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I hope that you have enjoyed seeing the updates for this year's Forum! We've done so much this year and wanted to make sure that those that couldn't make it this year could follow along with the events, as well as those that were joining us in person.

Hope to see you in San Antonio for Forum, August 13-17 2010!

Recap of the Presidential Banquet

Here is a recap video of the Presidential Banquet.  There were Presidential Awards as well and the winners of the awards were:

Presidential Award Honoree: Bill Hertwig

Presidential Award Honoree: Guy Calendar

NIGP Spirit Award: Don Miller

Interview with First Timer: Thoughts on Their First Forum

I spoke with Sharon from METRO in Portland, OR to see how this first timer's experience was at Forum:

What are your overall impressions of your first Forum?

I thought it was very organized and informative in the first email I received explaining what to expect at Forum, from before we arrived to getting here - that was very impressive.  When I arrived we had a new members meeting where we met with other new members, which was very helpful.  And Eileen who was just here was kind of a mentor for me to help me figure things out.

The seminars, the speakers, everyone is very informative and willing to share their knowledge.  The team activities, like the city museum, makes this fun and helps share things with people from other agencies.

What is one thing you think you'll be able to take back and apply at your agency as a result of attending Forum?

Administering Contracts today was great because I can see some improvements on things we are currently doing by hearing other people at other agencies explain what their are doing in their department.

Do you recommend that people that are thinking of going to Forum attend, and why would you recommend that they attend?

I would recommend they attend if they have the opportunity because it is a wonderful time to hear other people from all over the country.  There are great instructors and a vast amount of information in a small space.  It was pretty packed, but there was a lot of time for networking for enjoying what you are doing and for learning a lot of applicable information to apply what we are doing in our jobs.

Thanks for this interview, Sharon, and I hope to see you at Forum next year!

Forum Day Five: Closing and President's Banquet

I can’t believe we’re already at our last day of Forum. Things went really well yesterday with our first webcast – I’m glad that some of you were apart of that! We couldn't have done it without our speakers, Moon Bounce (the guys operating the cameras and sending the feed), and you the audience!

Today’s schedule will include workshops in the morning, followed by a powerful plenary speaker to close out our Forum events.

Lean Thinking? Is it Time? presented by Joseph Schiele, Ph.D, Assistant Professor - Operations Management, Oakland University and President and CEO of Schiele & Associates, Rochester, MI

Life After the Audit: pCard Technology for Law and Compliance presented by Matt Munafo, CPPB, Contracts Coordinator/Procurement Card Administrator and Jay Garrison, Buyer/Procurement Card Coordinator, Knox County, Knoxville, TN

Last Man Down with Chief Richard Picciotto (follow our tweets starting at 3:15 PM CT)  Here's a video so that you can preview a previous portion of a speech.

Tonight is also the Presidential Banquet with a video of the events. Don’t miss my recap later this evening!

Tour of the Expo

Here are a few quick shots from the Expo this year.  We had nearly 200 booths with 400-500 exhibitor personnel on site this year!

Forum Day Four: Staying Ethical and Webcast

Yesterday was such a busy day! We had some great speakers and workshops and an energetic Awards Lunch. Don’t miss my photos and interviews from the Awards Luncheon in my posts from yesterday.

Here’s a listing of some of the sessions we’ll have today:

The Eight Slippery Steps to Unethical Behavior with Patrick Kuhse (follow our tweets starting at 8:30 AM CT!)

How to “Buy Local” presented by Eileen Youens, Assistant Professor of Public Law and Government, School of Government The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Forging Ahead From Failure presented by David Nash, CPPO, CPPB, Retired City of Ft. Lauderdale, Sunrise FL

If you’ve signed up for our Forum Webcast, don’t forget to sign in today around 11:30 – 12:00 PM CT and watch our recap of the opening ceremonies from Forum. Our live presentations will begin at 1:30 PM CT. The sessions you’ll see are Standards for Measuring Cost Savings presented by Michael Bevis, CPPO, C.P.M., Chief Procurement Officer, City of Naperville, IL and Gateway to the Future of Procurement: Perspectives from the Private and Public Sector moderated by Marcheta Gillespie, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM, Deputy Director of Procurement, City of Tucson, AZ

Awards Lunch Recap Video

Here is a recap video from the Awards Lunch, including Buyer of the Year, Manager of the Year, Chapters of the Year, Distinguished Service Award, the Anne Deathrage Meritorious Service Award, and the Pareto Award.