have shown that after people laugh, they become more creative at problem-solving. And isn't that just what you need in your staff meetings, people who can solve problems? Humor promotes creative thinking.

Host a Positive Attitude Party at your work area. Each time an employee makes a negative remark, he/she has to donate 25 cents to a Positive Attitude jar. Once the jar fills up, throw a party that, ironically, was funded by negative attitudes.

What's the difference between an employee who has fun at work and an employee who doesn't? The employee who has fun at work makes a concerted effort to have fun. That's the difference. It's the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you really want to have fun at work, then you probably will.

The Associated Press printed a story about a 3-year legal battle in Syracuse, New York. The adversaries were Federal Express, the shipping giant, and a little coffee shop. The battle was about copyright infringement. When the coffee shop first opened, it called itself Federal Espresso. The shipping giant said no way. So, the owners agreed to change the name and they came up with Ex-Federal Espresso. The shipping giant didn't think this was funny. Finally, they reached a settlement, and the coffee shop now has a new name: Freedom of Espresso. Humor gives power to the weak and neutralizes the strong.

Take your job seriously but yourself lightly!

“If you really want to have fun at work, then you

probably will.”


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“Skeet’s Beat” Submitted by Skeet McCracken, CPPO, CPPB, Vice President

In my next interview, I would like to introduce another of our RMGPA volunteers, Toi Mathews. Toi, who is originally from Baton Rouge and Iowa City Iowa, has a BA in Spanish and a Masters of Public Administration. Toi moved to Denver, Colorado in February of 2014 and started working for C-DOT that August. She is a Purchasing Agent for Region1, DAS, Staff Branches, Storeroom Controller and Catalog Management. Starting as an Intern with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Budget and Finance sections while in graduate school after obtaining her MPA in 1999, she was hired by the State of Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) as a Purchasing Agent, Policy Writer and Facilities Coordinator. She worked for the LCTCS for more than 10 years as the System Procurement and Contracts Manager. Patricia O’Neal introduced Toi to RMGPA and she joined in August of 2014. Since Toi was a very active member of the Louisiana chapter of National Institute of

Governmental Purchasing (LANIGP), she naturally gravitated to being a part of another national professional purchasing organization with RMGPA. In addition to her background in procurement, she is also an event planner and interior decorator. Toi expressed an interest in the Program Committee at the 2014 Winter Conference, which was not over-looked by the Chair of the Program Committee, Valerie Scott. Volunteering for the Programs Committee is a perfect fit for Toi. So far, Toi has written a summary of the 2015 Spring Conference for the Newsletter and assisted with hospitality/facilitating a break out session during the Summer Conference. She is currently assisting Roman Hernandez with the Fall Conference/ Reverse Vendor Trade Show. Toi has stated that Valerie and the other committee members are so great to work with and she’s available to play whatever part is needed and to support the committee and the organization as a whole. We appreciate you, Toi!

Negotiating Tactics You Can Use Today (See more at: http://www.nextlevelpurchasing.com/articles)

By Charles Dominick, SPSM, SPSM2, SPSM3—Next Level Purchasing Association

Improving your negotiating results doesn't need to be complicated. These three easy negotiating tactics work!

Tactic #1: Don't Use All of Your Ammunition at Once. There may be several logical reasons for a supplier to reduce his price: ordering early, being eligible for a multiple-product-purchase discount, etc. Suppliers will often try to convince you that their first price reduction is a great deal that you should accept. So if you used all of your reasons for getting a price reduction at once, the supplier has more power to defend his price and you have run out of reasons for getting a lower price. So follow these steps:

Know the reasons for requesting a price reduction

Decide the sequence to introduce those reasons

Ask for a price reduction based on one reason

Thank the supplier after getting it

Ask for a better price for another reason and repeat

Tactic #2: Ask About The Supplier's Questions. During a negotiation, the supplier will ask you questions. For example, when trying to decide by how much to reduce his price, the supplier may ask you: "When did you want delivery to take place?" It would be easy to say "In two weeks" and leave it at that. I'd respond by saying, "We originally wanted delivery in two weeks, but does our delivery timeframe make a difference in our pricing?" If the answer was "Yes," I'd follow up with "What delivery date will qualify us for the best deal?"

Tactic #3: Listen To Suppliers' Dialogue. I never endorse "spying" - listening to or recording someone's conversa-tions against his wishes. But I feel that cell phone calls made in your presence while negotiating without a privacy request are fair game for listening. In such conversations, you can pick up clues about the factors the boss is consid-ering in revising his offer. For example, let's say you hear the salesperson say "No. They'll be paying 100% upon completion instead of a down payment." From this, you can tell that payment terms affect your pricing. So you can say "I overheard you mention payment terms. How might altering our payment terms help us get a lower price?" This tactic often uncovers otherwise hidden savings opportunities.


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THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN

GOVERNMENTAL PURCHASING ASSOCIATION

Dedicated to Excellence in Public Purchasing

Rocky Mountain

Regional

Chapter of

THE LAST WORDTHE LAST WORDTHE LAST WORD

Visit us on the web at www.rmgpa.org

Winner of NIGP’s Large Chapter of the Year in 2006, 2009 and 2015!

Printed with Permission

Hoodies; Hot Cocoa; Boots; Jeans; Cuddling; Crisp Air; Flushed Cheeks; Apple Cider; Pretty Leaves;

Football; Pumpkins, Sweaters...


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2015 RMGPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STANDING COMMITTEES

POSITION OFFICER E-Mail PHONE

President Molly McLoughlin, CPPB [email protected] (720) 561-5132

Vice President Skeet McCracken, CPPO, [email protected] (970) 490-3428

Secretary Mary Kirschmer, CPPB [email protected] (303) 326-1988

Treasurer Vivian Harvell [email protected] (719) 579-2034

Past President Kristen Spicola, CPPB [email protected] (719) 584-0319

COMMITTEE CHAIR E-Mail PHONE

Awards Curt DeCapite, CPPB

[email protected] (719) 331-0319

Business Advisory Community

Pete Toth [email protected] (720) 898-7091

Chapter Enhancement

Roman Hernandez [email protected] (303) 757-9236

Communications Tim Wellmann, CPPB


Education & Pro-D Diana Cantu, CPPB [email protected] (303) 702-7715

Elections Linda Meserve, CPPB


Historian Vera Kennedy, CPPB


Legislative Karen Picariello, CPPB


Marketing Farrah Bustamante, CPPB


Membership Patricia O’Neal patricia.o’[email protected] (303) 757-9399

Newsletter Marcia Sieben, CPPO, CPPB


Programs Valerie Scott, CPPB



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2015 COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS

COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR NAME E-Mail PHONE

Awards Mary Jablonski, CPPB [email protected] (970) 613-5149

Business Advisory Community

(Vacant)

Chapter Enhancement

Traci Burtnett, CPPO, CPPB


Education & Pro-D

Sherri Gibson, CPPB [email protected] (303) 866-5732

Historian (Vacant)

Legislative Cindy Lombardi, CPPB


Marketing Shannon E. Sprague, CPPB


Membership Barbara Hauptli, CPPB


Newsletter Kelly Wooden, CPPO,

CPPB


Programs Beth Hewes, CPPB [email protected] (303) 866-3080

Sneffels Range, Colorado Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado

The Rocky Mountain Governmental Purchasing …...ISSUE III, YEAR 2015 ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH NOTES 3...

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