PRESIDENT ELECT MESSAGE

By Rich Lee

This excitement for an in person annual conference began to crescendo in the day before the conference began with the arrival of attendees. Lots of handshakes, hugs, and even through a facemask, the joy of reconnecting with our friends and colleagues was palpable. As we prepared for the rush of attendees, the reality of what we had prepared for over the past year and were on the precipice of pulling off as an organization began to materialize. As a member of the Program Committee for the past three years, and having experienced and been a part of the collective and massive efforts of CSMFO volunteer leaders and staff to put on a conference in the difficult circumstances of a global pandemic, the outcome has been nothing short of inspiring and miraculous. My sincere thanks and appreciation to all that were a part of a very special conference – our members, speakers, volunteers, commercial sponsors, and staff, all of whom were all integral to success of the conference. Reconnecting with one another face to face, shaking hands, and embracing one another helped to heal the wounds from the past two years. As President Elect, one of my primary responsibilities is to lead the Host Committee in its preparation for the next annual conference, which began immediately following the end of the 2022 conference. We met remotely in March to begin ironing out the various roles and responsibilities for committee members and begin shaping the conference experience. Throughout 2022, we will keep you up to date with the development of the conference, the renovated conference center in Sacramento, featured speakers, and in general, the outstanding conference experience that you have come to expect, and that we continually refine and improve each year. It is my honor to serve you as President Elect. I look forward to continued collaboration with the Executive Committee (President Scott Catlett and Past President Marcus Pimentel), the Board of Directors, our committees, and chapters. We are diverse in our collective experiences and perspectives, but we are united in our love of this organization and dedicated to its success. It is through that foundation that we will continue to move forward, learn, adapt, and ensure CSMFO’s role as the preeminent resource for promoting excellence in government finance.

Rich Lee has served local municipalities all throughout the San Francisco Peninsula over the past 17 years, including South San Francisco, Los Altos Hills, Millbrae, Foster City, and since January 2019, as the Finance Director for the City of San Mateo. Rich was elected as President Elect of CSMFO in October 2021. He has also served in other leadership roles, including Board Member, Chapter Chair, and Vice Chair of the Career Development Committee. In 2019, he was appointed to GFOA’s Ethics Committee. Rich is also an active freelance bass trombonist and has performed with several artists, including Barbra Streisand, Peter Cetera, Gladys Knight, Bernadette Peters, and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. He has also performed and recorded several albums with local jazz big bands During the pandemic, Rich developed audio and video engineering skills and received two awards from Music In Place, a non-profit organization providing support to San Francisco Bay Area musicians to continue creating music while sheltering in place. His various isolation music projects are available on YouTube.