Turns out, this old dog can learn and appreciate some new tricks. I want to give mad respect to our sister association, Oregon GFOA, for how they built their March 2021 virtual conference (“RE-fresh, RE-new, RE-focus”) and for their creative solutions.

As regular readers know, one of the responsibilities of being your CSMFO President is attending and representing our membership at our sister association conferences. And while attending conferences became easier in a virtual space, it built a large barrier to strengthening our professional relationship through personal connections.

But OGFOA cut down that barrier with a smile and welcoming hand. I stand “virtually” and applaud OGFOA for how they kept alive “connection” and “collaboration” during their March Conference. Here are just a few lessons learned:

1) OGFOA welcomed the “uncertainty” of a live general session, welcoming “live” Washington GFOA and CSMFO to say hello and share a few words with their attendees. Where CSMFO took the path of recorded content to control the clock and avoid tech issues, OGFOA stayed live and intimately connected with their attendees.

2) OGFOA developed a speed dating style meet & greet event. It automatically rotated attendees randomly into small groups of 4 or 5 to connect and collaborate.

3) OGFOA’s conference software offered both a general chat box as well as concurrent Question and Answer chat box during their training sessions. This allowed presenters to zero in on questions and provide timely responses.

4) And while not an outcome of a virtual conference, I was impressed to see that the OGFOA Board includes an Associate Director seat on their board for commercial members.

My thanks to President Ron Harker for his warm welcome. And to President-Elect Susan Brown and Director Susan Cole who I had the pleasure to meet during a greet and meet rotation, and to their entire OGFOA Board who were all so gracious with their time and made attendees (and me) feel at home. I also want to give kudos to their association manager Misty Slagle who saved me from myself when I ran into some technical issues.

Finally, while not my biggest takeaway, it did prove prophetic when during one of the random collaboration groupings, Christa Wolfe (Deputy Finance Director, Clackamas County) shared her story of the importance of having a chainsaw with a 20” bar (as opposed to a 10”) for dealing with trees. I remember thinking that my little electric 10” bar saw seemed plenty enough, until… a recent project to remove a tree in my backyard took an extra 3-weeks as my little electric saw struggled mightily. Ok, maybe I am not ready to embrace all the new tricks.

CMTA Embracing Diversity
It is certainly conference season. On April 28-30th, CMTA held their all virtual 2021 Conference (“Embracing Diversity”) and once again I had the pleasure of attending on behalf of CSMFO. It was great seeing familiar names in the chat rooms. Many of their sessions offered guidance on building a diversified investment portfolio as well as best practices in debt and cash management. During this conference, It also insightful to hear the shared emphasis on breaking down systematic barriers to extend greater staff and developmental opportunities to others.

In all, attending virtual conferences is an adaption that has allowed us all to keep learning, to stay engaged, to build up and maintain our professional certifications, and to remember to have an eye on opening all doors to tomorrow’s leaders.

And I’m grateful that we have this new “virtual” tool to provide more training to where and when members need it. But, in my humble opinion, I’m so eager to return to some in-person meetings once again. Watching my friends and colleagues fade to black instantly when the host ends a session is something I’ll look forward to leaving far behind as a 2020 relic.

P.S. While I still have plenty of recipes to share, I’m putting a twist on my recipe sharing and I’m actively looking for your fun recipe ideas. This month, we’re getting ready for Rhubarb season with a recipe from a colleague. For June, I hope to share a special Churro recipe that is on its way from our CSMFO Professional Standards committee. Please send me your favorite baking or family recipe so I can test it out and consider sharing it in a future article (marcus.pimentel@santacruzcounty.us).

Bonus content provided by Suzanne Harrell (thank you Suzanne- I can’t wait to try this one myself)

Suzanne’s Rhubarb Cherry Pie

1 Double Pie Crust

2 Cups Fresh Cherries (Pitted)

1 Lemon – Juiced

2 Tbsp Bourbon

1 Egg Lightly Beaten

2 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

3 Cups Rhubarb Sliced Into ½ Inch Pieces

¾ Cup Sugar

¼ Cup Cornstarch

½ Tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream, Chilled

1 ½ Tsp Vanilla Extract or ½ Vanilla Bean- Scraped

9” Pie Plate

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. On a floured surface, roll out bottom pie crust to an 11-inch circle. Put the crust in the pie plate and place in the refrigerator. Roll the top pie crust to an 11-inch circle and place in the refrigerator.
3. In a large bowl, add the cherries, rhubarb, cornstarch, lemon, sugar, salt and 2 Tbs bourbon, toss together. Transfer the filling to the chilled pie crust.
4. Top with second pie crust, folding under edges and crimping.
5. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water until combined.
6. Cut four slits in the top of the pie and then brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another hour and 15 minutes until filling is thickened. Cover with aluminum foil if crust is getting dark.
8. Let cool on a baking rack and enjoy.