News & Views. VAGP 2015 Spring Conference. June Inside This Issue

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1 News & Views Published for Members of the VAGP 2015 Spring Conference June 2015 Clockwise from top left: A record-breaking 43 first-timers attended the Spring Conference; Melinda Williams, CPPM, CPPB, CPP, VCO, received VAGP s Buyer of the Year Award; VAGP past presidents at the conference; Nancy Davis, CPPB, CPPO, VCO, was awarded VAGP Life Membership; 2nd-Past President, Bill Lindsey, was honored with the VAGP Distinguished Service Award; Interns from Hampton University. By Lorie Newton, CPPO CPPB Conference Advisory Committee Chair The VAGP held another successful Spring Conference this past March at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Conference Center. In conjunction with the SEVA (Southeastern Virginia) chapter of National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM), the conference had an overwhelming attendance of 229 attendees that included a record-breaking 43 first timers along with 86 vendors occupying 93 vendor spaces. Thank you to the 2015 Spring Conference committee for organizing an amazing conference and expo and thank you to our event sponsors, which included SHI, Incredible Supply & Logistics (ISL), U.S. Communities, Periscope Holdings, Inc., and Old Dominion University! This year s spring conference proved to be three days of exciting speakers, networking, and fun! The event kicked off with the Honorable Nancy Rodrigues, Secretary of Administration, followed by a whole list of dynamic speakers from across the Country. Tammy Rimes of Tammy Rimes Consulting was a huge hit with her general session and breakout session where conference organizers were forced to add additional chairs and open a second room to accommodate attendees. The vendor expo far exceeded our expectations with extra booths being added up until the evening before. Not only did an extensive group of first time vendors register for the expo, but many vendors offered some awesome giveaways and/or donated to our event charity. (continued on page 3...) Inside This Issue From the Desk of the President...2 Withdrawing Bids...4 Upcoming Educational Offerings...5 VAGP Celebrates March as Purchasing Month Action Plan Meeting...6 Public Relations Committee at Work...7 I Believe...8 Charity Auction...9 Small Business Partner Success with VAGP...9 The Coming Change in Material Safety Information...11 Forum Quality Control Needs You!...12 Professional Development (ProD) Committee...13 Volunteer of the Year Award...13 Credibility...14 Membership Committee...15 Guess the VAGP Member...16

2 Page 2 - June 2015 Board of Directors Officers President Stephanie Suter, CPPO CPPB President-Elect Christopher Cheney, CPPB Treasurer Etta Henry, CPPB, VCCO, VCO Secretary Sharita Bryant, CPPB, VCO, VCA First Past President Jan Giffin, CPPO, CPPB, VCO Second Past President Bill Lindsey, CPPO, C.P.M. First At Large Member Roxanne Ehardt, CPPO, CPPB, VCO Second At Large Member Brad Quann, CPPO, CPPB, VCO Committee Chairpersons Conference Lorie Newton, CPPO CPPB Diversity Jerry E. Stokes, CPPB, C.P.M., VCO Education Cindy Davis Smith, CPPB Membership Javier Iturralde, CPPB Professional Development Stephanie Brown Public Relations Ginger Gordon, CPPB Technology Doug Crenshaw, CPPO, CPPB, VCO Legislative Patti Innocenti, CPPB Executive Director Eric Hecker News & Views Editor LeeAnne Beatty Smith, CPPB VCA Layout, Design & Advertising Kim Breeding-Mercer News & Views is published quarterly and was designed and created for the members of the Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (VAGP), by Organization Management Group, Inc. Views and advertising expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of, or endorsed by, VAGP. Send correspondence to 638 Independence Parkway, Suite 100, Chesapeake VA 23320; (757) ; info@vagp.org. Subscriptions are included in the annual dues paid by members. Advertising rates and policies may be obtained by calling (757) Copyright All rights reserved. From the Desk of the President By Stephanie Suter, CPPO CPPB It is hard to believe that it is already June, and my time as your President is nearly half over. It has been a pleasure, and we have had many successes. Details of these accomplishments can be found throughout this edition of the News & Views, so I will take this as my opportunity to thank each and every member of the Board for the hard work, innovative ideas, and amazing team dynamic that has been demonstrated so far. To every member who has volunteered or attended the Spring Conference or a VAGP seminar, we have been at or near capacity for most professional development opportunities this year, and I thank you for your participation. The remainder of the year will no doubt end as strongly as it has started due to the incredible energy of volunteers working for our association and our increased member involvement. We will continue to work to increase membership benefits and engagement, and have many projects underway to ensure that happens. Our website will have a new look with more functionality, the Fall Symposium will be coupled with the Reverse Trade Show and Charity Golf Tournament, new Low-Fee seminars will be offered, the second Supplier Diversity Advocacy Institute will be held, many NIGP courses will be offered throughout the rest of the year, the Legislative Committee will be working to engage more members through calls of action and targeted outreach, and much, much more. Another way to participate would be to submit a nomination for a colleague or yourself for one of VAGP s fall awards or scholarships. There are a wide variety of opportunities to recognize our deserving members or member entities and submissions are due August 28. Is there someone you know who is the perfect candidate? If so, take this time to recognize their achievements and contributions. J. Brad Oakley Scholarship: Recognizes a member who has served in a non-supervisory, non-management buyer or materials management related position. VAGP Manager-Level Scholarship: Recognizes a member who has served as a manager in a purchasing or related materials management capacity. Leading Light Award: Recognizes an agency for their outstanding contributions, achievements, and new initiatives that benefit their agency and/or other procurement professionals. T. Gordon Sandridge Lifetime Achievement Award: VAGP s most prestigious award. It is presented to an individual who possesses high ethical and moral standards and is recognition of outstanding lifetime contributions and/or service to public procurement. Distinguished Service Award: Recognizes members displaying distinguished service to VAGP. Distinguished service may include activities resulting in state or national recognition positively reflecting the procurement profession, active leadership to VAGP and community affairs, and/or contributions to education and professional development at the state or national level. Lifetime Membership: Individuals may be recommended for life membership for continuous and significant long-time service to VAGP. Life members will no longer be required to pay dues to the Association. Volunteer of the Year: Recognizes a member or members displaying substantial (continued on page 3...)

