Great Start!!! Sue Graham 1 UPCOMING EVENTS

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1 UPCOMING EVENTS Breast Cancer Walk 10/30/10 CEC Meeting 11/1/10 Chapter Business Luncheon 11/4/10 AGA Audio Conference 11/17/10 Second Harvest Food Bank Alex Green Pencil Project Hats, Coats, and Gloves Drive ongoing ongoing ongoing Melvin Jones, Jr., CGFM AGA Nashville Chapter President Great Start!!! What a way to start the new year in AGA over 100 in attendance at our first meeting with Commissioner Goetz. He was great and provided a very poignant moment with his most heartfelt Thank You for all the work we in the government accountability arena have given during his tenure as Commissioner of the Department of Finance & Administration. We had a great time at our October meeting, with many Vanderbilt fans in attendance to hear Joe Fisher, Vandy s Director of Broadcasting for Athletics, and The Voice of the Commodores! I enjoyed sharing my Black and Gold stories and having another wonderful fellowship with the members and guests. Also, Comptroller Justin Wilson, one of our new members, came and joined us. It is very important that the leadership of our respective departments and branches of government understand AGA s purpose and commitment to excellence and accountability. Nashville is one of the great chapters in AGA, and by the numbers, we were the fifth largest chapter as of August 19, We have already added many new members, and this year we want to do things bigger, better, and in a more meaningful way than ever before. We are fortunate to be able to serve our community both personally and September / October 2010 Volume 34, Number 1 professionally through AGA, and together there is nothing we cannot accomplish in this Chapter. We have a rich history, but we are making history right here, right now! We have to reach for the brass ring every day and know that Excellence is attainable. Each goal attained is another opportunity to set our sights even higher and to reach even farther. Let s keep this momentum going. Enjoy each day you are blessed to see, because each day is the beginning of a new and beautiful adventure! Till the next time, let s continue to Strive for Excellence in the Pursuit of Accountability! peace. Melvin Jones, Jr., CGFM October 2010 Sue Graham 1

2 November Luncheon Lynn Bracy Special Agent U.S. Dept of Agriculture Lynn Bracey is currently a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assigned to the Southeast Region, and stationed in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been in this position since March As a special agent with USDA-OIG, he is responsible for conducting criminal investigations pertaining to fraud, waste, and abuse in connection with programs administered by USDA, which include the enforcement of laws governing Animal Fighting Prohibitions, Tampering with Consumer Products (Meat), EBT Trafficking, Contract Fraud, Loan Fraud, False Impersonation, Mail and/or Wire Fraud, False Statements, as well as other criminal violations. He also has served on the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force for the Middle District of Tennessee since April In 1998, Lynn successfully completed the Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia. He has received additional training in financial investigations from FLETC. He has also received advanced training in interviews and interrogations, covert electronic surveillance, and other law enforcement skills from a variety of federal, local and state law enforcement entities. Before working for USDA-OIG, Lynn served as a Special Investigator with the Tennessee Department of Human Services from September 1989 through February Lynn resides in Robertson County, TN, with his wife, Lori, and their two sons, Justin and Weston. He and his family are active in their local church, and he enjoys pitching in an adult, all-wood bat, baseball league. Job Opportunities From the Editor October Chapter Luncheon From time to time departments forward job opportunities to the Website Committee which are posted for members convenience. If you are interested in new job offerings or know someone who is, go to this link and click on Career Opportunities for detailed information: new.htm While we greatly enjoy the various articles submitted from our membership, we are always seeking interesting news. If you have a great idea or burning topic, please submit your article to me at Sandra.Patterson@tn.gov no later than November 8 for the next edition of our newsletter. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks and start writing! Sandra To read the minutes from the September / October Chapter Luncheon please visit the chapter website. The October minutes will be presented for approval at the next business meeting scheduled for November 4. Minutes hly_meetings.htm 2

3 September Luncheon Pictures Melvin Jones, Jr. (AGA President) Dave Goetz, Commissioner of TN Finance and Administration Wynett Jones, speaking about the Breast Cancer Walk Sandra Tulloss, speaking about the Alzheimer s Memory Walk Nashville City Club Tammy Fruscione, Dave Goetz, and Hellens Tamimi 3

