Conference Full Agenda (Tentative)

4:00 - 5:00pm

1st Timers Welcome Reception

5:00– 6:00pm

Welcome Reception

8:00 - 10:30am

Opening Ceremony and Breakfast

Carlton N. Parker Award and Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Awards Ceremony

12:00 - 1:30pm

Lunch On Your Own

1:30 - 2:30pm

"A Framework for Ethical Decision Making in the Public Sector "

Professor Melendez

"Employees Don’t Leave Companies, They Leave Bosses: How To Ensure You Are Not One of Those Bosses"

Nancy McGuire

Managing a team of professionals isn’t always as easy as it looks. There are pressures from every angle, and more demands than can be prioritized in any given day. And yet as difficult as the job can be, successful companies recognize that an employee’s direct boss can have the biggest influence on a professional’s contribution, morale, and ongoing decision to remain with the company.  This session is geared towards managers who are interested in being a great boss.

2:45 - 3:45pm

"The advantage of Great Sevice-to You and Your Customers"

Ron Canham

The customer is always right, right? BALONEY! Those who use our business or service are oftern unrealistic and difficult to satisfy. But several organizations have great reputations for meeting customer needs. how do they do it? This session presents five key principles that companies with great service reputations follow to create both satisified customers and happier employees. Whetehr you work in the priivate sector, the public sector, out of your home, or provide service to another department in your own organization makes little difference-providing good service pays. And in these challenging economic tie, nothing may be more critical than the common sense idea that "we need to show people not only how much we know but also.....how much we care" .

"Is it Greener on the Other Side (of the Pond)?"

John Charters

Whoever you are, wherever you live, sustainability is an issue. This session provides an insight into what’s being done by the procurement team at Bristol City Council in England. It explains how bright ideas have been turned into actions, and how a new purchase to pay system has proved a key vehicle to improving sustainability.

"Negotiation and Conflict Management: Two Visions of How to Negotiate and Deal with Conflict Effectively"

Roger Hartley

This session will present two models of negotiating and dealing with conflict.  One is the more familiar competitive method that most people pick up from parents, friends, and from purchasing items.  However, most people do not know that negotiation is a learned skill that can involve tactics and strategies that provide real advantages.  Some of these are considered “ethically challenged” by many when they learn them.  Learning these tactics allows a person to negotiate more effectively and helps a person spot tactics that are commonly used against them. 

"Hands off my contract!"

Brian Garrity

How do you keep Procurement with the Professionals and out of the hands of the governing body?  This session will focus on drafting and implementing a model Procurement Code and the process the speaker used to get his Code adopted into Town Ordinance.

6:00–9:00pm

Presidential Dinner Gala

Breakfast On Your Own

8:00 – 9:30am

" Lean Times Require Great Leadership "

Tim Schneider

"Change Management Skills for Procurement Professionals"

Tom Mulhern

The ability to willingly adapt to, and accept change has become a common requirement for advancement in the supply chain profession at many companies.  Perhaps no other skill set will be as important to your own professional growth over the next ten to twenty years as being a Master of Change. It is no longer adequate to just accept and adapt to change – future Procurement Leaders must master the change process.

Attendees will learn Change Management Skills that they will be able to put to immediate use within their organizations. Additionally they will come away with a clear understanding of how improved Change Management Skills will lead to more effective cost reduction programs.  Hand-outs will include a Change Management Tool Kit, and recent case studies that will demonstrate how Change Management Skills have been used to achieve dramatic improvements in Supply Chain operations.

"Change Your Perspective: Procurement’s Role in the Budget Crisis"

Christina Schipansky

This session will focus on the valuable services procurement professionals may offer their agency in this economic climate. The session will address revenue generating contracting opportunities and volume based pricing strategies geared to save and make money for your organization. The program will also feature the money saving strategies currently being employed by Southern Arizona agencies, from the commonplace to the controversial. This session will give you tools and strategies you can take to your organization today!

