Home again, after a successful CCAP (County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania) conference at Seven Springs Pennsylvania, with some great memories and new contacts. Everyone has a different experience and perspective, but here are some of the highlights for me:
- Monday morning, I sat between Lancaster Commissioner Dennis Stuckey and Timi Kirchner of Stevens & Lee, for the Keynote, Michael Hoffman of Igniting Performance, and when he told us to stand up and greet five other people as if we were at a family reunion, we looked at one another with a discernable “UH oh” and a quick glance around for the closest exit. But by the end of the session I was wiping tears from my eyes from laughing so hard. I think we all needed the relief (who really wants to listen to more about how bad things are?) and the message, which was about relationship building and caring about others as a mark of leadership. Especially when we feel we are at the center of a tornado, which these days, is not so unusual. Think about making relationship building a priority!
- Met an interesting person in the exhibit area names Mike Baker, of GOV DEALS. He described his business as an EBAY for government. Cool! For those who are working on GOING GREEN, this is a good resource. www.govdeals.com.
- I was also impressed by another consulting group, Delta Development Group, Inc. (www.deltaone.com) that can provide local government with a host of services, but right now they are helping government get and comply with the reporting requirements for economic stimulus monies. And they can also help you leverage your IT which is critical in this time of restructuring and “resizing”. John Mizerak was the person I spoke with and very helpful.
- Did you know that it is possible to utilize merit hire systems other than the State Civil Service Commission? At a breakout session, we heard from DPW and others close to the developments in this area. Although still in initial stages, this is worthwhile to investigate as it is critical our human services programs secure a more efficient and effective system for hiring and promotion. Kristin Woellner is a contact person at CCAP (www.pacounties.org) if you would like more info. You can also download a report on the status of civil service at this site http://lbfc.legis.state.pa.us/reports.cfm (look under Oct 2004).
- Unsure of which session I should attend next, I followed a friend to the Offender Rehabilitation session, and WOW, was I impressed! Pittsburgh is doing a lot of things right these days, and the County is no exception to this rule. The Jail and Human Services staff formed an integrated team to coordinate better re-entry and transition services to reduce the burden on the jail system, and the results have been so impressive they are soon to be a Center of Excellence.
- In the last session I attended Michael McDavid, Regional Director of Penn State Cooperative Extension, walked participants through the Center for Leadership Studies, Situational Leadership assessment tool. We learned that each leader not only has a primary style of leadership but has different degrees of adaptability to other styles. As leaders, we must adapt to a variety of styles and match our style to the needs presented by the situation.
- C.S. McKee hosted another awesome barbecue Tuesday evening that was accompanied by the No Bad Ju Ju band. What a great dance band!
This is a small glimpse, there was plenty more to recommend this conference. The annual fun run/walk, the golf event, great hospitality rooms (thanks especially, Kimball Associates and Benecon!) informative sessions on funding opportunities through the ARRA and economic development. And as always, legislative and legal updates
Hats off to the CCAP staff-
Look forward to seeing everyone at the next conference event!
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