President's Article Strengthening Supply Management through Leadership By Jill A. Alvarez, C.P.M. President NAPM-Orange County, Inc.

Election results are in and we have our 2001-2002 board of directors:

Alta Cardiff, C.P.M	Judy Smith, C.P.M.
Beatrice Wiest, C.P.M.	Skip Kay, C.P.M.
DiAnna Cowles, C.P.M.	Steve Bach, C.P.M.
George Nagy, C.P.M.	Susan Odstrchel, C.P.M.
Jill Alvarez, C.P.M.	Terri Okazaki, C.P.M.

Those in bold were newly elected and begin their three-year term in July.

The issues on the ballot this year were confirmed as follows:

• The Vice President position was changed to President Elect – This will give the next in line more training and better assurance that they will become President in the next term, after all that hard work they will have done as President Elect.
  
  
• The Director for National Affairs position has been replaced with the Past President position – which will give our affiliate a better flow from one year to the next and give the new President a built-in mentor.
  
  
• We will eliminate the Student Member from NAPM-Orange County – and concentrate more of our efforts on the regular members.
  
  
• Howard E. Leonard, C.P.M. is confirmed to become a Regular Retired Member – Congratulations, Howard!

At the May Board of Directors’ Meeting the new Executive Board will be elected, including my successor as President of NAPM-Orange County. Those Board Members interested in Executive positions usually call up and ask their fellow Board members to vote their way in May.

All of the above individuals are currently on the Board of Directors and all Board members have their C.P.M. That is a first on both counts since I have been aware of the election results and interested in the Leadership of the Association. My hat is off to the Board members who worked on and obtained certification in the past year and a half, while serving on the board, working full time, and doing other volunteer activities (and having a life?). We have some truly dedicated and persistent volunteers!

But, my term is not up and as my family can confirm, I have not let up on activities. We are trying to complete as much as possible before June 21st, when the new President is installed and takes over. We are working fast and furious on completing a new feature on the web page. We are still searching for a new location for the office, one that will support Board Meetings, workshops, and committee meetings somewhere in Central Orange County. We are working on the programs for next year (starting in August), including locking in the C.P.M./A.P.P. classes and workshops like the one in September on e-Procurement.

As you may have noticed, we started a new section in the web page called BUYERS BEWARE, which will have articles submitted by various members on a variety of subjects. As a member, you can participate in helping educate your fellow supply management colleagues on subjects on which you may have more knowledge than others do or you can read about subjects that may be of interest to you or your organization.

But the crowning glory of this year will be our 40th Annual June Forum and Supplier Expo, to be held on Saturday, June 2. As you can see from the web site, we placed the Forum Guy on the front page to grab your attention. The format has changed and we have a new and exciting concept for this year that allows all attendees to participate in the entire program. Years past you had to choose between classes, but this year every attendee will have the opportunity to attend every segment. You have missed early registration, but if you join NAPM-OC or are already a member, you can still received a member discount.

We are still in need of volunteers to help with selling supplier tables for the Supplier Expo, which is a short-term assignment that ends this month. Please contact the Forum Chair, Sara Arhlen at sarhlen@socal.rr.com or our volunteer Coordinator, Maryann Webb at magnoliahoney@webtv.net if you are interested in this assignment or any other volunteer opening we may have.

Which brings us back to the whole point of NAPM-Orange County — EDUCATION! We are here to provide educational opportunities for supply professionals and continue Strengthening Supply Management through Leadership.