Once again, Procurement Month is upon us! This is the time when we celebrate BOTH our profession and the professional. March is a time for us to share all the good news about public procurement and the value we bring to our organizations and our communities. It's a time for us to not only pat ourselves on the back for our hard work and successes, but more importantly to celebrate all our partnerships and those who work with us to create those successes. Certainly it's a time to highlight the accomplishments of your procurement function, to share those "little known facts" about all the services procurement provides, all the things you are actively involved in, the money you save the organization (heck, even the money you create in revenue for the organization!) and the ways in which you contribute directly to the most important aspects of government.
I am extremely proud of my profession and have been honored to have worked within public procurement for over 23 years. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't learn something new or have the chance to tackle something challenging. I can honestly say that I love what I do....and not everyone can say that. I have grown immensely as a professional and as a person because of what I get to do every day. I have developed a network of over a thousand colleagues, I have had the opportunity to contribute directly to improving my profession, I have developed staff and seen them move on to become leaders throughout the country and I have repeatedly been amazed at how much opportunity this profession provides to anyone who has the desire to make a difference.
This month, instead of doing an Open House (we'll be bringing it back next year) and a Mayor Proclamation (we've done this many, many times), our department has decided to celebrate in a smaller and more meaningful way. We'll be celebrating together as a team, with a luncheon and sharing of what each staff member has done throughout the year. We'll also be creating a newsletter that highlights what procurement does (successes, services, interesting facts), but more importantly recognizes and thanks all our stakeholders and partners. We realize that we aren't successful if our client departments and contracting community isn't successful. So this year, we are going to tone it down a bit and share the spotlight with those who help us each and every day. Sure, we'll still get the message across about all that procurement does for our agency and our community. But we realized that after so many years of "celebrating" Procurement month, it might be a good time to step back and show our own appreciation for those who help us.
Whatever your approach, I encourage you to take the opportunity this month to reflect upon your role and your value as procurement professionals. For some of you, you may have never had the chance to do something special for March. If not, you'll find MANY ideas on what you can do on nSite and on the NIGP website. For those who have done something special for Procurement Month, please share! Your ideas generate other ideas. For those of us who have almost become expert party planners each March for many years, look for a way to change it up a bit. But most importantly, take time to appreciate one another in the profession. We work hard. And although it may not always be appreciated, we can go home each night knowing we contribute significantly to the greater good and only WE can help others realize that value. If you don't tell your story.....who will?
So, Happy Procurement Month procurement nation! YOU ROCK!!!