Well, looks like there might be a light to the end of this tunnel. Actually, both tunnels, the global pandemic one and then, of course, there is my time as President of FCCMA. The first I am excited about, the second gives me mixed emotions. I have had a wonderful time over the last 10 months working with one of the most engaged boards that I have ever served on, and March was par for the course.
The Board of Directors made a lot of progress on our Strategic Plan in March, and I feel like the result is going to provide us a clear path into the future. The association has always had a good sense of who we are, but being as engaged as we were with the process helped us flush out a number of important elements and refocused us on what we believe matters most.
Early in March, the FCCMA Board of Directors voted to hold the 2021 FCCMA Annual Conference as an in-person event. The decision came after quite a bit of thoughtful discussion by the board that was focused on whether we could provide a safe environment for our membership, and whether the time was right to have an in-person event. In the end it was determined that the mixture of safety protocols and the expansion of the age ranges eligible to receive the vaccine were sufficient to move ahead
As we get closer to the event, FCCMA will send detailed information regarding the safety precautions and accommodations being enforced at the conference, but one important note is that registration is limited at this time, in an effort to achieve our safety protocols. We can expect the registration cap to change as the COVID environment does, but if you are comfortable attending the in person event, you may want to register for the conference soon. You can click here to get the early-bird discount rate.
This year, our Conference Planning Committee has worked diligently to plan an event that reflects what managers and public servants need to know this year. Our keynote speakers are Gilbert King, Tony Moore, Michael McConnell, and Dr. Romie Mushtaq – all of whom planned to join us last year, but graciously differed due to the cancellation of last year’s conference. Session titles and descriptions will be available soon, but this team of speakers promise to provide a strong base for the conference.
Two more items and then I will leave you alone….first, exciting news, the recordings of the 2021 Virtual FCCMA Winter Institute are now available! We are so happy to make these accessible to those of you who may not have been able to attend the event last month. Individual recordings are $50, and recordings from all three days are $100. You can purchase these recordings in your FCCMA member account. This was the first event like this that we have done, and between the winter institute committee and the professional development committee, I think we hit a home run.
Second, I am very happy to announce that the nominating committee for ICMA’s Southeast Region voted unanimously to make some adjustments to the eligibility rules that effect the Southeast Region Vice President seats. I won’t go into detail here, but the changes should provide expanded opportunity for FCCMA members and more importantly, furthered our push towards becoming a more diverse and inclusive organization. If you have questions about the changes, please contact FCCMA staff or myself, and we will be happy to discuss with you.
I wish you all the best and look forward to when we can all get together again!