3 Page 3 - June 2015 (Spring Conference, continued from page 1...) Thursday night s special aloha-themed event was lighthearted and entertaining. The evening began with the presidential reception and was followed by a wonderfully prepared dinner, live auction, and music by The Janitors. It was an evening for networking with peers and enjoying lots of fun and laughter. The live auction helped the VAGP exceed our past conferences in terms of raising a charitable donation! The VAGP raised $ for the Foodbank of SEVA-Eastern Shore! The crowd was very engaged as the auctioneer gave an opportunity for unsuccessful bidders to donate by asking for anyone wishing to donate $20.00 to raise their paddles, which allowed us to raise an additional $ toward our overall donation. A special congratulations to our VAGP Spring Conference award winners: 2nd-Past President, Bill Lindsey CPPO, C.P.M., County of Gloucester, was honored with the VAGP Distinguished Service Award; Nancy Davis, CPPB, CPPO, VCO, Contracts and Procurement Director for DMV, was awarded VAGP Life Membership; Melinda Williams, CPPM, CPPB, CPP, VCO, Senior Purchasing Officer for Richmond Public Schools, received VAGP s Buyer of the Year Award; and Charity Hooper, CPPB, VCO, CSM, Senior IT Contract Officer for ABC, received the Certification Scholarship. This conference had a lot of firsts and as the VAGP continues to welcome a new generation of purchasing professionals we hope to make our events appealing to groups of all ages! It was the first time we partnered with a group of purchasing professional from outside the governmental arena, it was the first time we incorporated interns into the program, and it was the first time we offered vendor-led sessions for an opportunity to earn additional contact hours. As the VAGP strives to continue to be the leader of procurement chapters in the Country, it was noted that this conference had the largest attendance and largest vendor expo in all of North America. As we move toward our next event, I encourage each of you to consider taking a more active role in future conferences and events. Upcoming events include: The 2015 Fall Symposium will be held at the Boar s Head Inn in beautiful Albemarle, VA on September This event includes a Reverse Trade Show and charity golf tournament. Hosted by Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville, you will not want to miss out! The 2016 Spring Conference and Expo, hosted by the City of Newport News and CAC will be held in March 2016 at the Newport News Marriott in beautiful Center City Newport News The VAGP 2016 Fall Symposium will be held in Northern Virginia. Plans are in the final stages to lock in the hotel around Crystal City! To keep momentum going, the VAGP is attempting to plan our events at least two years out to allow our members adequate time to plan and make events the most successful yet. If you have an interest in hosting an upcoming conference or symposium, please reach out to me or any of our Board members, we would love to have you. (President, continued from page 2...) volunteerism to the organization. This award recognizes those who go above and beyond the call of duty. Certification Scholarship (Due September 18): This scholarship provides reimbursement of the application and exam fees charged by the UPPCC for CPPO and CPPB certifications. Members who achieve one of these certifications during the May testing period would qualify for the fall scholarship. Be sure to visit the website, read VAGP s and join in on social media for updates. We have a busy year planned and you don t want to let an opportunity pass you by. If there is something you would like to see that is missing, please do not hesitate to contact me and share your thoughts. Have a wonderful summer!