4 September Luncheon Pictures Tammy Fruscione Richard Norment and David Goetz October Luncheon Melvin Jones, Jr. Melvin Jones, Jr. and Joe Fisher Joe Fisher and Mike Loveless Joe Fisher, Director of Broadcasting for Vanderbilt Athletics Our speaker for the October meeting was Joe Fisher, Director of Broadcasting for Vanderbilt Athletics, currently in his 13 th season as the director of broadcasting for Vanderbilt athletics. Joe is the play-by-play voice for football, men s basketball and baseball. A native of Nashville, Fisher attended Antioch High School and Middle Tennessee State University. Joe gave a great presentation about Vanderbilt athletics, as well as the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and college athletics overall. During his comments, Joe informed us that though the eyes of the public tend to be mostly on SEC football, Vanderbilt has a number of other student athletes that have gained national recognition in sports like golf, tennis, and baseball. One of the top young pitchers in Major League Baseball this past season was David Price, a homegrown Vanderbilt graduate, who attended high school in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. David led his team to the division playoffs this season. Vanderbilt is a leader also, when it comes to scholar athletes, with their athletes maintaining on average a 3.0 GPA. 4

5 October Luncheon Pictures Chuck Holland Joe Fisher Joe Fisher Jennifer Lewis Ray Register Don Ivancic Lily Duncan, American Diabetes Association Melvin Jones, Jr. and Joe Fisher Joe Fisher and Tammy Fruscione 5

6 Committee News Membership Membership The membership committee is pleased to announce a great lineup of retention and recruitment incentives for existing members, new members, and guests for the AGA year! Local prizes!!!! Existing members: Earn a point for every guest you bring to the chapter meeting (3 point maximum) Recruit two new members and receive a lunch voucher for a free lunch ($11 value) Earn 3 points for every new member that you sponsor (unlimited points) Earn 30 points throughout the AGA year from such things as meeting attendance, educational events, community service participation, and sponsorship of new members AND pay your dues by March 31, 2011, and the Nashville Chapter will pay $45 towards a full (not a student or early career) membership for the next year. That means you get half of your dues back, so start earning points early! Recruitment Incentives: There will be two local campaigns for the AGA year. The first campaign will run from May - November During this time, the member who recruits the most new members will receive $100 cash!!!! There will also be a drawing of all members that recruited at least one new member for a $50 cash prize. The more new members you recruit, the better chance you have to win! We will also be running a second campaign for December 2010-May Stay tuned for more details! New Members Receive a lunch voucher for a free lunch ($11 value) with paid membership. Start earning incentives and points by bringing guests to the luncheons and recruiting new members. Guests Receive a free lunch for being a first time guest at a chapter meeting. Join and start receiving all other AGA membership benefits. National prizes!!!!! What Drives You to Recruit? Campaign Incentives Many are DRIVEN by the opportunity to expand the Network. Others are DRIVEN by the opportunity to help their chapter. Everyone is DRIVEN by the spectacular recruitment incentives. The more members you recruit, the more chances you have to win. This year we asked our Emerging Leaders Focus Group what types of incentives to add to the already great prizes offered by the member get a member program. They responded by beefing up the individual prizes and expanding the chapter incentives for the campaign. Everyone Wins! Recruit ONE or more members, receive a Sponsors Only lapel pin. Sponsoring Two or More Recruit TWO members and start earning AGA Dollars. You ll earn five AGA Dollars for each new member that joins. Recruit two members, earn 10 AGA Dollars, recruit four members, earn 20 AGA Dollars, and so on. AGA Dollars are good for one year and are like cash and can be redeemed towards publications, membership dues renewals, and national conference registrations. Sponsoring Six or More Recruit SIX members by December 31, 2010, and receive next year s membership dues renewal FREE. Sponsoring 10 or More Recruit 10 or more members by March 31, 2011, and be placed into a fishbowl drawing for a complimentary 2011 Professional Development Conference Registration. After 10, each new member is another chance at the drawing. Recruit 10 members, get one chance at the drawing, recruit 16 members, get seven chances and so on. The more members recruited the more chances to win. Spotlight on Early Career/Tomorrow s Professionals New Members A Netbook Laptop will be awarded to the AGA member who recruits the most new Early Career members during the Share the Magic Campaign. 6

