December

HOLIDAY FUN ON DECEMBER 16TH

December 16th at Sclafani's will be a fun evening of entertainment, music, food, and friendship. As we take serenity in the Thanksgiving festivities filled with family, friends, and food, its time to join your AGA family in celebrating the holiday season. I am looking for members to show their spirit by attending in record number. It is a great opportunity to bring a coworker or friend to introduce him/her to AGA. We want to tout AGA's commitment to financial accountability across all of government. We should be very proud to boast about AGA and its members.

Celebration is also in order to the members who attended the November training luncheon at the Chateaubriand restaurant and those members who contributed to the community service project for the New Orleans Mission. I am very proud of the committees that coordinated and worked hard to bring these quality programs to us. I want to thank Ron Parent and Pam Lincoln for serving as our "Human Flag Posts" and Barbara Carmon for arranging the outstanding speaker who shared financial knowledge and ways to improve our financial portfolios. Our guests, Pam Berthelot, Regional Vice President and Karen Andrews of the Baton Rouge Chapter were welcomed and enjoyed themselves tremendously. Of course, I praise all of you who took time out of your workday to be a part of this event.

I personally visited the New Orleans Mission site along with Jill Byrd to present our contributions of more than $800 and clothing. The work going on there is remarkable. The New Orleans Mission provides education and computer literacy programs along with a clean shelter, beds, food, and other items to support homeless males and females. The programs prepare the homeless for a new beginning once they leave the New Orleans Mission. We are blessed and we shared our good fortunes with this organization on November 16. It was a great way to start the Thanksgiving Holidays. Look for more ways to support, participate, or give to our community service projects in this newsletter. Our members are the best!

September

Welcome to AGA's 2004 - 05 program year! We are professionals, accountants, program analysts, system analysts, telecommunications and computer programmer specialists, budget analysts, voucher examiners, and technicians representing government accountability. AGA headquarters has spent time this year reinventing AGA’s term to be more representative of the organization.  As the New Orleans Chapter kicks off the upcoming year, it is important that members know that government accountability is the responsibility of all federal, state and local employees.  As president, I want to extend an invitation to our current members and all government employees of all job titles to participate. 

You will find dynamic educational speakers, fun sessions, and a network of executives, managers, supervisors, and employees gathered to increase knowledge, enhance skills, and gain continuing professional education credits.  We will talk about issues that affect our work environment and government challenges. With the hard work of your chapter executive committee you are guaranteed a quality program year.

It is our goal to raise the bar in membership and participation this year.  We all have to be empowered to not only belong or be a member to the New Orleans AGA chapter, but also make our chapter a premier organization each year with self-empowerment.  Self-empowerment will boost your career and add value to our organization.  Think about it.  You really can’t do much without power.  Empower yourself to attend meetings, to dialogue with the members, bring a co-worker or friend to the meetings, volunteer for the community service projects, spread the word about our scholarship fund, give feedback, make recommendations, and only then are you in a position to empower your peers and others.  Recruit – sell AGA as a strong organization, recognized worldwide for the caliber of its members, proven Industry impact and confidence in AGA’s agenda, comprehensive Certification of Government Financial Managers, and a unified voice for government financial management accountability.

As you read the newsletter, mark your calendars, get involved, and stay empowered.

I look forward to serving you and meeting each member of AGA’s New Orleans Chapter.

May

This is my last official message as President. As of July 1, 2004, Peggy Javery will assume the office of President.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all the support you provided me during the past year.  Everyone did a tremendous job.  We got a lot accomplished and we had a lot of fun.

However, we have a couple of more assignments before we can break for the summer.  We have the Zephyr’s baseball game and tailgating party on June 11, 2004.  This one is a real favorite with the kids, so come out, have a hot dog and a beer before the game and cheer the Zephyrs on to victory.  Don’t forget the fireworks display after the game.

We also have a very important educational seminar we are jointly sponsoring with the

Federal Executive Board (FEB).  It is June 9, 2004, at The Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel.  The cost is only $ 99.00 per person and you can earn 8 hours of CPE credit.  We need as many members as possible to support this training because we are trying to establish a long lasting partnership with the FEB and we want our initial joint venture to be a successful one.  I think you will find the topics and speakers interesting, informative and timely.  So, if you are an employer or a manager, send some of your employees.  If you are an employee, ask your employer if you can attend.

We are also still accepting sponsorship for this our first annual symposium.  This joint conference would be an excellent opportunity to have your company’s name connected with an event that is sure to grow in size and popularity.  Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor can call Pamela Lincoln at (504) 255-4664.

And finally, don’t forget the Professional Development Conference (PDC), June 27, - June 30, 2004.

It’s been a great year.  I have enjoyed every minute and hope we can close this year with a ZAP.

Z – Zephyr’s baseball
A – AGA/FEB Symposium
P – Professional Development Conference

Hope to see everyone there!

April

By the time you read this message Easter will have come and gone. So I hope everyone had a happy, safe Easter. This is our last formal meeting of the year and it is a joint meeting with the Baton Rouge chapter. We also have a standard challenge with the Baton Rouge chapter to see which chapter has the most attendees at the joint meeting. We are the defending champs and I don't want to lose the title on my watch. I am issuing a challenge to all members to come to this month's meeting. The speaker for this month's meeting will be the national President and our very own Jullin Renthrope.

He will give us an update as to what's going on at the national office. He will also relate to us some of his experiences as national president. I bet he his some stories to tell.

I would also like to personally thank all those people who donated blood on behalf of Gary Millet. You donated over 55 units of blood on his behalf. That was fantastic, but I was not surprised. I know that we can always count on AGA members and NFC employees to come through when the chips are down.