4 Withdrawing Bids Page 4 - June 2015 By Bill Lindsey, CPPO, C.P.M 2nd Past President & NIGP Board of Directors Member Since the inception of the Virginia Public Procurement Act, it has contained a rather innocuous process of how a bidder may withdraw their bid after the public bid opening has occurred. This is found in of the Code of Virginia. All in all, it pretty much states that if the bidder can prove that their price was real low due to a mathematical error or that they forgot to account for a big chunk of something, they can seek to withdraw their bid. The statute even goes on to say that this proof has to come from the bidder s work papers. But the decision rests solely with the Procurement Officer. I can probably recall dealing with such an action less than five times in my career. In about all instances, I was not comfortable in reviewing the bidder s work papers because they had generally developed them in a very short order to evidence their mistake. Further, I don t think that I was ever naive enough to think that such work papers would ever be produced to put any doubt in my mind of whether I would allow the withdrawal. I ve got to tell you, rather than being concerned of whether a bidder could prove to me that they had made a mistake in their pricing, I was probably more concerned that they would not be able to prove it and I could be stuck with a contractor who didn t want to work for me and certainly not at a price they desired. My most recent experience came with a construction job where I can t say that I saw the low bid pricing to be substantially lower. By the way, that s the second test of the statute. The bid is suppose to be substantially lower, but I find that word to be as variable in its interpretation as the word reasonable which is sprinkled throughout the statutes. Getting back to my construction job, I was surprised to hear from the apparent Do I really want to enter into a contract with them when I now have doubts regarding their attention to detail? low bidder that they were going to ask to withdraw their bid because they had missed adding a significant part to their bid price. This turned out to be the subcontract cost for masonry work which was a substantial part of the job. What? How in the world could the bidder accidently omit this cost in their bid and if they truly made an honest mistake, do I really want to enter into a contract with them when I now have doubts regarding their attention to detail? So, here s the facts. I ve got an apparent low bid from what I considered a competent contractor; their low bid is less than 10% lower than the next bidder; and they are timely in their withdrawal request and are willing to demonstrate the error with their work papers. What do I do now? Oh, by the way, did I tell you that the bidder was also a LOCAL small business? Sure enough, they showed up the next day with their documentation and from what was presented, it was pretty evident that their pricing did not include their sub s price for masonry work. As a matter of fact, when you added that in, their bid became the highest. Have they met the test? Was their bid substantially lower? Were their work papers legitimate? My only response is that I used by best judgment and allowed them to withdraw their bid. Unquestionably, I could have gone the other way by and tried to make a case that their bid was not substantially lower or that their work papers were bogus and developed in order to justify the need. But, I ve got to tell you, I still keep thinking that I really don t want to do business with someone that doesn t want to work with me. Does that make me a bad procurement officer? INTERESTED IN JOINING A COMMITTEE? The Association relies on you, the member, to grow and look toward the future of VAGP and the industry. Have a voice in your association! VAGP is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers with fresh ideas to help on the various association committees. Learn more at

5 Page 5 - June 2015 Upcoming 2015 Educational Offerings NIGP Seminars NIGP seminars are taught by NIGP approved instructors and can assist those aspiring to achieve their CPPB and/or CPPO certifications. These are the standard training courses for entry-level to experienced purchasing professionals. NIGP instructors possess a high level of professionalism and are recognized and respected members of the procurement community. Every NIGP instructor holds a current CPPO or CPPB designation and has successfully completed the NIGP Train-the-Trainer program as well as completed NIGP Student Training experiences that are pre-qualifications for becoming an NIGP Certified Instructor. These talented instructors are ambassadors of the profession as well as educational facilitators. NIGP instructors bring their depth of real-world, practical purchasing experience and industry knowledge to every NIGP course. Instructors present the body of knowledge using an interactive, case-study-based style, making the learning process immediately engaging and relevant. Please visit for a list of all 2015 courses offered, with registration links, instructor information, and more. Seminar TITLE DATES LOCATION Legal Aspects of Public Procurement Jul Norfolk Developing and Managing Requests for Proposals in the Public Sector Jul Falls Church Performance Based Request for Proposals Sep Henrico Effective Contract Writing Sep Norfolk Get What You Need Through Successful Negotiation Strategies Sep Christiansburg Contracting with Federal Funds/Grants Intermediate Oct Washington DC Developing & Managing RFPs in the Public Sector Oct Chesapeake Effective Management of Construction Services Oct. 23 Chesterfield Customer Service: The Key To Success in Procurement Nov. 3 Christiansburg Get What You Need Through Successful Negotiation Strategies Nov Henrico NIGP-Online Course: UPPUC-Certification Exam Dates: (For a list of upcoming Low-Fee Seminars offered by VAGP, please see the Professional Development Committee article on page 13 of this publication.)

