Page 7 - The Edge - Fall 2016
P. 7

NATIONAL IPA              EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NEWS & NOTES


                            BY DAVID LEWIS
 CONTRACTS ARE

 AMAZING IN ARIZONA         ‘Blessings In A Backpack’ Is Just One of the

                            Community Programs AASBO Members Support



              One of the great things about Arizona ASBO is our members’  recognized by the Department of Defense to send care packages
            willingness to answer the call when it comes time to volunteer  to our troops. I was so pleased to see more than 215 care packages
            in service to our association. Two great examples of when this  going out the door on their way to the troops – truly volunteerism
            recently happened come to mind – the teamwork and volunteerism  in action!
 As previously announced, National IPA and TCPN have merged.   demonstrated at both our Annual Conference in July and during   Lastly, I would like to recognize the many talents and the
 The combination of their lead agency cooperative contracting   the ASBO International Annual Conference and Expo, which was  dedication of our AASBO Board of Directors, who are the guiding
                                                                   force behind all that we do. Please take a minute at one of our
            held here in Phoenix just last month.
 strategies, in addition to their strength in the state, local, higher   During our Annual Conference, I am o  en asked, “How many  upcoming membership meetings or conferences to thank them for
 education and K-12 markets will deliver an unparalleled cooperative   sta   does Arizona ASBO have?    is is a huge conference – you  their service and to learn more about a Board member’s role in
 solution. As cooperative purchasing evolves, we are now poised to   must have a lot of people working for AASBO!”    e answer of six  running AASBO. Who knows? You just may   nd the inspiration
            o  en prompts a pretty surprised look, but it is at this time that I  for your next volunteer opportunity!
 better meet the needs of our participants in Arizona.  mention the army of volunteers who contribute countless hours in
            making it all come together.                              “Our efforts produced more than 200 backpacks
              Starting with the Professional Development and Conference
 BECOME A PARTICIPANT AND START SAVING   Planning Committee, which begins meeting the previous year   for a local school district, greatly increasing their
 TIME AND MONEY TODAY.  and lines up all of our breakout sessions and activities, to the   capacity to service their community.”
            Ambassador Committee, which handles numerous tasks during
            the course of the week, helping to straighten out wayward   rst-time
            attendees and prepare conference materials, and to the numerous
 Leverage the Purchasing Power of more than 45,000 actively   volunteers who come to the AASBO o   ces before the conference
 engaged government entities.  to prepare name badges, conference bags and a whole host of other
            items that make our conference such a success. Without these
  No Participation Fees  dedicated volunteers, needless to say the six of us would be no   Save  preciouS  diStrict  dollarS utilizing
  Registration is Fast and Free  match for all of the tasks that need to be accomplished!  The Special pay prime Choice plan
              And on the question of community service, it has been equally
  Contracts Publicly Solicited By A Lead Government Agency  satisfying to see some new additions to our fundraising and service   The Special Pay Prime Choice Plan provides a choice for payments of
            projects, bearing some great results for two truly worthy causes.   accumulated sick/vacation pay to retiring school district employees that will:
 CONTRACT CATEGORIES INCLUDE:  During our Annual Conference, volunteers committed time to   w ENHANCE retiree benefits w
 Athletic     Automotive Parts     Equipment Rental     Facilities   stu   ng backpacks with food and other necessities as part of the   w ELIMINATE constructive receipt issues w
            “Blessings In A Backpack” program. “Blessings” is a nonpro  t
 Flooring     Food     Furniture     Grounds Keeping and Irrigation    organization that feeds school children throughout the country   w ELIMINATE FICA & Medicare contributions w
 Heavy Equipment   HVAC   Janitorial   Maintenance & Operations   who currently are fed during the week on the federally funded Free
 Managed Print     Offi ce Supplies     Oracle     Playground   and Reduced Meal Program, but are at risk of going hungry on the
            weekends and during the summer. Our e  orts produced more than
 Equipment     Roofi ng     School Supplies     Technology  200 backpacks for a local school district, greatly increasing their
            capacity to service their community.
               As part of the “Packages From Home” program during the
 OUR TEAM OF EXPERIENCED PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND
 COOPERATIVE OFFICIALS ARE READY TO ASSIST YOUR AGENCY!  ASBO International Conference, we teamed up with many
            volunteers from around the country to provide care packages for
            our service men and women stationed overseas. “Packages From
 REGISTER TODAY  Home” was started right here in Arizona by Kathleen Lewis as a   Visit prginfo.net for more information
 Go to nationalipa.org   way to support her son who was serving overseas.    eir primary
            mission is to provide food, personal care and recreational items to
            deployed American troops at no cost to them. What started out as     800-238-9101
            a packing party in her garage has grown into a national nonpro  t   Mark Powers – Phoenix w Bruce Nelson- Tucson



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 Founding Member of NCPP





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