January - March 2015 - Charleston, SC Chapter

January - March 2015
AGA Charleston
President’s Message
March is CGFM Month! This month is dedicated to the Certified Government Financial
Manager (CGFM). Many members of our Charleston Chapter have earned this
designation; they are listed in this newsletter. If you are not familiar with the
certification, I highly recommend that you learn more about it and consider becoming
one.
I am beginning my second cycle of the Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
requirement of earning 80 CPEs every two years. Complying with this requirement allows
CGFMs to keep current on the different and changing regulations relating to areas of
accounting, auditing, financial management, internal controls and financial reporting.
This CPE requirement can be fulfilled in many ways including AGA Audio Conferences,
on-line self-study and attending training conferences.
The CGFM certification makes for a well-rounded professional. It’s not only for
accountants or auditors, the program relates to the overall knowledge of the professional
financial manager. Whether you are in the Federal, State or Local government as well as
the private sector, this certification has it all.
Writing about the CGFM accreditation makes me think of the perception that I hear from
a lot of people about AGA. Contrary to popular belief, AGA is not just for accountants!
AGA speaks to many careers within the financial world and those
related to it. For example, many of our members are not
accountants; there are financial management specialists, IT
professionals, auditors, and project managers who are AGA
members.
For more information regarding the CGFM program please contact
our chapter CGFM Chair, Peg Kendra. Additionally, specific
information on CGFM program can be found on the AGA website.
http://www.agacgfm.org/CGFM-Certification/Overview.aspx
Inside this issue:
CGFM Month
2
Member Spotlight
3
Social Event Pictures
4
Treasurer’s Report/
Calendar of Events
4
New Members
5
Community Service
News
5
Anniversary Celebration
& Awards Ceremony
6
Chapter Executive
Committee
6
Beth Da Re, CGFM
Chapter President
Join us on LinkedIn!
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=5127400
Connect with the AGA Charleston Chapter on LinkedIn! The page is
designed to keep chapter members connected, and to provide a platform
to share ideas and information.
Chapter Website - Homepage is active and updated regularly!
http://www.agacharlestonsc.org
Volunteers are needed to help create sub-pages for the website. This is a
great opportunity to learn HTML and enhance your
resume! Please contact Sheena Kennedy for
details at KennedySD@state.gov.
AGA Charleston
Page 2
March is CGFM Month
To recognize the CGFM Program and its accomplishments, AGA has declared the month of March of each year as "CGFM
Month". CGFMs, celebrate CGFM Month by proudly displaying your CGFM logo on your CGFM pin or shirt. AGA Charleston
members with the CGFM certification are listed below:
Lynne Baronoff
Charles Becker
Eugenia Bell
Shari Clark
Beth Da Re
Emily Gable
Lisa Hudson
Stacy Johnson
Peg Kendra
James Lewis
Paul McVicker
Georgia Middleton
Kathryn Robinson
Brian Skinner
Wilbur Spearin
Randy Stanley
Congratulations to AGA member Peg Kendra for earning the CGFM
certification in January! Well done, Peg!
Not yet a CGFM?
Learn more here (https://www.agacgfm.org/CGFM-Certification/Overview.aspx)
or contact the AGA Charleston CGFM Committee Chair, Peg Kendra, at
KendraPM@state.gov.
AGA Charleston
Page 3
Member Spotlight: Bryan Hall
CGI Charleston Manager, CGFS/GFMS/SDM
Which area of CGFS do you work in and what is your job title?
I am a Director of Consulting Services at CGI Federal. I work in the GFO and GFMS organizations, assisting
with financial management systems, processes and reporting (e.g., GFMS, RFMS, and Data Warehouse).
What are your responsibilities in your current position at CGFS?
I manage the RFMS and GFMS production support teams, major software updates and smaller functional
and technical improvement initiatives.
What is your educational/professional background?
Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Management Concentration) – East Carolina University
Masters of Business Administration (Management Information Systems Certificate) – East Carolina University
Professional Background: My career started with a year of Federal service at the United States Patent and Trademark
Office as a management analyst over the patent publishing processes.
I spent the next 10 years of my professional career consulting in Federal Civilian and Defense CFO Offices. I have
predominately worked with fee funded programs and working capital funds to improve their operations. I have expertise
in fee/price setting, demand forecasting modeling, integrating cost and performance information, cost management
techniques, and designing and implementing managerial cost accounting models using commercial office the shelf
(COTS) software packages. I have also led high-profile analysis of alternatives for selecting accounting system shared
service providers for clients that were no longer interested in hosting their own system. Once such analysis for a DoD
client, resulted in a successful migration to the service provider and serves as a benchmark within the DoD community.
I have been working with the Department of State the past three years to maintain GFMS and RFMS which uses CGI
Federal’s Momentum Enterprise software.
What goals do you hope to achieve at CGFS?
I am a firm believer in collaboration and teamwork. My number one goal is to improve the collaboration between all
CGFS offices to solve enterprise-wide problems. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
What is the greatest source of job satisfaction for you?
Nothing beats seeing an idea grow into something that eventually becomes reality and benefits a lot of people.
How long have you been an AGA member and what prompted you to join AGA?
