Summer, 2012 Vol. 41 No. 1 2014 Reverse Trade Fair RecapA shout out to all the entities that participated in this year’s Reverse

Trade Fair. Thank you to the entity management and staff that took

the time away from the pressing demands of day-to-day public

procurement. It means a lot to the MPPOA organization and to

the vendors that have the opportunity to understand how to do

business with public entities.

Talking to the Vendors

This year’s Reverse Trade Fair (RTF) found a mix of new and veteran

vendors in attendance. However, old or new, the theme of the

comments was consistent. Vendors not only appreciate having

buyers all in one spot, but also appreciate having the opportunity

to talk to the right person. Over and over, we heard the advantage

of being able to get in front of the buyer—the person that

understands the process—and how that impacts a potential sale.

Vendors explained that they many times can only get as far as

the end user. While end users are useful contacts, there are times

when they are ignorant of or unwilling to share the particulars of the

procurement process with vendors. This leaves vendors confused

about buying time-lines and unclear about just how to do business

with publicly funded entities. To have a room full of buyers is a huge

plus for vendors.

The MPPOA Reverse Trade Fair is not the only one of its type in

the United States. It was interesting to talk to vendors who had

experienced other reverse trade fairs around the country. All agreed

that a reverse trade fair is a truly worthwhile concept. The only

IN THIS ISSUE2014 Reverse Trade Fair Recap

President’s Message

Reintroduction of the MPPOA Regional Meeting

Reverse Trade Fair Drawing Winners

Welcome New Members

UPPCC Announces Newest CPPO & CPPB Designees

Lifetime Member Update

Earn a Scholarship

Meet the 2014/15 MPPOA Board

Upcoming Events

Stay in the Know

UPCOMING EVENTS

JULY 24, 2014MPPOA Board MeetingMPPOA Association Offices/ Message Makers Building, Lansing

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014MPPOA Board MeetingMPPOA Association Offices/ Message Makers Building, Lansing

OCTOBER 2-3, 2014MPPOA Annual Educational ConferenceSoaring Eagle Casino Resort Hotel, Mt. Pleasant

click here for details

See mppoa.net for details and to register for all events.

Summer 2014 Vol. 44 No. 1

Article continued on page 4

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

LISA CUMMINSHello MPPOA Membership!

reetings fellow MPPOA members!

It is hard to believe that we are already mid-way

through 2014! How quickly time goes by. I’ve

noticed no matter whom I speak with in the public sector,

each and everyone seems to be busy at work, busy at home,

with all their extra-curricular activities and trying to find a way

to balance their schedules. In our profession, this isn’t always an easy task.

I want to first take this opportunity to personally thank you for allowing me to serve as

your MPPOA President for the 2014-2015 year. My goal is to serve you and to continue

to deliver professionalism and value to our Chapter. The MPPOA Board has some new

faces who have already been busy at work, coming up with new ideas. I am very excited

about their ideas and working with them. It is my hope that we are able to reengage

and rejuvenate our membership with more training and networking opportunities in the

upcoming year. I look forward to having a busy, busy year.

A main focus of the Board as we move forward this year will be creating multiple

professional development and volunteer opportunities for our members to participate

in. MPPOA is committed to ensuring that with the new requirements instituted by UPPCC

at the beginning of 2014, our members are able to meet their professional certification

goals and requirements. As part of that commitment, the Board will focus on creating

opportunities that directly relate back to the UPPCC eligibility requirements, which

include courses that are related to NIGP’s Body of Knowledge and Board volunteer

opportunities. I encourage you to take a look at the new UPPCC requirements, if you

have not already done so, to ensure that you can meet the new eligibility requirements

and take advantage of all the opportunities available to meet your professional

certification/recertification goals.

Speaking of education and networking, our Annual Fall Conference planning is

underway. Please keep watching the website for updates. As we start securing

speakers and finalizing our agenda, information will be posted on the website for

G

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President’s Message (continued)

members to view. If your agency does not provide funding for seminars, MPPOA has

a scholarship program and members are encouraged to take advantage of that

program. Details regarding the scholarship program are posted on the website.

Right around the corner from our Annual Conference is MPPOA’s other highlight

event, The Reverse Trade Show! I invite each and every one of you to attend our next

trade show, which is March 13, 2015, at the Amway Grand Plaza, in Grand Rapids.

MPPOA’s Reverse Trade Show that took place this past March at the Best Western

Sterling Inn in Sterling Heights was a great success for our organization. This event

raises funds for MPPOA to provide educational opportunities through conferences,

professional development events and directly supports our scholarship program.