7 Committee News Membership Cont NEW! Spotlight on Chapters A recruitment stimulus in the form of a $100 American Express Gift Card will be raffled to chapters that have at least 10 members who have actively sponsored new members into AGA during a specified time frame. There will be a series of three drawings May 1 Aug. 30; Sept. 1 Dec. 31; Jan. 1 April 30. The gift cards must be used towards chapter recruitment and retention programming. Sponsor Achievement Awards and Recognition Recruiter of the Year (one winner) The member who recruits the most new members from May 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011 will be presented with the Recruiter of the Year distinction and receive a complimentary AGA National Meeting registration and four nights at the Marriott. Top Sponsor (two winners) The next two members who recruit the highest amount of new members from May 1, 2010 through April 30, 2011 will each be bestowed with the Top Sponsor distinction and each will receive a complimentary AGA national meeting registration. Chapter Overall Growth (six winning chapters) Those six chapters achieving the highest overall growth percentage in their chapter size grouping for the membership year will each win a complimentary AGA national meeting registration. Chapters decide who receives the registration. Each chapter president and membership chair will be presented with an achievement plaque as well. Everyone needs to be thinking of potential guests they could invite to a meeting. Go beyond the accounting field and include fields such as computer information systems, finance, budget, audit, etc. when thinking of potential guests. Remember, AGA is about all fields of government accountability! Welcome New and/or Returning Members!!! Nena Graham Joseph Waldrum sponsored by Melvin Jones, Jr. Joseph Lipman sponsored by Karen Hale Justin Wilson Robert Burns Kristie Bailey Morgan Jumbi sponsored by Tuan Le Gertrude Luther sponsored by Melvin Jones, Jr. Doreen Zienar sponsored by Britt Wood Karen Degges sponsored by Katie Yarbrough Mohsen Fahim sponsored by David Krebs Charles Hall Please feel free to contact the membership committee with any questions: Jennifer Lewis (jennifer.lewis@tn.gov) Eugene Hampton (eugene.hampton@tn.gov) Awards Please help us acknowledge financial professionals at the federal, state, and local level and private sector who are leading the way! Nominees for the National Leadership Conference Awards do not have to be members of AGA. These awards will be presented at AGA s 9th Annual National Leadership Conference February 17-18, 2011, in Washington, D.C. Federal Leadership Awards Distinguished Federal Leadership Award Elmer Staats Award Andy Barr Award State and Local Government Leadership Awards Excellence in Government Leadership Award William R. Snodgrass Distinguished Leadership Award Distinguished Local Government Leadership Award Private Sector Financial of Excellence Award For more information about each of these awards or to download an award application, please visit: awards/ Applications are due back to the Awards Committee by October 20. Rhonda D. Williams (Rhonda.D.Williams@tn.gov) Jeff Hughes (Jeff.Hughes@tn.gov) 7

8 Committee News Community Service Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk Saturday October 30, 2010 LP Field Home of the Tennessee Titans 5 mile walk Make donations by going to Cancer.org/stridesonline Team name: Nashville AGA If you have any questions or wish to walk in the walk, please contact Rhonda Williams at Rhonda.D.Williams@tn.gov. When your foot hits the pavement, you ll be making strides toward a world with more birthdays a world where breast cancer never steals another year of anyone s life. When you walk in Making Strides, you are: Helping someone with breast cancer find a ride Keeping the phone lines open every minute of every day and night for questions that need answers. Helping women get access to mammograms Funding groundbreaking research to find cures Making sure everyone facing breast cancer has more birthdays to look forward to. Project Pencil (10 years of supporting Alex Green) The Community Service Committee is eager and excited to begin AGA s year. This will be the 10th year that we have supported Alex Green ( 99.aspx), and we want to make it bigger and better than ever!! We are sending out a list of items that we will be collecting this year plus we are requesting that individuals donate new or gently used back-to-school clothing for the students. The uniform requirements for the school are basic black, brown, or blue khaki pants/shorts or skirts. They can wear any color plain collared shirt. All sizes are requested as the school serves pre-school thru 4 th grade. Along with each school supply requested, you will notice a designated number; these are Project Pencil s suggested amounts to give each teacher. These supplies will be collected until the October 2010 AGA luncheon. Elementary School (grades pre-k through 4) Collared shirt (any color/size; plain no markings) Khaki pants/skirts/shorts (blue, brown or black all sizes) SUPPLIES: 5 Bottles of Glue 5 Boxes of Tissue 5 Crayons (24 count) 5 Dry Erase Markers 10 Erasers 5 Glue Sticks 5 Hand Sanitizer or Liquid Soap 40 Pencils (#2) 10 Pocket Folders with brads 5 Plastic Rulers (inches & centimeters) 5 Scissors (blunt edge) 5 Washable Markers (8 count) 10 Notebook paper (wide rule or primary tablet) 5 Pencil box or pencil pouch The students will also need the appropriate workbooks that can be purchased through the school; therefore, any monetary donations made will be designated for these items unless otherwise noted by the donor. Any other item that is age appropriate will be accepted. All items don t need to be new, only in good condition. Thank you for all your support with this project and all other community service projects. 8