6 Page 6 - June 2015 VAGP Celebrates March as Purchasing Month! Many VAGP members across the Commonwealth celebrated in March for Governmental Purchasing Month in Virginia. A few of our members shared how they chose to honor the purchasing profession at their entity and it looks like they had a lot of fun doing it! Chesterfield County Chesterfield County s Purchasing Department celebrated purchasing month by playing Procurement Feud! Various divisions competed against each other to see who knew more about procurement. After the game a reception was held and prizes were awarded. Fairfax County Fairfax County had a wonderful Purchasing Month and celebrated in several ways: The Board of Supervisors designated March 2015 as Purchasing Month in Fairfax County with a Purchasing Month Proclamation to recognize procurement professionals in county government and public schools. The Fairfax County Department of Purchasing and Supply Management joined with Fairfax County Schools Procurement and held a day-long event that included staff recognition, training, and education, a group team building activity, and Purchasing Jeopardy! Everyone had a great time! An article in the County s newsletter that commemorated all that the procurement office does. Chesterfield (above, below) fairfax (above) 2016 Action Plan Meeting By Chris Cheney, CPPB President-Elect This year the VAGP is in the midst of accomplishing a lot of positive changes including the implementation of a revamped website, new seminars, and other exciting advancements. These undertakings all stemmed from the 2015 Action Plan, which was derived from our Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan was extremely focused as it concentrated on four goals: advocating best practices in public procurement, building a robust technology framework to enhance service and delivery, retaining and increasing membership, and enhancing productivity and professionalism through leadership. On April 24, the VAGP Board of Directors met at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency in Chester, Virginia, to discuss our 2016 Action Plan that will continue our momentum. The Board was up to the task! Board members in attendance came up with great ideas to further VAGP and the procurement profession. The plan should be finalized by the Board in June. If you have any ideas to share, as always, please do not hesitate to do so!

7 The PR Committee at Work! By Ginger Gordon, CPPB Public Relations Chair Page 7 - June 2015 If you attended the Spring Conference then I hope you had an opportunity to visit the VAGP table at the vendor expo where there was a wealth of information about the VAGP. In addition, two new VAGP promotional items were unveiled: back by popular demand the VAGP portfolio and a VAGP travel mug for hot or cold beverages. If you didn t get an opportunity to stop by or attend the conference to buy one of these new items, don t fret! We will be selling them again at the Fall Symposium that is being held at the Boar s Head Inn in Charlottesville, VA. The portfolio is $15.00 each and the travel mug is $10.00 each. At this time they re unavailable to be purchased online, like you can the VAGP shirts, but hopefully this will be possible in the near future. If you have any questions about the promotional items, please do not hesitate to contact me at ggordon@ci.manassas.va.us. Also, during the Spring Conference the PR Committee ran a contest for who posted the most to #wavesofopportunities15 and #vagppicard and our winner was Katie Markley with Old Dominion University s Department of Procurement Services! Thanks for everyone who participated! him. Go take a look at the VAGP Twitter or Facebook page if you want to see them all! One PiCard flew back to New York to bring a smile and comfort to a sick little girl. Another PiCard got auctioned off during the Live Charity Auction. I am sure PiCard will be making an appearance at the Fall Symposium so make sure you sign up to follow/like us on and Facebook VAGPofNIGP so you don t miss a thing! Please remember if you have a story, press release, and/ or photos you would like to share with your colleagues in the News and Views, reach out to LeeAnne Beatty Smith, News & Views Editor, at smith2lb@jmu.edu. News & Views is published quarterly with the deadlines for articles posted on the VAGP website (and at the end of this edition). VAGP Public Relations is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers with fresh ideas to help on the committee. If you are interested in being a part of VAGP and would like to join, please contact me at ggordon@ci.manassas.va.us. The VAGP mascot, PiCard, was a big success at the conference, as well. There were several PiCards flying around in different disguises and a lot of selfies taken with

