CSMFO Year In Review

BY STEVE HEIDE, 2020 CSMFO PRESIDENT

In the 60-plus year history of our association, I can only imagine that each CSMFO president who served before me began his or her presidential year much like I did, with feelings of excitement and optimism for all of the magical possibilities in the year ahead. While 2020 was most definitely not the year we expected, there were several organizational bright spots for CSMFO. Our 2020 conference at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim in late January was certainly a fantastic start to the new year. With record attendance at over 2,000 people, our 60th Annual Conference – Yesterday, Tomorrow and Finance, offered participants nearly 60 educational sessions and we also welcomed more than 400 first-time conference attendees. In the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CSMFO quickly and successfully transitioned our educational offerings to an exclusively virtual format in the spring of 2020. The Career Development Committee responded in short order to the rapidly changing operational and economic pandemic challenges for public agencies, rolling out our COVID-19 Webinar Series to deliver important and timely educational content at no charge to participants. Our CSMFO chapters also rose to the occasion by offering Zoom-based chapter meetings, providing attendees with the opportunity to obtain continuing education while networking virtually with their peers and our commercial partners. The use of the Zoom breakout room features also allowed chapter members to have small group discussions as a way to catch up with old acquaintances and makes new friends too. And speaking of networking, our Executive Director Melissa Manchester, in collaboration with our Membership Committee, rolled out a number of fun and engaging social activities for members, including: • A Virtual Steps Challenge in September • October’s Pumpkin Challenge • Our Linkedin Thankfulness Challenge in November • December’s Virtual Holiday Happy Hour and

Charity Exchange to round out the year

At the steady direction of President Elect Marcus Pimentel, the 2021 Annual Conference Host and Program Committees continued to forge a path forward under very difficult and uncertain circumstances, thoughtfully planning our 2021 Annual Conference to provide the best possible conference experience given the physical limitations and public health constraints. All in all, although 2020 was anything but typical, I’m so proud of our CSMFO leadership team, staff and all our members for rising to the occasion as we all met the challenges of the pandemic head on. Here’s to a bright 2021 filled with good health and exciting times ahead.