MPPOA was able to subsidize the world-class training presentation, FISH! Philosophy

Regional Meeting, held in May. This event would not have been possible without

the support and participation of our members. I thank each of you for taking the

time to participate. We hope to continue the success of our Trade Show as we

move forward in 2014. To make this event a continued success we need ALL MPPOA

member agencies to participate. Keep an eye out for updates to the MPPOA

website regarding this event. We hope to have testimonials posted soon from both

suppliers and first-time agency participants. If you have questions regarding this

event and what to expect, please give me a call. I’d be happy to share with you all

the wonderful opportunities this event offers to our members.

Finally, I want to focus in on networking. We, as purchasing professionals, oftentimes

find ourselves spinning our wheels on issues that come up in our organizations. How

do you handle the sale of that land? How do you handle the Council Member who

just denied my purchase contract because I didn’t award the contract they wanted?

How do you handle insurance tracking? Etcetera etc. Chances are that while we are

spinning our wheels on these types of questions, another agency may have already

gone down the path we are heading and may have some useful advice to provide.

The best thing we can do for ourselves as purchasing professionals is NETWORK! I can’t

encourage that enough.

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President’s Message (continued)

Network you say? Yes, get help from a fellow public purchasing professional. How

can you do that? MPPOA has a great tool that serves as our listserve. It’s called

MemberConnect. I want to encourage each of you to signup for MemberConnect

TODAY! It is a great tool to connect with your fellow colleagues, share ideas, discuss

issues, ask for sample documents and ask questions in general. It’s easy to get started.

Just go to www.mppoa.net, select MemberConnect, login to your account and

subscribe by entering your email address and clicking Submit. Once you do this, you

are all set to start receiving notifications from your colleagues.

Remember, our collective strength and effectiveness is greatly dependent on you

and your active participation. We value your ideas and comments. Please, do not

hesitate to e-mail me at cumminsl@rochesterhills.org with your feedback and ideas.

—Lisa Cummins

2014 Reverse Trade Fair Recap (continued)

negative they found could be the high cost to vendors. MPPOA’s Reverse Trade Fair,

however, is affordable, thus providing opportunities for small and new businesses

who, some would say, is the group we should be connecting with and encouraging.

However, whether it’s the big business or the small, the opportunity to engage with

potential bidders is an important aspect of public procurement.

Most trade shows or fairs require vendors to set up booths. The vendors’ booths are sort

of the addresses where potential buyers might happen to visit as they make their way

about the trade show/fair venue. This is an “iffy” prospect for vendors because it requires

that the buyers must come to them. Vendors have to have an attractive, eye catching

booth to get the notice of the potential buyers. For the vendors, this mean the expense

of outfitting the booth with banners, signs, trash and trinkets and other things that might

help in the effort to get buyers to the booth. If you’re the vendor that happens to be

in an area that doesn’t get much foot traffic, it can all be for nothing. One vendor

explained that he had to pay to be able to locate his booth at the venue for the trade Article continued on next page

2014 Reverse Trade Fair Recap (continued)

show/fair and that’s on top of putting a booth together and manning it for the day. As

one vendor told us when asked why he decided to come to the RTF this year, “This is

better than a booth.” And we agree.

Vendor Education

This year’s Reverse Trade Fair introduced a panel discussion with buyers and vendors

on the basics of doing business with public entities. Jenni Riehle, the State of Michigan’s

Vendor Outreach Coordinator, used her on-the-job expertise to organize this opportunity

to help vendors inexperienced in the public procurement process to get their feet wet,

as it were, with buyers from a good mix of buying authorities. What a fine job Jenni did

and a very special thank you to her for organizing the event.

Many Thanks

Thank you to the Moderator and panelists from the Vendor Education Panel Session

who provided vendors with a better perspective and insight in the commonalities and

differences in the various entities represented. Mark Ignash, Macomb PTAC, served as

the panel Moderator. Job well done Mark. Mark executed his duties flawlessly with the

charm and wit of the best of them. Watch out Ryan Seacrest! Panelists: Jenni Riehle,

State of Michigan; Mansfield Matthewson, Grand Rapids Community College; Joan

Daniels, Oakland County and Desiree Quinney, Michigan State University. The Vendor

Education Panel Session was a new feature offered to vendors participating in this

RTF. There were two sessions conducted with a great exchange of vendors’ questions

and comments during each.

Hats off to Jim Buhlinger, the City of Sterling Heights Purchasing Manager. Jim was a big

supporter of the event, and we felt the kind embrace of Sterling Heights’ hospitality from

the very convenient event venue provided by the Sterling Inn to the lack of Michigan

blizzard weather. An event like the Reverse Trade Fair does not happen on its own.