8 I Believe Page 8 - June 2015 By Sharita L. Bryant, CPPB, VCO, VCA Secretary The Greatest Love of All, a song originally recorded in 1977 but famously remembered and further popularized in 1985 by Whitney Houston, comes to mind as I write this article. The song opens with the words, I believe the children are our future; teach them well and let them lead the way I believe in our profession and I definitely believe the children are our future. I recently had the opportunity to participate in Career Day at my youngest daughter s elementary school. The event was sponsored by the Guidance Department and catered to the 2nd-5th student grade levels. It was an amazing opportunity that brought me joy, increased my self-esteem, and added further thoughts of value to my job to look out and see so many little people that hungered for information on careers, working, and planning their future as citizens of our great country. Surprisingly, they were well prepared just as future contract officers should be by having questions for each of the career exhibitors. Their questions were related to education requirements, specifically my favorite school subjects, and my favorite aspects of my job. I was able to proudly express that Government Procurement is just like any other public service career path; however, our work is behind the scenes, versatile day-to-day, and just as important as any other public service. The most important question asked was about synergy. Again, I was surprised yet ready to elaborate on synergy being the most important segment to our job. It was with pride that I explained to the students that as a procurement professional synergy is a key component to developing specifications and allowing contract officers to meet the needs of their customers. I can remember starting my procurement career, attending conferences, and hearing several peers state, purchasing is an aging profession. I can clearly remember attending sessions on Generational Differences in the workplace, the differences of Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y, and what to expect from I look forward to the growth of our student membership. the millennial babies. During those times I was the office baby or affectionately called the baby buyer. It is true that time changes and it is with great pride, though not so much pleasure, that I report I am no longer the baby and I am now working with teammates who are almost a decade younger than me. VAGP has recognized the importance of growing the profession and has formed an ad-hoc Student Initiatives Committee. During the recent Spring Conference, we were able to host an information session for students to discuss our association, student memberships, and arrange internships. Knowing that our profession is growing, I look forward to the growth of our student membership and the opportunities that will blossom from its initiatives. Participation in Career Day is just one door to visit when thinking of expanding our profession. Our networking (outreach) and grooming (training) is crucial to our growth. I received thank you letters from students that say they are interested in the procurement profession. The letters brought tears to my eyes. I can remember being fresh and new to the profession and looking up to my coworkers as my mentors. I continue to have a long procurement road ahead. My greatest successes were born by networking and grooming the skills in the profession. It is now that I feel as if I can GIVE BACK by growing the profession. What s exciting to me is the anticipation of the new energy and processes the new comers will bring. I believe in our profession and I doubt that it is aging profession. I challenge you to share your successes and personal stories with other members as encouragement to do the same.

9 Page 9 - June 2015 Charity Auction A LIVE auction was held during the 2015 Spring Conference at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Conference Center, which was a huge success! VAGP members, friends and suppliers donated items; the total amount raised was $4,076.82, with proceeds donated to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. For over thirty years, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore has worked toward their primary mission of leading the effort to eliminate hunger in their community. Over the years the food bank has grown in size and impact, increasing pounds of food distributed and the nutrition value of distributed food. They have distributed more than 14.2 million meals (almost 17.1 million pounds of food). There is a lot of creative talent among VAGP members with their auction donations including handmade items, paintings, gift baskets, supplier gift certificates and jewelry. All the items up for bid were top notch! The most expensive item was a Michael Kors purse with an unknown amount of money enclosed that auctioned off for $ Everyone in attendance was more than gracious, supportive, enthusiastic and had a lot of fun with the bidding. Some extra monetary donations were received from conference participants showing the generosity of the VAGP family. A last-minute item donated for the live auction came from Wanda Tormey with Goochland County who auctioned off the Beach Bathing Suit T-shirt she was wearing! It was especially popular as municipalities came together and got everyone involved. The VAGP membership really came through to make a difference for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore! Thank you to everyone who participated and donated! Small Business Partner Success with VAGP By Chris Faison Incredible Supply and Logistics (ISL) customers and manufacturer partners frequently ask me about our success as a small business supplier serving the VAGP community. Here are a few strategies that have helped us get to the next level. Provide Unique Value - Simply being a small business (SWaM) isn t enough. It s a competitive market out there, so it s very important to provide unique value and separate yourself from your competition. ISL makes it a point to focus on fast response times and high levels of communication. This focus applies to the entire supply chain process, not just for quotes and inquiries: Notifying customers of backorders; Proactively providing tracking numbers if a product is drop shipped or expedited; and Providing accurate packing slips and documentation. Our Job Is to Make Our Customer s Job Easier - Not only is every customer different, every department within a customer s community is often different. It s important to customize how you do business with everyone in order to best service them. Typically, it s difficult for larger businesses to change their processes. Small businesses really need to take advantage of their flexibility and react to the unique needs of each department. We ve been very fortunate to win some contracts with different municipalities in the Tidewater area. In order to make procurement easy for our customers, we ve added all of the contracted items to our website. Once a purchaser logs in, they can quickly access their contracted products. In addition to the contract pricing, purchasers can also see detailed descriptions, accurate images, and supporting documents. Another great strategy to streamline the procurement process is to make sure that your catalog is offered through eva Punchout. In short, we make every effort to work smarter and put all of our focus on ease of procurement for our customers. VAGP is a great community and we re grateful to be a part of it. ISL is in business to turn relationships into partnerships and our doors are always open to new opportunities.

