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The Fine Print

The Newsletter of the Maryland Public Purchasing Association, Inc.

July/August 2008

(Revised)

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Deborah L. Meehan, CPPB

It’s hard to believe that another new fiscal year is on the horizon for most of us. The new fiscal year brings the NIGP Annual Forum (in Charlotte, NC this year), the MPPA Annual Crab Feast held at Kurtz’s Beach in September, and hopefully a summer vacation for each of us. Baltimore County Purchasing Division is especially busy this year implementing a new Enterprise software system effective July 1.

Registration is now available on-line for you to attend the MPPA Region II Annual Conference held in Ocean City, MD from October 22 – 24, 2008. You’ll find complete attendee and hotel information on the MPPA website, so be sure to register now. As host of the “Regional,” MPPA and I urge all of you to support your association and attend this event. Suzette Moore has planned an extraordinary three days of education and networking for us.

The highlight of recent months is an invitation MPPA received about a month ago. Nancy Smith contacted me saying that we had received an email from the World Trade Center Institute about conducting a program for procurement professionals that would be visiting from the Republic of Moldova. I must admit, at first I thought it might be a hoax. I think Nancy thought the same thing because she “Googled” the World Trade Center Institute, and I “Googled” Moldova. I’m so glad that we did because it was an experience that will last a lifetime, an absolutely delightful day.

The program was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Community Connections outreach series. I asked Nancy to extend the invitation we received to the Officers and Board of Directors of MPPA. We also had to secure a location convenient to the World Trade Center Institute and vote on any expenses that may be involved. All of this was accomplished by email and the dedication of Nancy Smith to this association.

On June 10th, I was joined by several of our colleagues to address procurement representatives from the Republic of Moldova at the Community College of Baltimore County, in Dundalk. Those who took part in the presentation were; Vice President Mary Jo McCabe, Director of Purchasing, Community College of Baltimore County, Director Karen Luther, Purchasing Agent, Washington County, Director Pam Jones, Chief of Purchasing, Montgomery County, Membership Chair Darla Herbold, Purchasing Administrator, Howard County, John Miller, Director of Purchasing, Harford County Public Schools, and Steve Myer, Senior Buyer, Baltimore County Government. Among the topics presented were Professionalism and Ethics in Public Procurement, Legal Standards and Specifications, Training for Procurement Specialists, Cooperative Purchasing, and Significant Successes and Challenges.

The overall objective of this program was to improve the public procurements methodologies used in the public sector in Moldova, a former Soviet Socialist Republic. The program was presented in English with interpretation into Russian and Romanian.

Information from USAID provided the reasoning and need for such a program, stating that, "In a society based solely on common ownership, such as the one of former Soviet era, centralized regulation was the underlying principle of economic development. Thus, competition, a typical feature of market based economy, was absent, as was the potentiality for sustainable economic development."

"Once independence was proclaimed and development based on market principles started, the Republic of Moldova entered a period of transition in which the principles of centralized control were not immediately abandoned. Problems that give rise to corruption are typical for most developing countries; especially for those undergoing transition from a centrally regulated economy to a market based one. The major problems are confined to: imperfect and contradictory legislation, inefficient government institutions, immature civil society, and government isolation from society. Currently, the Republic of Moldova is trying to regulate its public procurement mechanism among other things," USAID said.

Moldovan representatives of state institutions and organizations who are in charge of public acquisitions were given the opportunity to ask questions and to learn the ethics codes and procurement methodology used by their American colleagues. Of particular interest were questions regarding legal sanctions; internal and external audit procedures,

transparency to facilitate fair competition and discourage bribery; advertising of public procurements, standards and regulations of ethical conduct for procurement employees; combating and preventing corruption in public procurements domain.

A good day was enjoyed by all and ended with Mayor Eugenia Ciumac extending an invitation to Deb Meehan and her colleagues to visit the village of Chisinau, Moldova for practical procurement assistance. I took away a thought that I’ll share with you, we’re all different, but we’re really all the same.

I hope to see you in Charlotte, North Carolina for the NIGP 63rd Annual Forum and Products Exposition. Enjoy your summer and be safe out there.

“In spite of the cost of living, it’s still popular.”

(Kathleen Norris)

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Facilities REPORT

Brian D. Snyder, CPPO

The next general membership meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 10, 11:30 a.m., at The Rose Restaurant, 6075 Belle Grove Road in Linthicum. Cost of the meeting is $25, payable by cash or check at the door or via credit card at the web site Please make your reservations at MPPA’s website or by contacting Brian Snyder at 410-263-7944 or bds@.

Hot buffet lunch served at 12 noon includes:

Stuffed Chicken Breast House Salad

Roast Pork Loin Vegetable du jour

Potato du jour Bread, Rolls and butter

Iced/Hot Tea, Coffee

July’s meeting at Hellas was attended by 89 members and guests! Thanks for bringing the support staff to show your appreciation of their daily efforts.

