November 1999

FROM THE PRESIDENT

It's hard to believe that another month has come and gone. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but time seems to be passing much more quickly than it did before. I've been told that this phenomenon is a symptom of advancing age, but I personally feel it's a product of the stress level in our lives, specifically the "too much to do in too little time" syndrome that we are all plagued with these days.

When I sat down to write this month's Article, I tried to think of a current, appropriate "contracts and procurement" related topic. Then it dawned on me. What problem do we all share? I realized that I hadn't talked to anyone lately who said they had time to "do it all".

I wish I could come up with a solution that would simplify our lives and make our jobs easier, or at least feasible. I'm sure I could patent the idea and make lots of money. But instead I'd like to solicit your ideas.

My favorite method of managing time and de-stressing is to make a list of tasks with estimates of the time to complete each task. Frequently I am surprised that I have a few more minutes than I actually need. Plus, I get the satisfaction of finishing a task "ahead of schedule" on occasion and crossing it off my list. Simple yes, but effective for me.

If you'd like to share your ideas on time management, please e-mail them to me at eroske@harding.com and we'll publish them in the next Newsletter.

Our membership luncheon this month is at 11:30 a.m. on November 3, 1999 at the Garden Plaza. This should be an interesting and informative program and I encourage everyone to attend. Another reason to attend¼we get Graalman points based on the percentage of members attending our luncheon meetings.

In conclusion, I want everyone to promise they will exit their respective offices at or before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 24, 1999, and leave all physical and mental traces of work behind for the four-day weekend. HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY THANKSGIVING!

Elise Roske, CPCM

Education Workshop...

Derrick Batiste of Spectrum, Inc. will be conducting our November 3 workshop on Management Organizational Business Improvement Services (MOBIS) Contracting. Join us in the Garden Plaza Board Room at 10:30 to learn about one of the latest trends in government procurement. Please make your reservations by calling Karen Shears at 241-6411 or Darlene Ahlers at 576-0757. Also, we would like to give a special thanks to Ann Johnson from Procurement Management Association of Tennessee for her two-part Back to Basics workshop on fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contracts. Both of these workshops were excellent.

Karen Shears & Darlene Ahlers

Scholarship News

We received $750.00 in supplemental scholarship funds from NCMA National Office this past month. These funds apply to the 1998-1999 program year, and thus will be awarded to a 1998-1999 program year applicant. We will present a scholarship in the amount of $750.00 to Brent W. Watts at our membership meeting on November 3.

Graalman Award News

The 1998-1999 program year Graalman scoring is complete. Once again, the East Tennessee Chapter was recognized as a Graalman Quality Chapter. Congratulations to Mary Berry and the 1998-1999 East Tennessee Chapter Board! Special thanks to Debra Hickman, our Graalman Chair, for keeping us on track.

WATTEC Canceled for 2000

As reported in the local newspapers, the WATTEC Conference, with a 26 year history in the Knoxville area, will not happen in Feb., 2000 as previously planned. The June 1999 conference, renamed Tennessee's Technology Conference (TTC) was not well attended. The board members sited lack of technical papers and lack of participants as the reason to take a year off to re-evaluate and reorganize. The conference has been permanently renamed, so please look for announcements concerning Tennessee's Technology Conference (TTC) to learn more about the 2001event. NCMA will continue to report updates as we learn more about the upcoming conference.

News about NES

An organizational meeting for the NES is scheduled for November 9 at 11:30 at the Bechtel building. Please contact Mike Criss if you are interested in helping plan NES 2000.

The NES Committee will meet thereafter on the second Tuesday of each month, 11:30 a.m. at the Bechtel Building.

CPCM/CACM Study Group

The CPCM/CACM Study Group will meet on November 9, starting at 5:30 PM at the Bechtel Building.

The CPCM/CACM Study Group will meet thereafter on the second Tuesday of each month, 5:30 p.m., at the Bechtel Building.

Calendar of Events........

November 3, 1999 Membership Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

November 17, 1999 Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

December 1, 1999 Membership Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

December 15, 1999 Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

January 5, 2000 Membership Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

January 19, 2000 Board Meeting, 11:30 a.m.

Membership News......... As of August, 1999, the East Tennessee Chapter had 163 members. Member Statistics: Current = 155 ; Delinquent = 8 ; Due = 2 ; Suspended = 18 ; Reinstated = 1; New = 2

Lisa Oldham

Employment opportunities...coming soon at WWW.NCMAET.COM

Connie Bayless U. S. Department of Energy Procurement and Contracts Division, AD-42 P O BOX 2001 Oak Ridge TN 37831