CSMFO Invades Orlando for the GFOA Annual Conference!

CSMFO President, Ernie Reyna, kicked off the event with opening remarks and introduced our generous sponsors, Chandler Asset Management and LSL.  Members packed the room to sip fun signature cocktails and enjoy a beautiful spread of hors d’oeuvres, which featured an assortment of Brazilian style meats and a lovely spread of Florida produce. Many thanks go out to our sponsors and to Jean Rousseau for organizing a fantastic event!  

 

But CSMFO didn’t just come to Orlando to party. Members listened to inspiring keynotes, networked with GFOA members from around the country, spoke with innovative vendors, and attended hours of sessions where they acquired skills and ideas to bring back to their agencies in California. And several of our own distinguished CSMFO members presented sessions throughout each day of the conference on a wide variety of topics!

The action began before the conference even started, with Carrie Matson from the City of Thousand Oaks teaching participants the “Why, How, and What of Government Budgeting” at the Saturday morning pre-conference session, alongside representatives from Columbia Missouri, Adams County Colorado, and GFOA. Sunday afternoon’s first breakout sessions kicked off with Jennifer Becker from the City of Burbank participating in GFOA’s Rethinking Financial Reporting panel discussion, which was moderated by fiscal policy writer and Public Money Pod host, Liz Farmer. David Guo, Distinguished Professor of Public Finance from Wichita State, presented the results of GFOA’s recent survey on Member Attitudes toward Financial Reporting, and a lively discussion took place regarding the challenges and limitations of government financial reporting practices.

On Monday morning, Buffy Bullis and Rae Bowman accepted the 2023 GFOA Award for Excellence in Leadership Ethics & Trust on behalf of the City of Monrovia for “Monrovia Conserves: A Finance Team's Approach to Water Conservation.” They followed this up with an engaging breakout session, entitled, “We’re all in this Together, Getting Public Support for Tough Choices.” Congratulations to the City of Monrovia for their award and for their leadership on such a critical California issue. Way to represent CSMFO!

The action continued Monday afternoon, with our very own President, Ernie Reyna appearing with GFOA Executive Director Chris Morrill and GFOA Past Presidents Laura Allen and Terri Velasquez, along with our CSMFO partners Gloria Butsch from Oregon GFOA and Stacie Tellers from Washington GFOA to present “Sunshine of GFOA’s Latest Initiatives: Collaborating with GFOA State and Provincial Associations.” They discussed opportunities for collaboration and partnerships within the GFOA membership and ways to enhance GFOA involvement with state and provincial associations. As the representative of the largest State public finance organization in the country, Ernie had much to contribute on that topic.

CSMFO members continued to shine on Tuesday when Dennis Kauffman from the City of Roseville presented “Going with the Flow: The Importance of Cash Flow Forecasting,” alongside City of Philadelphia Treasurer Jackie Dunn and City of Fridley, Minnesota Assistant Finance Director Korrie Johnson. Then on Wednesday, Don Patterson from Las Virgenes Municipal Water District closed out the conference alongside water utility experts from San Francisco, Colorado, Albuquerque, and the U.S. EPA to present “Managing Water Infrastructure and Assets in Modern America,” where they discussed the challenges of managing and funding water resources and infrastructure.

While we are proud of the way so many of our members represented California public finance at the GFOA conference, let’s be honest - our members also excel at evening activities. The highlight of the week for many was the Tuesday night closing event, and GFOA hit a home run with a private trip to Universal Studios, Florida! Members were shuttled from their respective hotels to the theme park, where they braved the hot and humid Orlando night to hop on multiple rides, enjoy live entertainment, and partake in plentiful food and beverage options throughout the park. Brave souls boarded the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Coaster, while others stuck with tamer options like Minion Mayhem, but attendees “universally” loved spending time in Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley, sipping butter beers and waiting in awe for the giant fire breathing dragon to light up the night. 

There’s no question that CSMFO members love theme parks, and a trip to Universal was the perfect way to close out a successful conference. And given CSMFO’s love of Disney magic, many members extended their time in Orlando to visit the other “Happiest Place on Earth.” Disney World definitely has California beat in size and scale, but this author would not trade an Animal Kingdom safari or a trip around the world at EPCOT for the original Disneyland and its beautiful California weather. 
We hope our CSMFO members brave the heat and humidity again next July when GFOA meets in Washington D.C. for the 2025 Annual Conference!