10 Page 10 - June 2015 YOUR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT SMALL BUSINESS PARTNER FOR SUCCESS ISL focuses exclusively on the needs of the Federal, State and Local Government, and Maritime Communities for Hardware, Industrial, and Fleet Supplies. Fast Response times and high levels of communication Cooperative Procurement Contract for Safety/PPE Supplies Access our offering via the ISL eva Punchout Catalog Contact Incredible Supply Today! Phone: (757) sales@incrediblesupply.com ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Certification

11 Page 11 - June 2015 The Coming Change in Material Safety Information By Jeff Moyer, CPPB Public Relations Committee Member Effective June 1, 2015, material safety data sheets (MSDS) will take on a new format, phased out in favor of the new Globally Harmonized System (GHS) safety data sheet. Let s look first at some of the questions this may raise and the answers I was given after a conversation with our local OSHA office. The current MSDS format will no longer be valid after June 1 and the new format will be required so we need to be sure that our vendors are prepared for the change and can provide safety data sheets in the new format well in advance of the deadline. The most time effective means of replacing old sheets with new appears to be via replenishment orders well in advance of the deadline as opposed to trying to replace all of your old sheets at once. OSHA has no preference as to the means of storage or delivery of safety data sheets, with their primary concern being availability to the workforce. OSHA finds digital means of storage acceptable with the only caveat being availability in case of power outage or similar instance but lap tops and smart phones should address that concern. Hard copies as a reserve are suggested but not required. Third party service providers who maintain digital data bases of information of this nature are also acceptable as long as availability is not an issue. Safety data sheets are required to be available at all off-site work stations including, but not limited to, service vehicles, job trailers, satellite offices, and job sites. This is not a new and digital storage is acceptable as long as availability is not compromised. There are no set requirements as to how this information is to be provided to the consumer or end user as far as method or means of storage or at what frequency. We also need to have a conversation with our vendors so as to be assured that they are ready to provide this information (continued on page 12...) TCPN cuts costs and saves you time. The Cooperative Purchasing Network (TCPN) helps simplify your steps and reduce your costs. TCPN s contracts leverage the purchasing power of over 37,000 actively engaged government entities. All contracts are competitively bid and awarded by a single governmental entity Region 4 Education Service Center. TCPN monitors contracts through third-party compliance reviews to ensure vendor accountability. You can rely on TCPN s lead agency s ISO certified processes, 100+ combined years of government purchasing experience and 50+ combined years of auditing experience. Contract Categories Include: Athletic Automotive Parts Equipment Rental Facilities Fleet Maintenance Flooring Food Equipment Furniture Grounds Keeping and Irrigation HVAC Janitorial Maintenance & Operations Managed Print Office Supplies Oracle Playground Equipment Roofing School Supplies Technology Registration is fast and free. Sign up at

12 Page 12 - June 2015 The Forum Quality Control Team Needs You! Are you attending the NIGP Forum? If so, why not volunteer? The forum quality control team needs you! What is the Quality Control Team (QCT)? The QCT is an all-volunteer group comprised of dependable professionals with flexible schedules willing to work behind the scenes at all Forum events. What are the responsibilities of the QCT? QCT volunteers assist with both educational sessions and special events. For meals and special events: Special set ups for social events Badge checking at doors at the start of the events For educational sessions: Posting Signage at workshops Introducing Speakers / Distributing Speaker Gifts Checking A/V Equipment Hall Monitors Why should I volunteer? To be a part of the inner-workings of a large, educational conference To network with other procurement professionals. To give back to the profession and the Institute by contributing your time and talents. To have fun and participate in a rewarding experience! For more information on how to be a QCT volunteer, please contact the NIGP Events Administrator, Faye Jackson at fjackson@nigp.org. To enroll go to NIGPFORUM?enroll=1. Enroll first and in July you will be contacted to choose the events where you would like to help. New in 2014: Under the new UPPCC requirements for recertification, those applying for re-certification must show proof of contact hours in two of the three categories. Serving as a QCT volunteer does not qualify for contact hours towards recertification. For more information about recertification requirements, visit the UPPCC website, NIGP Forum Kansas City, MO - August 1-5 Register today! Go to (Material Safety, continued from page 11...) to us in the manner required and in a timely fashion. Questions that should be included in this dialogue would be: 1. How is your company preparing (or prepared) to proceed with safety data sheets within the GHS guidelines in anticipation of the June 1 deadline? 2. After June 1, how will your company be providing revised SDS/GHS sheets for inventory that we have ordered on a regular basis in the past or may still have on the shelf? 3. Will we be given SDS/GHS sheets for all the items that we normally order and stock at once or as we order replenishment inventory? 4. What means will be used to convey the necessary information in either circumstance, electronic or hard copy? 5. Whose responsibility will it be to download this information if it is only available from the vendor s website? 6. What method will your company be using to store and manage this information, paper or electronic? If you have more questions, I encourage you to contact your local OSHA office and your primary vendors so you can have a workable plan in place by June 1.

