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Member News

Mike Ring was awarded an Outstanding Volunteer Award at the TOAL Regional Meeting in San Marcos, TX. Congratulations Mike!

Help us in welcoming our newest member to the NAEP TEAM!

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Member Spotlight
“M” IS FOR MUSKETEER
“M” IS FOR MENTOR

Most people think that since ISM is phasing out the C.P.M. (Certified Purchasing Manager) certification and replacing it with the CPSM (Certified Professional in Supply Management) no one out there in NAEP-land is still studying and testing for the C.P.M.  Those folks would be wrong.  There are many who are fighting the December 31^st last-chance date and are trying to complete the testing process.  And because of this deadline, their knowledge of the nuances of the C.P.M. tests, and their understanding of the difficulty of getting through the testing process, the Musketeers have been busy doing what they do best – Mentoring these late bloomers.

The Musketeers group, as previously noted, was formed by five ladies who met for the first time at the C.P.M. Exam Preparation Pre-Conference Workshop prior to the 2007 NAEP Annual Conference in San Jose, CA.  As Musketeer Bette Gilliland, C.P.M., Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Alaska has said, “The most profound result of my decision to attend the Study Group was meeting a group of awesome women and Bob Ashby, who became our mentor and teacher. The women were all on their own road to certification and we were all there for the same reason - to learn. Bob was there to teach.  The stars were aligned and the Musketeers were born (again).”

But “why” were the Musketeers even formed?  After all, there were vast differences in how each traveled the road to becoming certified as a C.P.M.  And those roads, traveled alone and filled with blood, sweat and tears, had been bumpy for most of them.  So bumpy, in fact, that some of them were ready to throw in the towel and give up on achieving their dream.  In fact, Musketeer Mary Bacci, C.P.M., MIT, admitted “I sent an e-mail to the group, telling them that I did not pay my Module III test and that I was ready to throw in the towel.  These women rallied around me and would not let me give up on myself.  Without the support of the Musketeers, I’m not sure that I would have reached my goal.”  She captured the essence of why the Musketeer group was formed, i.e., they realized what all good teams eventually realize: they might fail individually but together nothing could defeat them.

But there have been even greater rewards for the Musketeers, yes, even greater than all five of them obtaining their C.P.M.s.  As Musketeer Kathy Crilly, C.P.M., Soka University, CA said, “The common thread and most important component in this group has been our unity, support, companion and the unwavering respect that we have found in each other. This collaborative adventure has taken us from a one day C.P.M. Exam Workshop in San Jose to a lifelong commitment of friendship and support for each other.  Our Musketeers motto was – and is – ‘All for One and One for All’.”

That the rewards were even greater than obtaining their C.P.M. was echoed by Musketeer Paula Taylor, C.P.M. University of Maine System, who said, “What is most important to me now is that I convey to anyone who will listen how fortunate I have become professionally and personally by agreeing in San Jose to band together with this energetic and dedicated group of Musketeers and Mentor Bob Ashby.”  She went on to say that “Today, the challenge of obtaining ‘the three little letters’ to add behind my name is over and the importance of the certification has since lessened.  That is not to say that the certification is now not important to me, but merely that when I finally reached my goal and obtained the designation, I realized that I had gained so much more than the C.P.M.”

What have the Musketeers learned and what have they been doing with this knowledge?  As noted, first and foremost they realized that they had to help each other and that they then had to help others outside their initial group.  Musketeer Katya Rodriquez, C.P.M., UCLA, appreciated the groups pushing, prodding and helping each other.  She noted that “They kept helping me study, clarifying questions and cheering for me.  This was a great experience being able to interact with people from Alaska, Massachusetts, three cities in Southern California, and our coach Bob from Las Vegas.” 

But here is where the Musketeers story really gets good.  They must have read the NAEP Mission Statement that says, “The mission of the National Association of Educational Procurement is to facilitate the development, exchange and practice of effective and ethical procurement principles and techniques within higher education and associated communities, through continuing education, networking, public information and advocacy.”  Ah, “networking” and “advocacy”.  That defines the Musketeers.

As Musketeer Paula noted, “More importantly than the book knowledge and experiences that I learned during the certification process I learned that I can now draw upon that knowledge and experience and give back.  So, given our familiar and collective mindset we decided to continue to 'pay it forward' and each of us has since joined in smaller sub-groups to keep the positive energy flowing toward the final finish for others.  Always, all for one and one for all!"

Musketeer Mary echoed that, saying, “The group is still working together to pay it forward and help others achieve their goals”.  She then added that, “No two folks are alike – but, again, the ones who succeed are the ones who do it as a team.”  And they have definitely been paying it forward as a team.

