Howdy! and Happy New Year!! It’s hard to believe we’ve rounded the corner into 2010. I am anticipating 2010 to be an exciting, yet challenging year for TxPPA. It is exciting because we, as an organization, are still in our infancy years. If you think of TxPPA as a two year old child, what could more exciting than watching the changes and growth we can expect to see in the coming years and wondering what kind of “adult” we will turn out to be. As with any “child”, it will take nurturing, care and concern to see TxPPA reach its fullest potential in the years ahead. We’ve doubled in size over the last two years and can hope to double again within the next two years. And there lies our challenge. How do you keep the small, close knit feeling so many of us are used to; at the same time expanding and reaching out to others (known and unknown) to us in our association? How do we share with others around us the value and benefits of TxPPA membership? How do we convince our agency that participation in TxPPA is value added – even in this economy? How do we encourage new leadership while keeping the tenured members as valuable resources? Together, we can answer these challenging questions.
TxPPA just recently surveyed our membership. The response was great with approximately 34% responding. What we discovered was that almost 40% of our membership has 20 or more years of experience in public purchasing. We learned that sharing specifications, templates, policies and best practices along with providing legislative updates and networking is what you value the most in TxPPA. We found out that you would like to see classes offered to assist with certification credentials and a mentoring program for young professionals or new purchasing agents. You want continuing education opportunities in your region. But mostly, you joined TxPPA because of your desire to learn from the knowledge and experience of a statewide network of peers.
The coming year will offer opportunities for each of us to grow and learn individually and as an organization. I encourage each of you to get involved. Over 40 people have volunteered to work on various TxPPA committees. If you are interested but have not signed up, please contact me, or one of the officers, or one of the committee chairs directly. Recruiting, mentoring, or simply answering a question on the list serve will do more for you personally and professionally while at the same time developing TxPPA into the greatest public purchasing association in Texas!
Best wishes for a successful New Year!
Cheryl K. Turney, C.P.M.
TxPPA, President
City of College Station
Assistant Finance Director
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