Future meeting dates and locations:

Saturday, September 20– Kurtz’s Beach, Price to be determined

November 13 – Snyder’s

Questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact me directly.

Brian D. Snyder, CPPO

Facilities Chairperson

RECOGNITION REPORT

Kathy Madary, C.P.M.

Announcements

Please remember, if you’d like to forward information to be published (e.g., recent certification, promotion, etc.), please contact me at kmadary@.

NIGP Chapter of the Year Submission

We will find out at the Forum in Charlotte, North Carolina if our application for Chapter of the Year was successful or not. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that all our hard work and outstanding accomplishments will bring our chapter the recognition it deserves!

Computer-Based Exams

In October 2008, the UPPCC will offer computer-based CPPB and CPPO testing for the first time. The content of the tests is changing to keep up with the shifting responsibilities of our profession. If you don’t have an application on file with the UPPCC currently, the deadline to register for taking the computer-based test is July 21, 2008 (or August 4, 2008, with a late filing fee). In the future, testing will be offered twice a year, in May and October.

Review courses for the updated tests will be offered Thursday, July 24 and Friday, July 25, 2008 for the October computer-based tests. Check the NIGP website for more information on review classes.

Study up and take the test!

New Certification/Recertification

If you have recertification information or other certification information you would like to share or recognize, please let me know.

CONGRATULATIONS to the following individuals:

New CPPB/CPPO (report from NIGP)

1. Bobbie Tolston, CPPO, CPPB, Group Leader, Goods & Professional Services, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) (May 2008, New CPPO)

2. Victoria S. Mayle, CPPB, Purchasing Analyst, Charles County Public Schools (New CPPB)

Recertification News

N/A

Take Advantage of Educational Aide Opportunities:

Currently, there are two types of educational aid available to members, as follows:

1. The Stanley D. Zemansky Scholarship Program and

2. The Certification Exam Reimbursement Program.

Please visit the MPPA website to view the instructions and application for each.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

Darla H. Herbold, CPPO

MPPA EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

June 11, 2008

New Members Presented for Membership

Cecil Moore, C.P.M., CPPO, CPPB

Purchasing Agent

City of Baltimore

231 E. Baltimore Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Bruce Johnson, CPPO, C.P.M.

Procurement Manager, Capital Projects

Frederick County Government

12 E. Churck Street

Frederick, MD 21701

2 New Members Approved for Membership.

NIGP's National Member Recruitment Campaign

NIGP is encouraging local chapters to participate in "The Chase for the NIGP Spirit Cup". This is a fun, racing themed effort to encourage team spirit among chapter affiliates and share enthusiasm regarding the benefits of NIGP national membership. The campaign runs from April through June 30, 2008. The campaign offers the potential for our chapter to win a $500 American Express gift card. The gift card will be presented to the winning chapter after the live drawing at the Chapter President's Appreciation Luncheon at Charlotte, NC.

I sent NIGP recruitment letters to 78 MPPA chapter members who are not members of NIGP. The letter extolled the benefits of national membership and encouraged them to join NIGP, and to mention MPPA where the application asks how they heard about NIGP. Hopefully NIGP will gain some new national members from the ranks of MPPA's chapter membership.

Prepared by: Darla H. Herbold, CPPO

Membership Chair 2008

Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Purchasing

Awarded the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement

by the National Purchasing Institute

For the fourth year in a row, Baltimore County Public Schools’ Office of Purchasing has been awarded the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement by the National Purchasing Institute. This prestigious award is earned by those organizations that demonstrate excellence by obtaining a high score based on standardized criteria, that measures innovation, professionalism, productivity, e-procurement, and leadership attributes.

The AEP is sponsored by the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), the National Association of Educational Buyers (NAEB), the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP), the Florida Association of Public Purchasing Officers (FAPPO), the California Association of Public Purchasing Officers (CAPPO) and founding sponsor the National Purchasing Institute (NPI). Associate sponsors are the Airport Purchasing Group (APG), Texas Purchasing Management Association (TPMA), The Innovation Groups (IG), and U.S. Communities. It is now the standard benchmark for excellence in public and non-profit procurement.

Rick Gay, RSBO

Purchasing Manager

Baltimore County Public Schools

DATES OF FUTURE ISSUES: September, and November 2008

DEADLINE DATES FOR PUBLICATION SUBMITTALS:

Friday, August 22, 2008

Friday, October 24, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Please send all contributions to:

THE FINE PRINT

c/o William (Bill) Davis, CPPB – Administrator (Editor)

Maryland Department of General Services -

General Professional Services Selection Board

301 West Preston Street, Room M-6B

Baltimore, MD 21201

410-767-4296

bill.davis@dgs.state.md.us or

1badd@

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