Things are always a bit slower in August here in the Nation’s capital, but don’t let that fool you! There’s a busy Fall ahead of us here at ASMC. With the launch of the new CDFM exams next month and some additional programming, the Fall has plenty of activity lined up for our ASMC members!

 

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL PROGRAM

Thanks to those of you who renewed your membership early or on-time in July! Congratulations to the following "RENEW" YEAR's Resolution program winners: Tuyen Tu of the Sequoyah Chapter and C. Mary Ricketson of the Alamo City Chapter each won $50 gift cards, and the $150 gift card was awarded to Anna Zyska of the Sandhills Chapter!

Each month, all on-time or early renewals for one or three years will be entered into a random drawing to award two $50 gift cards and one $150 gift card, respectively. In addition to contacting the members who win the drawings, we will announce the winners on our website and social media. To save ASMC administrative time and cost and for a chance to win the gift cards, renew your membership on time or early.

MEMBER HIGHLIGHT: KELLYE BREEDEN

Beginning this month, ASMC will be highlighting some of our members and their careers.

Can you briefly describe your career path?

I began my career as a PALACE Acquire (PAQ) intern at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, where I started as a cost analyst supporting the HH-60 Recapitalization program. I was fortunate enough to complete my internship in the C-17 Financial Management Branch, where I built a solid foundation as the financial manager for RDT&E and procurement funding. After completing my PAQ internship, I moved to Scott AFB, IL to accept a position in the newly established Program Executive Office – USTRANSCOM. The experience I gained there was incredibly valuable as I was an integral part of building an organization, allowing me to earn increasing levels of responsibility. Earlier this year, I was selected to be the Executive Assistant to the Director, Program Analysis and Financial Management – a Tier 3 Senior Executive Service member. The insight I now have at the strategic level is priceless to my professional development.

What are your future career goals?

My experience to date has piqued my interest in a few particular areas – leading people, data analytics, and process improvement. As I move forward in my career, I plan to pursue career and educational opportunities that will allow me to enhance my knowledge and skills related to these competencies. At this point in my career, I know that I enjoy working as part of a team and, more specifically, enjoy building a strategy to lead a team to support the mission. Working in a brand new organization made me realize just how instrumental it is to design efficient processes to implement that strategy and to constantly be looking for better ways to do business as the environment and technology changes. 

How has your involvement in ASMC helped to develop your career? Which ASMC programs/offerings have you found to be the most beneficial? 

There have been two primary benefits associated with my involvement in ASMC. First, my decision to volunteer for multiple officer and committee chair positions allowed me to grow my leadership abilities. If you want a crash course on learning to motivate people, a volunteer organization is a great place to start. I helped achieve several goals over the years working to improve the experience ASMC members while gaining insight into the dynamics of people and improving my ability to manage a significant number of tasks during what I would call a renaissance year for our local chapter. The second major benefit is a byproduct of working to build a strong chapter – my network grew significantly. For these reasons, I would not pick a specific program as the most beneficial but instead would suggest that the opportunities that exist to demonstrate my leadership abilities and to learn new skills have been the most beneficial for me. 

If you could pass along one piece of advice to ASMC early careerists, what would it be? 

My advice to ASMC Early Careerists is to take advantage of opportunities to network with senior leaders. These individuals have a deep understanding of our career field, from a strategic perspective of how to accomplish the mission to an understanding of what it takes to rise through the ranks. Learn from their experiences and leverage their lessons learned to avoid enduring the same pitfalls from their past. Use them as a soundboard to share your good ideas and work through challenges in your career. Create a team of well-known and well-respected allies who can help you navigate your career to achieve your goals. A small effort to network can pay huge dividends in the long run!

PDI 2018 PRESENTATIONS & VIRTUAL PDI

Did you attend PDI but missed out on some of the great presentations? The PDI 2018 presentation files are now available on our ASMC website. Virtual PDI, included as part of the PDI registration fee, is now available.

Didn’t attend PDI 2018? You can still access great content by purchasing Virtual PDI separately.

THE ELSIE STEFFANY SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

The ASMC Staff and our National Executive Committee have developed an annual Elsie Steffany Memorial Scholarship Award in honor of Elsie’s life and her dedication to public service. The scholarship committee, chaired by National Executive Council member Keith Buchholz, will soon meet to determine guidelines for the scholarship, including nomination information, for distribution to chapter presidents. Each chapter will be able to nominate one individual (non-CDFM) to compete for selection for the scholarship which will cover enrollment as a CDFM Candidate, participation in an Enhanced Defense Financial Management Training Course, and also fees to take the three CDFM exam modules. The recipient of the Elsie Steffany Scholarship Award will receive complimentary PDI registration.

You can read ASMC’s memoriam regarding Elsie Steffany here

ARE YOU CDFM-A CERTIFIED? YOU CAN EARN 3 CPEs BY TAKING THE MODULE 4 PILOT EXAM

ASMC is preparing to launch the new CDFM Module 1, 2, and 3 exams in September. However, your help is still needed to complete the update to the Acquisition Module. 

We need active CDFM-As to take the Module 4 Pilot Exam and answer a short follow-up survey, so we can determine which questions to include on the updated exam!

Who can participate?

Active CDFM-As only.

What can I expect?

The paper-and-pencil Module 4 (Acquisition Business Management) Pilot Exam has 100 multiple-choice items and typically takes 1 to 1.5 hours to complete. No study preparation is necessary–we are asking all pilot testers to take the exams cold turkey. To finish the process, complete an emailed post-test survey. Pilot testing has no impact on certification status.

When and where can I test?

Eligible individuals can take the Module 4 pilot exam anytime and anywhere an approved ASMC proctor is available. Group pilot test events can also be arranged by the Chapter/Organizations.

What will I receive in return?

After the emailed post-test survey is completed, you will receive an electronic certificate with 3 CPE/CET. Additionally, you will have the satisfaction of actively supporting ASMC’s Certification Program in keeping the CDFM-A exam current and relevant.

When will the new exams roll out?

We do not yet have a solid timeline. We are currently updating the textbook, as well, which will be released BEFORE the updated exam. Once a release date is determined for the new Acquisition textbook, we will employ social media and email blasts for notification.

ASMC MEMBER ENGAGE PLATFORM

Log in and check out our new membership communication and engagement platform that we appropriately named Engage! Engage, is an interactive service platform, which has been adapted for integration with your ASMC membership. Engage will allow our members to better network and collaborate with each other and the individual chapter communities will enhance communication among chapter officers and members, as well as chapter administration. Log into Engage at https://engage.asmconline.org/home, using the email address and password associated with your ASMC member account. 

RETIREE MEMBERSHIP

Anyone who fully retires (except for volunteer work) is eligible to remain as a free, non-dues paying member of ASMC. The only difference in membership benefits is that members in our Retiree Sector do not receive hard copy edition of the Armed Forces Comptroller quarterly journal beyond the time that their normal membership paid thru date occurs. Instead, they receive access to our digital-only version. If you are approaching “full” retirement, please notify ASMC at membership@asmconline.org, so we can transfer you into our non-dues paying Retiree Sector, led by volunteer Jack Mutarelli.

CHECK YOUR ASMC MEMBERSHIP PROFILE

We ask that all members routinely check their membership profile information – including email and mailing addresses. Also, if you’re not using your personal email address, we suggest you change your work email address to your personal (Gmail, yahoo, AOL, etc.) address, so as to avoid any server firewall issues that might block delivery of email to your account.   

As always, thanks for your continued ASMC membership and dedication to our great nation.