13 Page 13 - June 2015 Professional Development (ProD) Committee By Stephanie Brown ProD Committee Chair Are you interested in a specific seminar that is not currently offered? ProD is responsible for providing a variety of low fee seminars designed specifically for the membership. Planning for next year will begin very soon so please reach out to the committee to let us know what additional classes would be of interest to you. We hope to hear from you! Seminar Title Date LOCATION Construction & Reducing Risks for your Municipality June 10 Prince William County Competitive Sealed Bidding vs. Competitive Negotiations June 26 Prince William County VPPA Case Law August 20 Chesapeake Writing Specification August 28 Blacksburg Ethics in Procurement New Instructor, New Material! September 21 Lynchburg If you are interested in attending any of the above seminars or need information about future seminars, information can be found at Are you skilled in a particular procurement area? Did you know that by developing and teaching a course you earn professional contribution recertification points? Reach out to a committee member to find out how you can become a ProD instructor. PRO D COMMITTEE MEMBERS Stephanie Brown, Chair brownst@chesterfield.gov Lynn Enders, VCO lynn.enders@dgs.virginia.gov Kimberly Mitchell, CPPB khmitchell@chesterfield.gov Patrick Walker pwalker@albemarle.org Calling all VAGP Volunteers for the Volunteer of the Year Award By Brad Quann, CPPO, CPPB, VCO Second-At-Large Member The Volunteer of the Year Award was created in 2006 to recognize a member or members displaying substantial volunteerism to the organization. The recipient of this award must be a member in good standing and must have served VAGP in a volunteer capacity during the previous calendar year. All members are eligible to receive this award except the voting members of the Board of Directors during their term of office. I encourage everyone to take a look at the VAGP website at to find the full details of the program along with the nomination form. Individuals may nominate themselves or other members who meet the award criteria. The award was last presented in 2012 so the VAGP Board of Directors would love to see as many volunteers recognized for their service as possible. Please nominate yourself or someone you know! The Volunteer of the Year Award recipients will be recognized at the VAGP Fall Symposium this year and recipients will receive an engraved plaque, a certificate valued at 100% of the cost of registration for a VAGP conference, and a $250 check issued directly to the recipient to be used at the award winner s discretion! Is that a list of AWESOME incentives for volunteering and contributing to VAGP or what?! So come on members and nominate yourself or someone you know today! Volunteer work that meets the criteria of this award deserves to be recognized and rewarded. The deadline for nominations is August 28, Thank you and I look forward to seeing everyone at the Fall Symposium.

14 Page 14 - June 2015 Credibility By Fred Marks, CPPO, VCO VAGP Retired Lifetime Member We talk about professionalism, we teach it, we define it, but rarely if ever do we talk or teach about its most important component: credibility! Without credibility, we are just another carbon-based life form doing tasks. Credibility contains many elements, some subjective like trust or believability, and some objective like competence. Credibility is from the Latin root word credo, which means I trust. It s the trust and respect that inspires others. Credibility is not a singular trait but rather a combination of traits to be established. It s something you have to earn and easy to lose. It s a fickle mistress; one bad move can take years to repair, if ever. Integrity is the most important element of credibility. It s trusting someone who is your leader or colleague, it s trusting what they say, how they say it, and it s transparent and professionally predictable. Do they look you in the eye when they speak? Do they use a common language or disguise their answers with words and abbreviations that are known only to them? Is their tone of speech friendly or do you think they are talking down to you? Do they mis-speak and apologize when they do? Are they honest enough to say, I don t know, and follow up with you to clarify? Do they have their own political or self-serving agenda? If integrity is the keystone of credibility, then it needs a strong supporting cast like character, trust, expertise, transparency, communication, likeability, professionalism, and a strong finish with control of your emotions. Character is the sticking to your core values and not violating them. You defend what you believe and never go past the line in the sand even if it flies against popular beliefs. Trust is another fickle mistress, hard to establish and easy to lose; one slip of the tongue, one mistake without correcting it and it s gone forever. Make a list of politicians who were respected and then slipped on the trust issue. It s a long list and most never got back to their former status. Expertise is perhaps the easiest to acquire. Learn your own operations, learn your clients, get out and talk to people. What goes on in the office is almost never what happens in real life field operations. Find the difference, negotiate options and both sides will trust you and you will be able to do your work easier. Transparency is just the practice of being consistent with your rules and applying them evenly. Don t be a homer, do what professionalism, the law, your policies, and procedures dictate. You are going to annoy some with your decisions but you can do damage control afterward. They may not like your decision but you ll get credit for explaining what you did. Do not be a milquetoast when you do be strong! Everyone wants to be liked. Knowing what you re talking about goes a long way. A pleasant, non-emotional disposition helps, too. Don t be dull about it, people react differently to others and to situations; pick a middle ground. And never forget, it s how people trust you! Mark your calendars for the VAGP Fall Symposium September 28-29, 2015 at The Boar s Head, 200 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA 22903