MPPOA is very fortunate to have MaryEllen Jansen as Business Manager. Maryellen

serves as the grease and the glue that keeps it all on track and running smoothly. Mary

Ellen scouts out the potential venues, negotiates contracts, handles the registration

and manages the hundreds of details that require a highly efficient, well-organized

touch. She makes it look so effortless, but we know better.

IF YOU WERE NOT ABLE TO ATTEND, WE MISSED YOU!

You didn’t just miss the stuffed fish sailing through the air of the training room or the trainer singing

parts of La Traviata or the delicious lunch, you missed a truly delightful training opportunity as

well as having the chance to connect with your fellow buyers at the MPPOA Regional Meeting

held this past May. We missed you.

FISH!

Many of us are familiar with the Pike Street Fish Market and its management viewpoint. Whether

you are old or new to the FISH! Philosophy and regardless if you are in management or a fish

monger or any and all job titles in-between, it was time well spent connecting or reconnecting

with this effective way of interacting with people, building teams and creating great work

environments.

For those not acquainted with this approach, it is based on the

experiences of the Pike Street Fish Market in Seattle, WA—a business that

was watching its business erode for a variety of reasons. By innovating

and reinventing itself, the business not only survived, but thrived. This

happened by accident as much as design, and the story of the business’

transformation is now the stuff of legend. The Pike Street Fish Market is

now unbelievably successful and a world famous tourist destination. This

notoriety gave birth to the book FISH! by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul

and John Christensen, available on Kindle®, Audible® and published by Hippo Press®.

Much of the benefit of the training had to do with the facilitator Deena Ebbert who brought her

unique outlook to the training and the day. Deena wore many hats as the facilitator. She sang,

was a storyteller and an entertainer extraordinaire. Bringing her talents to bear, Deena gave us

the FISH! perspective ala Broadway. As a result, it was a fun-filled day where we walked out

the door refreshed, motivated and ready to bring the passion and energy to the ’everyday’

we experience in our profession.

Kudos to Lisa Cummins and Rebecca Cook for their leadership in making this possible for

MPPOA members. What a great kickoff to the reintroduction of the regional meetings. If you

happened to miss the last regional meeting, we missed you. It’s no fun without you. We hope

to see you soon.

Reintroduction of the MPPOA Regional Meeting

Reverse Trade Fair Drawing Winners

Winners of $100 scholarship to attend the Annual Fall Conference: (We gave away two since we didn’t give one away last year.)

Beth Duffy, Washtenaw County

Lisa Currier, Oakland County

Winners of a copy of John Borbi’s book:Les Durr, Macomb County

Tammara Goike, Macomb County

Mark Birkmeier, Macomb Regional Procurement Technical Assistance Center

New Members MPPOA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Darryl Halthon – Student MemberJarrod Barron – State of MI, Department of Management and BudgetMark Berryman – City of Ann ArborJeffrey Derowski – Macomb CountyLaura Grainger – Ingham ISDDavid Hatch – State of Michigan, Department of Management and BudgetHeath Kaplan – Muskegon CountyLance Kingbury – State of Michigan, Department of Management and BudgetSteve Rigg – State of Michigan, Department of Management and BudgetLisa Crozier-Green – State of Michigan, Department of Management and BudgetTom Falik – State of Michigan, Department of Management and BudgetChristy Ramey – City of MarshallMelissa Sambiago – State of Michigan, Department of Management and BudgetJeff Schwarz – Lansing Board of Water and LightRoxanna Yager – County of Ottawa

Welcome New Members

UPPCC Announces Newest Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) & Certified

Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) Designees

The Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) is pleased to announce that 379 individuals successfully completed the fall 2013 UPPCC certification examinations administered October 14-26, 2013. The coveted Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) credentials, recognized throughout the public procurement profession, demonstrate an individual’s comprehensive knowledge of public procurement.

Of these 379 newly certified individuals, a total of 249 earned the CPPB certification while 130 earned the CPPO certification. This newest class of professionals brings the total number certified for CPPB and CPPO to 9,574 and 2,439 respectively.

Obtaining either UPPCC certification requires the candidate to demonstrate through an application process that they meet specific requisites, including formal education, procurement related coursework/training and public procurement employment experience. A comprehensive written examination (specific to each certification) is required to confirm the candidate’s mastery of a variety of public procurement concepts found in the UPPCC Body of Knowledge.

For more information on the CPPO and CPPB certification programs, please visit the UPPCC Website at www.uppcc.org.

About the UPPCCThe Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity

formed to govern and administer the Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and

Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs. The CPPO and CPPB

programs are highly regarded and respected among procurement professionals and

employers involved in the public sector. To date, the UPPCC has certified well over 10,000

professionals primarily within the US and Canada as well as in other nations around the globe.