11:15 - 12:00pm

Business Meeting and Presentation of Officers

12:00 – 1:00pm

Buyer/Supplier Roundtable Lunch

1:00 - 9:00pm

Products Exposition and Wine and Cheese Reception (5:00-6:00)

8:00 – 9:30am

"Laugh to keep from crying: A cartoonist¹s perspective"

David Fitzsimmons

9:45– 10:45am

"Humor on Laff Support"

David Fitzsimmons

From the comedy club to the office cooler. When humor works and when it just floats in the Punch Bowl and every stares in horror. Why? I¹ll tell you why. We¹ll diagram humor and describe all the variations. How attitude shapes humor. I¹ll break down the formula for joke writing. The art of the preemptive joke. I'll make you into comedy writing teams and ask you to craft a joke about yourselves. I will demonstrate how-- when leading a meeting or motivating colleagues - ya gotta find the "funny." The way of the fool rules.

"Price Indexing for More Effective and Efficient Contract Administration"

Sharon Hauht

Want the best prices on your contracts from Day One?  Confused by price indexes and which one to use?  At price adjustment time, not sure the supplier is asking for a fair and reasonable price adjustment?  Missing out on cost savings opportunities by asking for price decreases?  The goal of this workshop is to help your contract administration become more effective and efficient by helping you understand:

•  The difference between the most common price indices

•  How to choose the right one for your contract

•  How to develop the best price escalation language for your contract

•  The formula used to figure the percentage change in prices

•  How to use the internet to easily verify the percentage change in prices for the most common indices

"ISM:  What we are; where we’re headed"

Jan Miller

The Mission of ISM is to Lead Supply Management.

"How to give your RFP process an overhaul"

Brenda Stopani

How one procurement department took a hard look at its RFP process by enlisting the assistance of multiple public procurement agencies across the country.  See the analysis, common pitfalls, best practices and ways to implement recommended changes.

Installation of Officers followed by Lunch

"The Ten Commandments of Effective Leadership"

Tim Schneider

In this program, participants are guided through the unwavering characteristics, skills and traits of great leadership and the skills and competencies associated with each commandment.  Participants will also learn how to test their leadership abilities against the commandments to see where they could be more effective and successful.

"Meandering Down the Path of Recent Judicial Decisions, Pesky Contract Issues and Statutory Changes in State and Local Procurement Law"

Maggie McConnell

This session will be a whirlwind tour of a variety of types of procurement law issues.  It will include a summary of some of bid protests and contract claims that made their way to the courts in the past couple of years, and how they turned out.  The session will also take a look at troublesome contract issues, such as limits of liability and indemnity provisions, and discuss some efforts by public procurement officials to address those.  Finally, the sessions will cover some areas where procurement statutes or ordinances may need to change, or be changing, particularly with federal stimulus funds, such as in the area of alternative project delivery methods for the construction of infrastructure.

"Are You Achieving Success? Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award® (AEP)"

Beth Fleming

Are you interested in learning more about the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award® (AEP) for your agency? Or are you a past recipient and want to refine your application and/or

learn about the on-line application process? This session will focus on the program, its goals and criteria

development, and submission issues. It will also focus on the 2010 application with a summary of the

changes and will include tips on submitting a successful application. It will provide a tutorial on the

"Speak to Sell Yourself"

Debbie Christoferson

Communication is the most critical business skill today, and public speaking is a major component.  Do people listen and act when you talk?   Do your presentations gets results?  

Or do your knees knock and your heart turns cold with fear?   Confront your fears and take charge of yourself and your business, through more effective speaking in any venue and form.  We’ll show you how in easy steps that anyone at any stage can learn from and grow.

We’ll share practical applications in your everyday work and life, and examples of how you can differentiate yourself in small or large ways.  We’ll define what speaking is and what it means to you.  We’ll show you examples of failure, and what you can do to avoid it.