15 Membership Committee By Javier S. Iturralde, CPPO, CPPB Membership Committee Chair Page 15 - June 2015 I am a bit hesitant to tell you that I have been a member of the VAGP since late 2003, but I did not really take advantage of all that the VAGP has to offer (examples of opportunities to come in future articles). A couple of years ago I decided to get more involved and so I chose to be a part of the Education Committee. At first I viewed it as a way to bring classes to my work location, but the more I got involved the more I realized that I was also expanding my knowledge, my professional network, earning re-certification points, and much, much more. Before I knew it, I was already seeking further opportunities within the VAGP. It has been only four months since I acquired the Membership Committee Chair position and I can now tell you that my understanding and knowledge of the structure of our organization has grown exponentially. Life Members % VAGP only Members % VAGP Membership Report As of April 30, 2015 Student Memberships % NIGP/VAGP Members % The Membership Committee has been working very hard; since January 2015 we have helped to recruit 123 new members for the VAGP. In addition, here is some information that I think you will find interesting, if you didn t already know: FACTS: VAGP is the largest chapter within NIGP out of 72 chapters; VAGP has been the benchmark in membership numbers for the past 4 years; As of April 30, 2015 VAGP had a total of 1,124 members and growing; VAGP has a diverse representation of entities totaling 396 (cities, counties, authorities, universities, k-12, etc.); and VAGP is working on expanding membership to college / university students. Total # Members: 1,124 Deletions: 124* New Members: 0 Prospective Members: *Due to unpaid memberships All Other 67 Chapters 11, % Top 5 NIGP Chapters (by membership size) As of December 31, 2014 Mississippi Association of Governmental Purchasing and Property Agents 621 Virginia Association of 4.23% Governmental Purchasing Ontario Public Association 1, % South Carolina Association of 5.20% Governmental Purchasing Officials % New York State Association of Municipal Purchasing Officials % What do all these facts mean to you? There is plenty of work to be done and all committees are always looking for people like you that want to make a difference; VAGP is thinking about the future of procurement by engaging with college and university students One of the great perks of being an engaged part of the VAGP Committees and the Board is that we are involved in envisioning the changes for our organization for the benefit of all members. There are great new changes that are coming soon, but I will not dare to share them with you until these plans are put into action. It has been a great experience so far and I look forward to the new challenges and great changes that are coming ahead. Total NIGP Members:14,679 Total # of Chapters # of entities: within 396 NIGP: 72* *Top 3 have been at the lead for the past 4 years Hospitals/Institutions % Miscellaneous % Towns % K-12 Schools % Counties % VAGP Entity Report As of April 30, 2015 Lifetime Members/Retired % Authorities/Districts % Commonwealth % Colleges and Universities % Cities % Community Service Boards % Total # of entities: 396

16 Page 16 - June 2015 Can you guess which VAGP Member this is? By Mary Pennington, CPPB Public Relations Committee Member Can you guess whose baby photo is on the right? This particular person is presently the Procurement Agent for a County which serves both the County and County Public Schools covering all areas of procurement including FEMA rehabilitation contracts. He has been at his current position for six years. He also serves as Deputy Director for Emergency Management. Prior to this he was a City Procurement Administrator. He has also held a number of positions in state government with long tenures at the Department of General Services and the Department of Transportation. He holds the Certified Professional Purchasing Officer (CPPO) and Certified Procurement Manager (C.P.M.) certifications. He has been an active member of the Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing (VAGP) for more than 25 years, serving as Legislative Committee chair and on the Finance Committee. He was elected as an at-large member of the Board of Directors and later Secretary, Treasurer, President-elect and Chapter President. This person received the VAGP Manager of the Year Award in 2014 and the 2015 Distinguished Service Award. He also currently serves on the NIGP Board of Directors, representing Region 4 for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was the innovator of the state s Procurement Forum and has hosted two VAGP conferences. He has been a speaker at various procurement workshops for a number of years and is always excited to offer his assistance in promoting public procurement. He is active in his church and enjoys football, cruising, gardening and spending time with his family. This guy is married and has a daughter and two beautiful granddaughters. Who is he? Can you guess? Be the first person to correctly comment underneath the posting of his baby picture on the VAGP s facebook page and win a prize! Good Luck! We want your news and views! This is your Association and your publication make your voice heard! All VAGP members are encouraged to send articles, press releases and photos. Published articles on purchasing related topics may help members earn recertification points. For eligibility requirements, please verify directly with the certifying agency. Suppliers and contractors are also encouraged to submit purchasing-related articles for publication. Limited opportunities are available and offered at no cost! Submit your contributions to LeeAnne Beatty Smith at smith2lb@jmu.edu. 99 Industry News 99 Best Practices 99 Photos 99 Book Reviews 99 Education Opportunities 99 Event Recaps 99 New Certifications 99 Tips and tricks Production Schedule 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Deadline Aug. 7 Nov. 4 Available Sep. 3 Dec. 1