CAPPO Incoming President's Message

Please consider volunteering your services to CAPPO as there are various opportunities such as with your local chapter, various committees, the mentorship program, and on the CAPPO Board.  We also have several members who responded to the 2023 Conference “call for volunteers” to introduce speakers and provide other critical services to ensure the success of the conference.   I would like to acknowledge and thank all of you who are currently serving (or have previously served) CAPPO in a volunteer role.  

Your service to CAPPO is greatly appreciated. On behalf of the entire CAPPO Board of Director, thank you for serving our association.  If you have not yet volunteered, please consider a volunteer role within CAPPO.  You can reach out to a Chapter Officer, a Committee Chair or a CAPPO Board Officer or Director to express your interest and hopefully be matched with a current or future need. 

Thanks to all of you, CAPPO members, for entrusting me with the responsibility of taking the helm of this wonderful, historic, and professional organization currently known as CAPPO. Without you, there would be no CAPPO.  No CAPPOCON. No CAPPOCONNECT.  NO CAPPOCAFE .  No CAPPO workshops and webinars.  We have done amazing things in our 100+ year history and we will do even more amazing things in the next 100 years as we, CAPPO, continue to evolve and change.  Be part of our growth by getting involved, in any way you can, no matter how small.  Over the past few years, your CAPPO Board has made some noteworthy and significant changes, such as development of the Strategic Plan, hiring of a Professional Associate Management firm (BTF), and implementing several updates to our Bylaws, Policies and Procedures.  CAPPO continues to evolve and improve as our profession and the world around us changes.  Just look at the past three years immediately following the 2020 Conference.  What we do may not have changed a lot, but where and how we do it has changed considerably.  Technologies such as Virtual Private Networks, Virtual Remote Desktop, eProcurement, Enterprise Resource Planning, eSignatures, eBonding have all made it possible for us to provide services to our agencies and customers from just about anywhere and from just about any type of device.  What does the future hold for us?  AI - Artificial Intelligence?  It will play a part, but it will replace us.  AI will help us be more strategic and less transactional. IMO, there needs to be human involvement in developing specifications, making key decisions in the “gray areas” of what we do. As we all know, our decisions are not all “black and white”.  There are a lot of gray areas with various options, and each option has its own risk factors that need to be considered by the customer, counsel, risk management and procurement (and maybe even our governing Board).  The human element needs to weigh all the factors and make decisions that best suit your needs.  These decisions cannot be made by technology, but technology can assist by providing quick and relevant information needed.

The support we receive from CAPPO’s Partners and Suppliers is much appreciated.  Without them, it would not be possible to accomplish our mission to provide tools to our members,  to help our members develop their professional skills, to foster the exchange of ideas in an effort to resolve problems, sharing information on technical advances, cost factors, new laws, and sources for products.  All this CAPPO does, at the most economical  costs.  Our conference registration fee does not even cover the costs of the meals provided during the conference, let alone costs for speakers, printing of badges, conference app and all the other conference expenses.  In addition, we are able to maintain very low membership fees that provide access to FREE webinars, CAPPOCONNECT, and CAPPO Cafe, just to name a few of your membership benefits.  Where can you find a better value anywhere?  All this would not be possible without the support of our partners and suppliers.

Lastly, thank you to all my supporters for helping me reach and exceed my career goals.  This includes my family (especially my wife Angela and daughter Katelyn), friends, and co-workers, my phenomenal staff (who unfortunately are not able to be with us this year) and, of course you, my CAPPO colleagues.  My accomplishments would not be possible without the assistance and support from all of you.  A special “shout out” to Noel Dietz.  My first job in procurement was over 30 years ago in the private sector at a computer supplies company.  At this job, I met Noel, who was my supervisor.  Noel eventually left the company to work for the City of Sunnyvale and recently retired but has maintained her CAPPO membership as a retiree.  Many years later, after having several jobs in the private sector, I too joined the ranks of public sector procurement when I went to work for the County of Sacramento.  Noel was one of my first mentors, but my very first mentor was my father, Wayne.  Wayne entered his procurement career for a government sub-contractor and was in private procurement his entire career.  Although it appears I may have purposely followed in his footsteps, like many of you, I kind of “fell into” procurement when a family member advised me of a job opening at her company for a procurement clerk.  That was the beginning of my almost 40 year career. Without mentors such as Wayne, Noel and many others along the way (most fellow CAPPO members), I would not be standing here today.  Again, thanks to everyone who has been part of my journey as I am deeply appreciative of your support, guidance and encouragement.

For those of you who attended the CAPPO Confernece, I hope you took advantage of every aspect the conference had to offer, especially meeting and networking with your peers.  As you return to your agency, make a point to share your experience with co-workers, especially your management so they (like us) understand the value your attendance at the conference offers your agency.