9 Committee News Community Service Cont - Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk, September 25 A team from the AGA Nashville Chapter made is inaugural appearance in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk on September 25. It was a beautiful day that raised funds and awareness to support families and research. In total, eleven walkers came out including Keevia Battle and her son, Rhonda Williams and her family, Cindy Warner and her husband, Diana Jones, Ann Collett, and Sandra Tulloss. Our team raised a total of over $835, of which approximately half came from you, our AGA members! As a result, when the national match is added in, we exceeded $1000! Thanks to everybody for their generous donations and walking! 9

10 Committee News Community Service Cont - Alex Green Project, September 28 On September 28, 2010, Nashville Chapter President Melvin Jones, Jr., CGFM and Early Careers member Joe Waldrum visited PENCIL Partner Alex Green Elementary School and "spruced up" the school s Atrium Garden. Melvin and Joe worked to clear vines and cut back trees that had become overgrown since Board staffing changes removed the former maintenance worker that maintained this garden area. The Chapter has provided Alex Green with school supplies, conducted clothing drives, and provided direct financial assistance. The students, faculty, and staff appreciate all the help they receive from our Chapter. Come Step Out with the American Diabetes Association on November 6, 2010 Location: Centennial Park Registration Opens: 8:00 AM Event Start Time: 9:30 AM There s no cost to sign up and all are invited to take part in this one of a kind walk to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The walk will feature a comfortable 1 or 2 mile walk with water stations. There will be live entertainment, healthy food, a Healthy Living Expo, and much more. Bring your dogs (on a leash) and let them enjoy a day at Centennial Park. Nashville AGA will be participating in three ways to help with the Step Out Walk by walking, volunteering, and making monetary donations! Here s how you can participate: If you want to join the AGA Team and walk you can do so by going to this link and signing up. StepOut/TennesseeArea/ ?pg=team&fr_id=7250&team _id= To make a donation go to this link and sign up to make your donations. Once you have made your donations forward your confirmation receipt to Tammy Fruscione at tammy.fruscione@tn.gov so that national will match the funds! StepOut/TennesseeArea/ ?pg=team&fr_id=7250&team_i d= To volunteer contact Tammy Tammy.Thompson@tn.gov or Together we can STOP DIABETES. ONE STEP AT A TIME. 10

11 Was it Voter Fraud by Jeff Hughes In the recent county general elections that were held across the state, the county I live in had an interesting turn of events take place. We had a person who lives in Giles County decide that he wanted to run in the Lawrence County Sheriff s race. In order to do so he only had to be a resident of Tennessee and registered to vote in that county. Well luckily this guy owned a shack in Lawrence County so the same day that he qualified to be on the ballot was the same day he became a registered voter in Lawrence County. In doing so he was declaring that this shack was now his permanent residence. After the race was over, the incumbent lost by 118 votes coming in second place and the gentleman from Giles County came in third place; however, he had over 2,000 votes. After the election was over, things really came to light on the candidate from Giles County. The shack that he had claimed as his resident did have a mailbox; however, there had not been much power usage at the place nor had any water been used. There wasn t even a bed in the place. The candidate then claimed that he did not live there at all. The local election commission stated it was not their job to verify the address or the validity of where a person claims to live. After all when you register to vote you can put a physical location down and then use a PO Box for your mail. This case went to trial last week, and the judge did declare that the Giles County candidate was not a qualified candidate for the race in Lawrence County; however, he did not believe fraud took place. After the case last week, I was curious how one could live in one county but vote in another so I looked at the voter application and did some reading. I do agree that a local election commission cannot go looking at properties to see if someone really lives there or not, that just isn t possible. So what does one have to do in Tennessee to be a registered voter? You must be 18 years of age or older, a resident of Tennessee, cannot be a convicted felon (unless rights have been restored), and must register at least 30 days before the upcoming election. Furthermore, these same regulations would carry down to the local level. With that being said, there are six different factors to consider when deciding if a person is a resident. While I am no lawyer, I would believe that these requirements that determine if you are a resident of Tennessee would also determine if you are a resident of a county. According to factor number 5, it states: The place where a married person s spouse and family live is presumed to be that person s residence, unless that person takes up or continues abode with the intention of remaining in a place other than where the spouse and family reside. Like I said above the judge did state the candidate was not a qualified candidate and after reading the above factor I agree 100%. This case will be appealed. The incumbent believes the votes to the Giles County candidate, which have been disqualified, should have a say for someone who was qualified. In a difference of only 118 votes, a margin of less than 1.20%, every vote truly does count. Since there is no case law in Tennessee, it will be interesting to see what the courts decide as this moves through the judicial system. --Jeff Hughes 11