I have been an AGA member for around 7 years. I was recently appointed to the AGA Corporate Partner Committee for
Performance Management, whose objective is to collaborate on issues of common interest to government and the
private sector surrounding government performance management. I also assisted with the 2008-2011 annual AGA CFO
Surveys by interviewing over 10 Federal Agency CFOs and compiling survey data.
What is something you do to relax/have fun after a long day at work?
It is hard to narrow it down to one thing. I am a music nut, and I am always searching for new underground bands. I love
having “Saturday morning dance parties” with my three young daughters. I also coach a team a group of eight year olds
in a competitive club soccer league.
What is something you’d like to share that most of your colleagues don’t already know about you?
I had the pleasure of working on the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team’s tarp crew during their first
two seasons. Watching the game from the dugout is a heck of a way to see a MLB baseball game!!!
AGA Charleston
Page 4
St. Patrick’s Day Social Event at Sparian’s
AGA Charleston hosted the chapter’s first after-hour social event on Friday, March 13. This was a
casual, fun evening at Sparian's in Mount Pleasant. Chapter members and their guests socialized
while enjoying the bowling, arcade games and sports bar and grill. Thanks to all the members &
their families who came out!!
Treasurer’s Report
Account balance as of February 28, 2015: $3,342.10
Calendar of Events
April
April 9: Chapter Monthly Meeting
April 15: Web Conference: Performance
Management
May
May 13: Web Conference: Ethics
May 14: Chapter Monthly Meeting
May 21: 8th Anniversary Celebration &
Awards Ceremony
June
June 3: Web Conference: Government
Financial Management
June 11: Chapter Monthly Meeting
AGA Charleston
Page 5
New Members
We are pleased to introduce the following new members who have joined AGA Charleston Chapter since
January 2015:
Yolanda Brown
Sonji Wallace
Nancy Hood
Leandria Washington
If you are not a member and wish to become a member to experience what AGA can offer you at every stage of your
career, please visit the national AGA website www.agacgfm.org to join. Please make sure to select “Charleston SC”
as your chapter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the AGA Charleston Chapter Membership
Committee Chair, Pauline Roblesreynoso, at RoblesreynosoPM@state.gov.
Current members - Have you renewed yet? It’s quick and easy to renew!
http://www.agacgfm.org/Membership/Join-or-Renew.aspx.
Community Service News: Meals on Wheels
The community services committee members are in contact with Meals on Wheels to work out our next volunteering
event. AGA would like to volunteer time during the afternoons (preferably at lunch) to deliver meals to our local
senior citizens. Details are still being ironed out but the desire is to have our members partner up a couple times a
week for a few weeks to assist Meals on Wheels with deliveries.
Interested in helping? Please contact any of the Community Service committee members listed below and we’ll start
formulating a list of volunteers. Thanks!
Sarah Mollohan: MollohanSE@state.gov
Winnifred Waring: WaringWG@state.gov
Pauline Abraham: AbrahamPA@state.gov
Visit from AGA CEO and Citadel VP of Finance
AGA Charleston members had the pleasure of meeting with Ann
Ebberts, AGA CEO and Colonel Joseph Garcia, Citadel VP of Finance to
discuss great ways to expand the AGA Charleston chapter and provide
ongoing benefits to members. Membership growth, education,
communication, and leadership roles were just a few of the items on
the agenda.
The discussion brought out exciting ideas and plans for the future of
our chapter! Stay tuned for more information.
Left to Right: Colonel Joseph Garcia, Ann Ebberts, Shari Clark,
Stacy Johnson, Beth Da Re, and Sarah Mollohan
AGA Charleston
Page 6
You are cordially invited to attend
The AGA Charleston Chapter
Thursday, May 21 at 12pm in the Auditorium
Food and refreshments will be served
Please join us for our Anniversary Celebration & Awards Ceremony. Awards will be
presented for the following:




Government Financial Manager of the Year
Chapter Ambassador Award
Professional Development Award
Community Service Award
We will network, socialize and celebrate the 8th year of the Charleston Chapter. We
hope to see you there!
Chapter Executive Committee
President
Beth Da Re, CGFM
DaReBA@state.gov
CGFM Committee Chair
Peg Kendra
KendraPM@state.gov
President-Elect
Shari Clark, CPA, CGFM
ClarkSP2@state.gov
Community Service Co- Chair
Sarah Mollohan
MollohanSE@state.gov
Co-President-Elect
Peg Kendra
KendraPM@state.gov
Treasurer
Eartha “Dawn” Washington
WashingtonED@state.gov
Secretary
Rhonda Crawford
CrawfordRE@state.gov
Communications Committee Chair
Sheena Kennedy, CMA
KennedySD@state.gov
Community Service Co- Chair
Winnifred Waring
WaringWG@state.gov
Education Committee Co-Chair
Lisa Willett
WillettLM@state.gov
Education Committee Co-Chair
Rich Phillips
richard.phillips@phillipsandcocpa.com
Membership Committee Chair Co-Chair
Pauline Roblesreynoso
RoblesreynosoPM@state.gov
Membership Committee Chair Co-Chair
Georgia Middleton
MiddletonGM@state.gov
Meetings Committee Chair Co-Chair
Lillie Johnson
JohnsonLBC@state.gov
Meetings Committee Chair Co-Chair
Porche Pinckney
PinckneyPT@state.gov