Making New Connections in Conference Season
CSMFO has long-standing relationships with the Oregon Government Finance Officers Association (OGFOA), Washington Finance Officers Association (WFOA), Alaska Government Finance Officers Association (AGFOA), and the California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA). As a part of these relationships, I was fortunate to represent our organization this year at the OGFOA, CMTA, and GFOA conferences; held over the past couple of months.
OGFOA’s semi-annual conference was my first out-of-state conference as CSMFO President. It was held late February in Seaside; a lovely coastal town approximately two hours north of Portland. A few days before my scheduled arrival, Oregon received historic levels of snowfall, so I was admittedly a bit anxious about potentially driving a rental car with chains in unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, by the time I arrived a few days later, the roads were plowed, and I was able to make the two-hour trek from Portland to Seaside unscathed.
OGFOA’s featured speakers were fabulous – retired Lieutenant Colonel Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch shared her inspirational story of rising through the ranks of the U.S. Army as a woman of color; Certified Fraud Examiner Kelly Paxton spoke about pink collar crimes; and Matt Booth covered a wide variety of topics, including self-health. I particularly enjoyed each speaker’s ability to connect with members on a personal level.
I was able to reconnect with WFOA President Dan Legard, who joined us for CSMFO’s 2023 annual conference earlier this year in Sacramento and won our unofficial golf driving contest at Top Golf in Roseville. I also got to meet our gracious host, Susan Brown, OGFOA President, and Jeff Rogers, AGFOA President, and several OGFOA past presidents.
OGFOA Conference – Pictured Left to Right: Jeff Rogers (AGFOA President), Susan Brown (OGFOA President), Rich Lee (CSMFO President), Dan Legard (WFOA President)
The more I got to know OGFOA members, the more I discovered that we have a lot in common, including recruitment and retention challenges. It was also nice to see a few familiar faces, with friend and colleague Victor Shin from Bank of the West/Bank of Montreal in attendance. We were able to do a bit of sightseeing, including a trip to see Haystock Rock, the third largest intertidal rock in the world. A few other sightseeing landmarks included the end of the Lewis & Clark trail and The Promenade (aka The Prom).
Haystack Rock – Pictured Left to Right: Rich Lee (CSMFO President), Victor Shin (Bank of the West / Bank of Montreal)
OGFOA Conference – The Promenade
OGFOA Conference – Lewis & Clark Trail
In late April, I attended CMTA’s conference in a land far, far away… in San Mateo. Thanks to CMTA President Michael Solorza for his hospitality! There were lots of familiar faces at the conference, including staff from CSMFO’s association management company, Smith Moore & Associates (SMA) as well as Meeting & Association Management Services (M&AMS), who help CSMFO put on its annual conference. I was able to attend excellent breakout sessions, covering contemporary and timely topics, including property tax, internal controls, recruitment and retention, credit analysis for investments, and procurement/RFPs. I thoroughly enjoyed the keynote speakers – Teri Velasquez, GFOA President; Emily Brock, Director of GFOA’s Federal Liaison Center that highlighted GFOA’s work at the national level; and Steve Yu, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Dean from UCLA on public speaking for financial professionals, which strongly resonated with me. One of the methods that Steve mentioned was repetition – taking speaking opportunities when possible to continue to refine and sharpen your skills, which is consistent with my professional experience.
CMTA Conference – Pictured Left to Right: Rich Lee (CSMFO President), Teri Velasquez (GFOA President)
I was also on a treasurers panel with Hank Levy, Treasurer-Tax Collector from Alameda County and Lisa Marie Harris, Finance Director/Treasurer from San Diego Water Authority. We each discussed our professional paths and challenges and opportunities that we are experiencing. I focused on communication between county management and local entities, noting the collaborative relationship in San Mateo County. Special thanks again to Susan Munson for the invitation and opportunity!
And lastly, to close out conference season, I attended the GFOA annual conference in Portland in late May. It was a pleasure to reconnect with GFOA President Terri Velasquez and her husband and I was very fortunate to present two sessions to my peers. The first was a follow up discussion from GFOA’s podcast FINE(ANCE) Fridays with Chris Martin. The session also featured two other GFOA members – Riley Akervik, Finance Director at Central Valley Health District in North Dakota. I also was fortunate enough to be featured again with Lisa Marie Harris from San Diego County Water Authority. Each of our life experiences and paths to reach the role of being a finance director have been very different. I’m thankful to GFOA for the opportunity to continue to share my story.
The second session was primarily with finance officials from local cities from the State of Oregon where we each shared moments from our careers in relation to GFOA’s Code of Ethics. I chose three moments during my time here in San Mateo and embedded video excerpts from city council meetings to which I provided historical context so audience members could understand and empathize. The session offered another reminder that even though we live and work in different states, we have a lot in common with our colleagues throughout the profession.
Both Ernie Reyna, our President Elect, and I attended the state and provincial representative meeting, where we met our counterparts from several states and Canadian provinces. Each representative shared some of their state/provincial organization’s accomplishments, challenges, and identified ways in which GFOA could further support them.
I am humbled and honored to serve as the CSMFO President for 2023. Thank you for the opportunity to represent our organization at these conferences.
GFOA Conference – CSMFO Member Group Photo
Rich Lee has served local municipalities all throughout the San Francisco Peninsula over the past 17 years, including South San Francisco, Los Altos Hills, Millbrae, Foster City, and since January 2019, as the Finance Director for the City of San Mateo.
Rich was elected as President-Elect of CSMFO in October 2021. He has also served in other leadership roles, including Board Member, Chapter Chair, and Vice Chair of the Career Development Committee. In 2019, he was appointed to GFOA’s Ethics Committee.
Rich is also an active freelance bass trombonist and has performed with several artists, including Barbra Streisand, Peter Cetera, Gladys Knight, Bernadette Peters, and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. He has also performed and recorded several albums with local jazz big bands.
During the pandemic, Rich developed audio and video engineering skills and received two awards from Music In Place, a non-profit organization providing support to San Francisco Bay Area musicians to continue creating music while sheltering in place. His various isolation music projects are available on YouTube.