12 CEC Member Spotlight Shirley A. Henry, CPA, CGFM, President-Elect I am a Kentucky native and grew up in a small town as the 8 th child in a family of ten children with six brothers and three sisters. I was the first in my family to go to college, and I graduated from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky in 1976, summa cum laude, with a BS in accounting and a minor in business administration. While at Western, I met my husband, Herman G. (Jack) Henry in I was a student worker in Personnel Services under the College Workstudy program, and he was working part-time in the Cashier s Office. After working in Bowling Green for several months after graduation, first at Western and then at Bowling Green Municipal Utilities, I accepted an audit position with the Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of State Audit, and began my public service career with the State of Tennessee on February 1, Jack had encouraged me to apply, as he had started work as an auditor in the Division of State Audit in November In 1978, when Frank Greathouse, Director of the Division of State Audit, decided to organize the Nashville Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants, I signed on as a charter member of the new chapter. (Please see my article in the March 2010 Nashville Notes entitled The Musings of an AGA Charter Member. ) Jack was also a charter member of the Nashville Chapter. Jack left the Division of State Audit in 1979 to pursue other career opportunities, but I continued my career with the office and was promoted to Audit Manager in Jack and I were married in January 1980 at McKendree United Methodist Church on Church Street in downtown Nashville. In my career with State Audit, I started out with the Grants Audit section, which later merged with the Financial and Compliance Audit section. I worked on many different audits during my career, but the last 20 plus years were in the area of college and university audits, which I particularly enjoyed. Jack retired from a career with the federal government in March 2006, so after working in State Audit for 30 years, I decided it was time to retire, and I retired on February 1, However, my retirement stint was short lived, and I unretired and returned to the Division of State Audit in September I missed the challenging work, and I missed the wonderful people with whom I had worked for so many years. Thank goodness they were able to take me back! After I came back to work at State Audit, Jack also decided to go back to work so we are now both part of generation U (unretired), which is actually recognized as a new demographic. Since my return to the Division, I have worked mostly on audits of state agencies. When the Financial and Compliance Audit Group was split in 2009, I volunteered to join the New Performance Audit Group, which includes an Assistant Director, four Audit Managers, and 36 staff members. The new group is still somewhat in transition. Since my return to work, I have also gotten more active in AGA having served on the Membership Committee, as Secretary last year, and as President-Elect this year. It is great to be involved with such a vital chapter and such a great group of people. Away from the office, I enjoy our home on Old Hickory Lake what a view! I also enjoy going to estate sales on Fridays and Saturdays to buy merchandise to sell in my antique mall booth. I have been active in that endeavor for over six years, and it has been a fun experience though not nearly profitable enough to give up my day job. As you can imagine, with so many brothers and sisters, I have numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and now even great-great nieces and nephews. I lost count long ago, but enjoy seeing them when I can. 12

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14 AGA Nashville Chapter Officer Directory Officers President Melvin Jones, Jr., CGFM (615) President-elect Shirley Henry, CGFM, CPA (615) Immediate Past President Karen B. Hale, MAOM, CGFM Public Relations Chair (615) Secretary Debra Bloomingburg, CGFM, CPA (615) Treasurer Scarlet Sneed, CGFM, CPA (615) One-year Directors Ralph Cross, CGFM (615) Eugene Hampton, CPA, CGFM Membership Co-Chair (615) Jane Lacy, CGFM Program Co-Chair (615) Mel Marcella, CPA, CIA, CFE (615) Sandra Tulloss (615) Two-year Directors Keevia Battle Finance Chair (615) Hank Clay Early Careers Chair (615) Cynthia Setters Meetings and Attendance Co-Chair (615) Corey Tester Education Chair (615) Rhonda Williams Awards Co-Chair (615) Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs Nathan Abbott, CISA, CFE Webmaster Co-Chair (615) Gerry Boaz, CPA, CGFM Corporate Sponsorship Chair (615) Tammy Fruscione, CGFM Community Service Co-Chair (615) Visit the Nashville Chapter website at: Chuck Holland Program Co-Chair Jeffrey Hughes, MBA Awards Co-Chair (615) Jacqueline Laws, CGFM Community Service Co-Chair (615) Jennifer Lewis, CGFM, CFE Membership Co-Chair (615) Sandra Patterson Newsletter Editor (615) Ron Queen, MA, CGFM, CPA CGFM Chair (615) Hellens Tamimi, CPA, CFE Program Co-Chair (615) Tammy Thompson Meetings and Attendance Co-Chair (615) Dan Willis, CPA, CISA, CGFM Webmaster Co-Chair (615)