CSMFO Committee Recap - Part 2

CSMFO Committee Leadership

CSMFO News has featured many articles and updates from CSMFO committees. You may have also heard about some of these committees at the recent CSMFO Annual Conference in San Diego. Have you ever wondered what CSMFO committees work on, or what kind of time it takes to be a volunteer?

This is Part 2 of the CSMFO committee recap, check out Part 1 here.

If you are interested in volunteering for a committee, please reach out to staff@csmfo.org.

Professional Standards Committee

Committee Description: The Committee operates as a technical resource to CSMFO by keeping members informed of emerging issues and best practices through “Committee Highlights” and “Quick Hits” videos. The Committee also coordinates with the Communications Committee to recirculate content in the CSMFO News.

  • 2021 Committee Chair: Jason Al-Imam
  • What I enjoy about the committee: The Committee is comprised of municipal and commercial members who are industry experts. I enjoy serving on this Committee because of the amazing people who sit on the Committee who help keep me (and CSMFO) up to date on emerging issues.
  • How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? The Committee meets every other month. Meetings generally run 30 minutes to an hour. Throughout the year, additional time may be required if a Committee member is assigned the responsibility of drafting a Committee Highlight.
  • What kind of activities will I be doing? Committee Members are assigned to a practice area (e.g. Accounting and Financial Reporting, Treasury and Investment Management, etc.) and are expected to identify potential topics related to emerging issues or best practices. Committee members may also be asked to write a Committee Highlight.

Program Committee

Committee Description: Set the educational content of the Annual Conference, including conducting calls for presentations and scheduling sessions, working with speaker bureaus, and communicating and coordinating with the Annual Conference Host Committee as appropriate.

  • 2021 Committee Chair: Karan Reid
  • What I enjoy about the committee: The Program Committee is comprised of an amazing group of experienced and dedicated leaders who are passionate about providing the highest level of continuing education and professional development for the Annual Conference. Working with this committee is a labor of love and seeing it all come together at the conference is truly rewarding!
  • How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? The Committee meets weekly over several months and each committee member takes a lead on identifying and developing several program sessions for the annual conference. The bulk of the work is usually done between May through November and averages 10-15 hours per month during that time.
  • What kind of activities will I be doing? Review submissions from the Call for Sessions; review prior conference programs and identify sessions that should be offered each year; review sessions from complementary conferences, such as GFOA, CMTA and CalPELRA; and identify additional topics and subject matter experts for “hot topics”. You will also be coordinating the speakers for each session you are assigned.

Recognition Committee

Committee Description: Oversees the CSMFO budget award, financial reporting, and innovation award programs. Through the award programs, the Committee promotes the highest standards of budgeting and financial reporting. Additionally, the Committee encourages improved techniques for budget preparation and presentation.

  • 2021 Committee Chair: Michael Manno
  • What I enjoy about the committee: The people. When being a part of the Recognition Committee, not only do I interact with the marvelous members of the Committee, but we also interact with all the different agencies that submit an application to our various award programs and our volunteer budget reviewers. It feels great to ensure that over 100 budgets are reviewed annually as part of the budget award program.
  • How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? In addition to a one-hour meeting per month, members will also have various assignments to work on. During the fall, the time commitment required increases, as we need to ensure that all of our award applications and materials are reviewed before the annual conference.
  • What kind of activities will I be doing? Apart from communicating with budget reviewers and applicants, there are many other activities one will be doing. For instance, we are currently updating and modernizing our budget reviewer handbook, devising new ways to recognize our volunteers, and developing additional award programs.

Student Engagement Committee

Committee Description: Reach out to the next generation (graduate and undergraduate students in political science, public administration, accounting, and finance) and promote municipal finance as a rewarding career choice with the goal of increasing the number of student memberships.

  • 2021 Committee Chair: Amber Johnson
  • What I enjoy about the committee: Meeting with students and sharing about our profession always reinforces how grateful I am to be in this career. When you are telling others how great your job is, it helps you to appreciate the job you have! This committee is also made up of amazing volunteers who are full of enthusiasm for municipal finance and CSMFO, so it is an easy group to assimilate with – we are all enjoying what we do, which makes it fun.
  • How much time per month does it take to be a volunteer? We meet once a month, and meetings last between 30-60 minutes. In addition, each member might be asked to reach out to schools to forge connections, and/or make a presentation at a school event. The total time commitment is about 1-2 hours per month.
  • What kind of activities will I be doing? As a member of this committee, you will be brainstorming ways to reach students, then implementing those ideas as they come to fruition. Student Engagement Committee members regularly reach out to schools to form relationships and seek opportunities to speak with students at school-sponsored events and/or classrooms.

⠀

[ratemypost]