From Wednesday, November 20 through Friday, November 22, I had the distinct honor of being the very first CSMFO President to attend the annual Colorado Government Finance Officers Association conference in beautiful Colorado Springs. Set high up in the Colorado Springs mountains, the conference took place at the breathtaking Cheyenne Mountain Resort. CGFOA members showed up in full force as this conference numbered well over 600 in attendance. CGFOA’s total membership is just over 900, so seeing so many members attend the conference was very impressive and a testament to how well run their state organization is. Like CSMFO conferences, CGFOA members took advantage of the conference to learn from the many breakout sessions as well as network with their peers and visit with the plethora of sponsors that were present to offer their various services to members.

Wednesday, November 20 – Day 1

Beginning at 7:00 AM, registration opened and CGFOA members with badges in hand headed down to hear keynote speaker Nick Kittle, who presented on Acknowledging, Assessing, and Surviving Change. Nick spoke about how transformations can be both personal and professional, and to truly achieve transformation, change must be acknowledged, assessed, and survived. Nick explored the no-holds barred truth about personal evolution. Attendees learned why change is important, the psychology behind it, and how to be energized by harnessing passion for delivering exceptional results. Shortly after the keynote presentation concluded, the breakout sessions began. During this 10:15am timeslot, members had the choice of six excellent sessions to choose from that ranged from debt and fixed asset accounting to indirect cost plans to an ERP implementation panel. The exhibit hall opened for business at 1:00 PM, right after lunch. This timeslot allowed members to begin their trek over to visit with the exhibitors and see the products being offered. The CGFOA exhibit hall contained some very familiar companies, including Gold sponsor OpenGov, JP Morgan, Mission Square, PFM Asset Management, and Wells Fargo. Other exhibitors familiar to CSMFO included Chandler Asset Management, EideBailly, Tyler Technologies, and US Bank. Wednesday ended with one last breakout session, which began at 3:00 PM. Topics in these sessions varied from fraud to coaching skills to a round table in affordable housing. In total, the CGFOA conference granted its members up to 15 hours of CPE throughout the two- and a-half-day conference.

Thursday, November 21 – Day 2

Day 2 started much like day 1 as members arrived for a delicious assortment of breakfast items such as pastries, coffee, and juice. The keynote speaker for this morning began at 8:00 AM and featured Economic and Legislative Updates for Colorado. Day 2 featured three more opportunities for break-out sessions, while also giving members another shot at visiting with exhibitors. CGFOA ended their sessions at 3:30 PM that day so that they could conduct their board meeting promptly at 4:00 PM. This day also included a banquet from 6:30-9:30 PM where members had the opportunity to hear from the leadership team, recognize outstanding members, and have some fun. The menu options for the banquet included a very nice spread of grilled bistro steak, pan seared lemon chicken, and cauliflower steak. The event’s theme was western, so members got to dust off their cowboy boots and other western attire, as well as partake in a costume contest. The band Mosquito Pass set the tone with a night filled with high energy country and award-winning original music as well as classic country covers.

Friday, November 22 – Day 3

Much like CSMFO, the CGFOA conference is two and a half days of intense breakout sessions, networking, and catching up with fellow members and friends. The third and final day featured two breakout sessions, the first beginning at 8:15 AM and the second at 10:30 AM. As the last session wrapped up at 11:30 AM, members said their goodbyes to their colleagues and were already looking forward to the next conference. As a first-time attendee of the CGFOA conference, my take-away is that the conference was well structured, and a lot of thought, care, and effort was put into the event. The keynote speakers were carefully chosen, and the breakout sessions were selected to maximize the educational benefit that members could receive over the course of the conference. CSMFO’s Annual conference is set to take place from Tuesday, February 18 through Friday, February 21, 2025, and it will be great to be able to return the favor and have CGFOA President Bryan Archer, Director of Finance from the City of Arvada as our guest. We hope to provide Colorado with some helpful ideas that they can potentially use at their CGFOA conferences in the future.