As you might imagine, the ALGA President does not do the work of the association in a vacuum. In fact, I would not have pursued the office of President without knowing the skills and dedication of the Committee Chairs and Committee Members.

At the September Board Meeting, the Committee Chairs took time from their weekend to report to the board on the progress of their work plans. These work plans serve as our "checklists" for the year's business and the committees are well on their way to another successful year.

We are pleased to report that we will continue to refine the committee work plan process by integrating it with the newly revised Strategic Plan. At the time of writing this update, the Strategic Plan is being finalized and then work will begin to ensure that the Strategic Plan is a living document which has effective linkages to the annual work plans created by the committees. In this way, the Board can easily determine whether the committee efforts are directed toward the strategic objectives of the Association. The new plan's three main objectives are to:

• Be a recognized voice for local government auditing
• Provide exceptional, relevant, and affordable services to members
• Maximize the effectiveness of the organization by developing and maintaining a consistent strong internal support system

A "snippet" of the activities of the committees (there is not enough space here to list all that they do):

Advocacy - the Committee will be targeting the 100 largest cities and counties that do not have audit functions through a targeted solicitation and has reached out to GFOA and entered a proposal to speak at its annual conference on "Audit and Finance: Partnering for Better Government."

Awards and Communications - The Board approved the "ALGA Website Award Program" and the committees will work together on starting a website award program.

Conference Committee - The planning for the 20th Anniversary Annual Conference in Philadelphia, May 19­20, 2008 has begun - stay tuned for more updates of topics, speakers, and events.

Education - Thirty four users have registered for the peer review course.

Membership - The Committee is following up on non-renewals, researching cities, counties and provinces with populations over 50,000 and transportation agencies to determine if we should invite these agencies to join the Association.

Peer Review - The Committee reported that there continues to be a strong interest in Peer Review with about 24 reviews done this past year, and 90% of participants rate satisfaction with the program. In addition, the update of the ALGA Peer Review Guide is scheduled to be completed later this year.

Professional Issues - The Committee reported on the progress of the Member Survey. It was determined that further efforts were needed to receive a satisfactory number of responses. After Member Services updated the membership email addresses, a revised survey was sent to the members to complete.

Also, the Long Term Conference Planning Committee reported on their efforts to find a location for the 2010 Annual Conference. Four locations in the Central area submitted bids and the conference committee recommended the award of the conference to San Antonio, Texas. The Board approved the committee's recommendation. The Committee and the Board appreciate the interest of all proposers.

The Education Committee was also responsible for the success of our two regional training seminars recently held in Akron and Phoenix. The Committee also coordinated our first-ever training teleconference which trained the members and others listening in on 48 telephone lines across the US and Canada. 

A theme of my President's Message this year has been to highlight members of our Association who are making a difference in our Association by getting involved.

I would like to highlight the members who answered the Association's call by volunteering their time and talent to be presenters at our regional training seminars and teleconference this year. If you attended these sessions, you know what talented professionals they are. These individuals "walk the walk" by being one of our "recognized voices for local government auditing" and for sharing their knowledge with others. Many thanks to: Mike Egan, Beth Breier, Stu Grifel, Steve Morgan, Drummond Kahn and Sam McCall. 

We have in our Association so many wonderful people (I'm talking about you - Committee Chairs!) who dedicate themselves to the continued enhancement of the services we provide to our governments. Thanks to you all.

Not to be repetitive, but I repeat: it is time for YOU to get involved. Our Association is only successful when we have many dedicated individuals volunteering by participating on a committee, speaking at a seminar or conference, writing a LGAQ article, or in many other ways. I am certain there is something for you do! 

George McGowan 2007-08 President This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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