Our collective condolences also go out to Mary Porter who recently lost her eleven year old daughter in a tragic automobile accident.

It is now time to give serious thought to attendance at this year's Professional Development Conference (PDC), June 27 - 30, 2004. Note that early registration ends May 21, 2004. So, don't wait too long.

The education committee is making final plans for the first annual joint Symposium with the Federal Executive Board set for June 9, 2004, at the Astor Hotel. It is a one-day training that will feature some of the top experts in their field. They will discuss some of the pressing issues we face in the business world today.

The next couple of months are full of activities and I hope to see all of you there. You won't be disappointed.

March 2004

Don Carroum gave a very interesting and informative talk at Doug's Restaurant last month. He told us almost everything we wanted and needed to know about our Social Security benefits and how they are impacted by our retirement plan(s). His presentation was particularly helpful to us older AGA members (smile).

Mardi Gras has come and gone and spring is in the air. The flowers are beginning to bloom and nature's whole re-birth thing is about to get into gear. AGA is about to do its "Spring Thing" also. March is membership renewal time for many of us. It is also the time to start selecting the new officers that will move the organization forward next year.

Peggy Javery, our President-Elect, will be talking to members who may be interested in services as officers during the 2004 - 2005 fiscal year. We need your talents. The jobs are not as difficult as they may appear and prior officers are more than willing to lend a hand or offer assistance. So if she comes to you, please give serious consideration to serving as an officer next year.

Along those same lines, if there is some change you would like to see the organization make, a new policy you would like to see implemented, or a different format followed, please let us know. We are here to serve you, the members, and to do that to the best of our ability, we need input/feedback from you. If you like a particular format or procedure, let us know. And conversely, if you don't like something, let us know that also. We want to hear from you, the membership.

As you know by know, Gary Millet, our Treasurer is ill. He has had several blood platelets transfusion at East Jefferson General Hospital and now the hospital is requesting blood donations replacements. However, if you interested, you don't have to travel to East Jefferson. You can participate in NFC's blood drive March 24th and 25th and have East Jefferson General Hospital credited on behalf of Gary Millet. I will be in that number and I hope many of you will join me.

I hope many of you will also join me at Five Happiness Restaurant, Wednesday, March 24, 2004, to hear Special Agent Michael Gordon talk about a growing problem in this age of high technology, "Identity Theft." I think you will find his talk interesting, informative, but very frightening.

Oh, by the way, you'll love the food !

February 2004

The new year got off to a great start when more than 60 people attended our January meeting to hear Mr. Hank Padeletti, Special Agent with the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Padeletti gave an interesting and informative presentation on some of the latest tax changes effective for the 2003 filing year and the upcoming 2004 tax year. Kudos to everyone who helped make that meeting a success.

February is upon us and it is usually a very busy and fast paced month, as evidenced by the fact that the meeting this month is on February 12, 2004. We have two major holidays this month (Mardi Gras and President's Day). Most folks start thinking about doing their dreaded annual reconciliation with the nation's tax collector, the Internal Revenue Service, in February. February is also a busy month for the AGA. Not only do we have the same holidays and compressed schedule, we also have the taxing issue of dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, although it is from a preparer's prospective through the VITA program. After this month, we only have two more formal meetings, March and April (May is the crawfish boil and June is the Zephyr's game). February is also "Black History" month, when we take time to recognize the achievements and contributions our African-American community has made to the development of this great country. We have a lot to squeeze into the shortest month of the year. A good start would be to attend this month's meeting and learn everything you ever wanted to know about the "Social Security System and You." How much will you receive, if any, when you retire? Will the "offset clause" affect me? Get those answers and more by coming to this month's meeting and listening to Mr. Dom Carroum, Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration. He will be interesting and very informative.

It is not too early to start thinking about the Professional Development Conference which is in Washington DC, this year from June 27-30, 2004. Early registration ends May 28, 2004. It would be a good idea to make your hotel reservations now before the host hotel is fully booked. You can always cancel the reservations later, if you decide not to attend. This year the conference will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The telephone number is (202) 328-2000 or (800) 228-9290. Be sure to mention you are attending the "AGA PDC" when making your reservations to receive the special conference rate.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Mardi Gras! Hope to see you all at Doug's.

January 2004

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. In the year 2003, we had our ups and our downs, but in retrospect it was a good year overall. If you consider the war in Iraq in March a low point, the rebound of the stock market (C Fund) was certainly one of the high points of 2003.

As an AGA member, the Holiday season is always a special time of year, and 2003 was no different. The year ended on a good note, with many AGA members playing Santa by donating over 100 teddy bears and toys to Children's Hospital and the Marine's Toys for Tots program. Also, a great time was had by all who attended this year's Christmas Party at Eastover Country Club. The atmosphere was festive, the food and drink were tasty and plentiful, and the dancing was non-stop. If you missed it, you missed a good one.

Now it's time to turn our attention to more taxing matters. Our January meeting will feature Mr. Henry Padeletti, a Senior Tax Specialist with the Internal Revenue Service. He will give us an update on the new tax law changes for 2003/2004, and how they will impact you. This is always a very informative meeting and is usually well attended, since it affects everyone and is held at NFC. So, don't forget to call or e-mail Gary Millet early to make your reservations.

A new year is always a good time to evaluate the year that just ended and make resolutions to improve in the coming year. My AGA new year's resolutions are to recruit one new member and host a successful education seminar. I challenge all members to make an AGA new year's resolution as well as a personal resolution. AGA involvement is a lot like church to me, "You only get out of it what you put in". I encourage everyone to make a commitment to get more involved with your chapter. You may be surprised what you get out of it.

I hope to see all of you at the January luncheon meeting.