How are they doing that?”?  Musketeer Kathy, as have the others, has displayed this attitude by sharing her notes, textbooks, and other Sample Exams she found.  Most importantly, though, has been her constant encouragement to those she refers to as “each new Musketeer who has ventured on the journey to certification”.  She and her sister Musketeers offer not just exam-related help but, more importantly, they offer encouragement.  As Kathy says, we remind them that “If you fail, try again; never give up on your dream; and always pay it forward!”  And for those sitting on the fence and unsure if they can do this whole process, she offers the advice of opera star Beverly Sills, “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.”

Has their pay it forward philosophy and All for One and One for All motto helped any NAEP-ers obtain their professional certification?  Absolutely!  As Musketeer Bette says, “What I have found was that when a group of individuals join together to achieve a common goal the results are phenomenal.”  By Mentoring as a group they have not only helped dozens of folks become Musketeers, their genuine enthusiasm and desire to help others have encouraged those folks to mentor even others.  As Musketeer Katya says, “Suddenly we have this big group of people working all over the U.S. on their certification.”  And, I might add, contributing mightily to the mission of NAEP.

And the crown jewel in the Musketeers program?  Based on the success of the Musketeers, NAEP has developed the Mentor of the Year Award.  Why?  Because being a Musketeer means that you pay it forward by mentoring another.  I encourage all of you to go to the NAEP website and look up the criteria for winning the Mentor of the Year Award – and then go to work trying to win it.  Here are just five of the nine criteria: 

• The nominee passes on his/her learned experience and knowledge.
• The nominee continuously promotes a sense of camaraderie within the profession, promotes team spirit within the Member's department, and facilitates positive communications.
• The nominee inspires the Member to achieve professional goals and provides valuable assistance to the Member in achieving those goals.
• The nominee is the go-to person for answers to especially vexing problems.
• The nominee will be the person the Member remembers when someone asks the Member how he or she got started in purchasing.

In summary, the Musketeers succeeded by sticking together.  They are still going strong and helping others in their quest to obtain a professional certification. Their ranks have grown with new people joining the group and working to obtain their certification, too.  And those folks are mentoring even others.  The Musketeers motto, “All for One and One for All”, isn’t just a group of words; it is what they stand for. Those who have passed and earned their certification now “Pay it forward” by helping others gain their certification – and become Musketeers. 

Feel free to contact any of the Musketeers or find a group of people already in the process of studying and join together. The results will astound you.

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NAEP Welcomes New Members

• Alliance For Business Training – BM
• Belmont University
• East Jefferson General Hospital
• Nash Community College
• Oklahoma City University
• Texas Southern University 

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THE HAGUE—U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon announced today that the Reply All feature of Microsoft Outlook, along with many other email clients, will now be classified by the Security Council as a weapon of mass destruction and will be targeted for rigorous monitoring, restrictions and sanctions starting on the first of the year, 2010.

The Reply All feature of e-mail programs is a powerful and often seductive tool which allows users to respond quickly and easily to large groups of people who need to be kept aware of the entirety of a particular e-mail correspondence.  However, when used indiscriminately this tool can deluge innocent peoples’ inboxes with dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of unwanted and unnecessary emails.  Many deleterious, long-term effects are associated with the receipt of these e-mails including the dreaded post-discussion-thread stress disorder that plagues millions of people worldwide.  Symptoms of this syndrome are irritability, loss of time, baldness and in rare cases highly-belligerent email responses known colloquially as “flames”.

John Filstrom, a research specialist who is a member of a Listserv e-mail list, spoke of the horror of being deluged with oodles (a technical term in the Listserv industry) of unnecessary e-mail responses.  “It was like being swamped by a plague of locusts.  A member of the list I’m subscribed to asked if anyone on the list could share research on the effects of electromagnetic fields on the social habits of dingus flatworms.  I thought this was cool until all the ‘me toos’ started flooding in.  Suddenly this request became a horrifying experience as one after another of the members were saying they wanted it, too.  I started shaking, got cold chills and began to drool.  My coworkers tell me I sobbed hysterically in a corner while rocking back and forth but I honestly don’t remember!” he said.

The U.N. Security council met in an emergency session last week to tackle this difficult issue and came to an almost unanimous resolution within hours.  The only countries to resist the resolution were ones frequently associated with mass e-mailings known as “spam”.

U.N. Technology Threat Assessment Specialist, Deirdre Markham, made suggestions about eliminating the Reply All threat.  “When replying to a Listserv message, please make a point of replying only to the individual who generated the message.  Using the Reply All feature sends your response to everyone on the list.  In addition, some email programs will automatically select 'reply all' as their default so check the address field of your email before you hit 'send' or you might inadvertently send your email to everyone on the list,” Markham said.

*While a real issue of Listserv etiquette, this article is satire.  All names and quotes (apart from the U.N. Secretary General) are fictitious.  Any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

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NAEP Online Document Libraries

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The 10 Best Business Books

Thanks to Business Week for this— the 10 best business books selected by Business Week in June 2009:

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