When you meet someone new and they ask you what you do for a living, what do you say? Do you say I am “insert title” for “insert agency name”?  Do you say “I buy water treatment chemicals”?  Do you say “I buy fire trucks and fire equipment”?

Or do you say things such as:
“I help ensure our community has clean drinking water” or

“I save lives by making sure our first responders have the equipment, tools and supplies they need”? or

“I make sure our parks are clean and safe environments for our community's use”? or

“I make sure our roads are safe to drive by providing the equipment, tools and supplies needed by the road maintenance crews”? or

“I help stray animals find their forever home by providing food, medicine, collars, leashes, fencing, cleaning chemicals, etc. for the animal shelter”.

You get the point.  How do you frame what you do so people truly understand the impact we have to our communities?  How do you tell your story?  Hopefully this gives you some idea on how to respond the next time someone asks you “what do you do?”.  Help share the value of procurement, an often unseen, unrecognized, yet extremely vital service we provide that would be devastating if not provided.

For those of you who were in attendance at the Santa Barbara Conference hosted by Past President Jana Vargas in 2016 when I originally became CAPPO President, you may recall the CAPPO that was initiated.  The challenge was to have 1,000 members attend CAPPO Training (seminars and webinars) in 2016, for members to become more involved in volunteering for CAPPO and lastly, when members returned to their office, they were encouraged to share what they learned at CAPPO Conference with their procurement team and management, basically spreading their newly attained knowledge.  Seven years later, this challenge is still very relevant.   What have you learned this week that you can apply at your agency to improve a process, make things more efficient, and/or improve service to your customers?  Put your new found knowledge into action. Write it down and task yourself to be the champion of change.  

But let's go further in 2023. Everyone here today, and even those who are not here, must continue to strive for excellence in supporting our agencies and customers.  Don't settle on mediocrity.  Always strive to do better.  There is no such thing as a perfect bid, perfect contract, or perfect process.  There is always an opportunity to improve and we should be looking for those opportunities of continuous improvement and growth.  What can you do to be the champion of change?  What will you do to be the champion of change?  What are you waiting for?  CAPPO is here to help if you need it.  

Speaking of “being your best”, how many of you have some type of professional certification such as the CPPB, CPPO, NIGP-CPP, CPSM, etc.?  For those who do, I commend you for an awesome personal accomplishment.  Certification is another way to show your pursuit of excellence.  If you do not hold any certification, I encourage you to seek it  (if you are not already doing so) and strive to improve.  And don’t forget about the CAPPO Certification Incentive Program where you can earn $100 for each new procurement certification you achieve!

Striving to improve and seek excellence is not just us as individuals.  CAPPO too needs to be doing the same, and it is. But CAPPO can also do better.  Another recent change made by CAPPO was the creation of the Past President's Advisory Group or PPAG.  The is PPAG headed by Past President Gerald Bretag and is composed of Past Presidents who volunteer their time, and more importantly, their wisdom to help guide and assist the CAPPO Board.  Although this is a great step in including the CAPPO “elders” in key decisions and planning, there is still room for improvement.  

One major area the CAPPO Board can improve upon in 2023 and beyond, is more input and feedback from our membership (our true customers).  That’s all of you!  I want to hear from you.  We want to hear from you! How is CAPPO meeting your needs?  What are we doing right?  We need to make sure we continue to do these things and also see if we can improve upon them.  But, maybe more importantly, how are we falling short?  What is CAPPO not doing that you need it to do?  Is CAPPO helping you achieve your career goals?  We should!  As Immedicate Past President Johnny Terry would say, what are CAPPO’s Windows of Opportunity?  In 2023, the CAPPO Board will ensure we have processes in place to obtain your input before making key decisions that greatly impact membership and ensure CAPPO continues to serve your needs. CAPPO will listen to your feedback to meet and exceed your expectations.

Lastly, let’s talk data for a minute.  We all use data analytics in our jobs for insight and trends to help us make better procurement decisions. CAPPO needs to improve on our gathering and analysis of data to help us make better decisions, whether it is building our budget, determining the correct membership dues or planning conferences and workshops. This year the Board will ensure we are collecting the appropriate data needed by this and future Boards to make more informed decisions ensuring our continued success.

Hopefully some of the things mentioned resonate with you and encourage you to strive for professional excellence, to help CAPPO strive for excellence, and help our profession excel.

In conclusion, thank you for entrusting me to lead CAPPO once again.  It feels great to be back, I look forward to serving you in 2023 and hope to see you next year in Palm Springs, if not sooner.  Thank you all!