Congratulations to the Michigan candidates that earned the credential

Ms. Amie S. Merren, CPPO, CPPB City of Grand Rapids, Cedar Springs, MIMs. Marcella E. Dorr, CPPO, CPPB City of Kalamazoo, Paw Paw, MI

Donna Colley-Andrews, CPPO/CPPBLifetime Member Update

Ms. Colley-Andrews is a 25-year careerist in the field of

professional public purchasing. Her vast experience

includes best-value procurement analysis, evaluation

and benchmarking activities in public transportation and

K-12 education entities, including serving as the former

Procurement Director for the Wayne County Airport

Authority (WCAA) (retired 2012). Ms. Colley-Andrews holds

lifetime certifications from the Universal Public Purchasing

Certification Council (UPPCC), an international certification

agency. She is a Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO)

and a Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB). She is also

a lifetime member of the Michigan Public Purchasing Officer

Association (MPPOA).

During her tenure with WCAA, Donna Colley-Andrews developed and implemented an

assortment of procurement programs, including Purchase Cards; Surplus Property Disposal;

and Salvaging. She was also instrumental in managing WCAA’s Small Business Enterprise

(SBE) program and helped achieve increased participation and significant contract awards

to small businesses in WCAA’s local market. In recognition of her exemplary development of

agency-wide programs that established purchasing efficiencies and generated significant

revenues, in 2010 Donna was the recipient of the “Manager of the Year Award” from the

Michigan Public Purchasing Officers Association, a chapter of NIGP.

Donna Colley-Andrews now serves as Chief Executive Officer of Colleyco Management

and Professional Services, LLC of Taylor, Michigan, which specializes in providing services

in the areas of human resource management; policy development and implementation;

and standardized operating procedures development.

Donna believes in being an active contributor to her community. She serves as

Commissioner for two City of Taylor Boards; the Tax Increment and Finance Authority

and the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. She is also the President for the Fox Chase

Subdivision Homeowners Association. She has a passion for helping seniors, assisting at a

Taylor assisted living facility. Donna is active in a number of political activities to increase

voting registration, participation and information. She hopes to become a Delegate to

the next U.S. Presidential Convention in 2016.

Get Involved! Be a Volunteer! Earn a Scholarship!

Do you want to attend Michigan Public Purchasing Officers Association (MPPOA) activities, but your agency’s education funding doesn’t support your needs? Have you thought about attending events but reconsidered because you might not know anyone or feel unwelcome?

At MPPOA, a plethora of cutting edge procurement professional learning opportunities are on the schedule, and we recognize that sometimes cost is a deterring factor. If you’re planning to earn your certification, those essential continuing education credits are available for many of MPPOA’s activities. Well, an MPPOA Membership has benefits. MPPOA Scholarship Funds are available. If you have some time, we have a plan for you!

So Come On! Get into the Action! Meet the Gang! Join the Fun! And along the way, EARN a scholarship!

Check out our committees, events and activities at www.mppoa.net. Find something that interests you, tell us how you’d like to contribute to our profession, or leave it to us. We can match you where needed.

The Michigan Public Purchasing Officers Association Scholarship Policy is available

for review by clicking here. If you meet the qualifications, simply apply.

Click here for the scholarship application. Just download, complete and submit the application at least 90 days prior to the event for which funds are required.

We hope you take us up on this offer. Come on and hang out with us sometime.

Earn a Scholarship. Be a Volunteer. Have Fun.

Upcoming EventsMPPOA Annual Educational ConferenceThe MPPOA Annual Educational Conference will be held at the Soaring Eagle Casino Resort on October 2-3, 2014 in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Registration is now open. Watch the MPPOA website for conference updates!

Click here for details.

MPPOA Board of Directors MeetingClick here for details.

Stay in the Know

The Buying Game: The Rules are ChangingBy Robert Barkin, American City and County

Be sure to read this informative article by by clicking here.

Meet the 2014/15 MPPOA BoardIntroducing the 2014/15 Michigan Public Purchasing Officers Association

(MPPOA) Board. Click here for details.

Contributing WritersCalvin BrinksPurchasing ManagerKent County Purchasing Division

Veronica A. Caston-Frost, CPPO, C.P.M.Senior Solicitation ManagerWayne County Airport Authority - Purchasing

Rebecca CookCommodities Division DirectorState of MichiganDTMB - Procurement

Lisa Cummins, CPPBPurchasing ManagerCity of Rochester Hills

Joan Daniels, CPPBBuyer IIOakland County

Maryellen Jansen, CMPMPPOA Business Coordinator

Ruth Reed The Spanner - Graphic DesignerOwner - Let’s Go Creative