New Orleans Chapter
Le Journal de
Nouvelle Orleans

Happy Holidays to all!

I hope you and your family had an enjoyable Thanksgiving celebration. AGA too has much to be thankful for…our generous members, our very hard working executive committee and chapter project leaders. Our generosity is reflected in the tremendous response to our Thanksgiving Basket project. Our chapter donated 47 Thanksgiving baskets to St. Phillip's Community Center and with the total cost of the program donated by our members and local businesses. A special thanks to our tireless volunteers: Thanksgiving Basket project leader, Jill Byrd, and working with Gerry Knepp and Betty Salisbury, Public Service Co-Chairs. Thanks to all of our members who participated in this worthy cause and a phenomenal chapter success! For December, we are collecting teddy bears for Children's Hospital and toys for the Toys for Tots program. Share in the season with those that are less fortunate.

Our regional leaders, Don Dees and Bill Johnson, chapter members, and guests began Thanksgiving with a bang at Commander's Palace Restaurant for our November meeting. We enjoyed a superb meal and very informative presentation by David Romero on Stress Management. I want to personally thank all who attended and Vincent Parenti for his special efforts resulting in a very successful meeting. The compliments were many!

One of our highlights of the year is our Christmas Party Extravaganza on Friday, December 13, 2002, at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport's Walnut Room from 7:30pm to 11:30pm. Remember, the chapter offers a holiday gift to the all members with dues currently paid; it's free admission to the Christmas Party! And for a mere $25, bring a guest. Be sure to get a ticket at the front door for a chance to win one of the door prizes. This is not the event to miss this holiday season…put on your dancing shoes and we'll see you there!

From AGA's New Orleans Chapter Executive Committee and myself, to you and your family, we wish you a safe and blessed holiday season.

Happy Holidays,

Pam

Pam Lincoln called the meeting to order. A motion was made to suspend the quorum to take a vote by Wilbert Antoine and seconded by Jim Julian. A motion to change the AGA bank account from Bank One to the NODA Federal Credit Union was made by Jim Julian and seconded by Wilbert Antoine. All members present were in favor of the motion. The meeting was then turned over to Don Dees who discussed the proposed increase in membership dues and changing categories. The regular membership fee will increase from seventy dollars to ninety dollars. Part of the reason for the increase is because the Professional Development Conference (PDC) held in Boston did not make a profit and the Conference makes up thirty-three percent of National's budget. Don then discussed the decline of AGA membership. He suggested looking at strategies to reverse this trend. He suggested such actions as the personal touch, contacting those non-renewals by a member of the executive committee or offering continuing education with the dues being part of the seminar fee.

Jullin Renthrope then passed out a copy of AGA's strategic plan that has not been approved by National for review by officers.

Meeting was adjourned for the regular November monthly meeting.

2

Pam Lincoln, AGA President opened the meeting at 1:00 p.m. by welcoming everyone and introducing the head table, Regional Vice President Don Dees, Dr. Bill Johnston, instructor for the December 12th Statistical Sampling Seminar, Jullin Renthrope, National President Elect, Jim Julian, the afternoon's speaker David Romero and Ron Parent, President Elect.

Shelda Melancon then gave the invocation and led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pam then asked for officer reports.

Education - Marcie Tureaud announced that Bill Johnston would be leading a seminar on statistical sampling at the NFC for 3 hours of CPE.

Community Service - Gerry Knepp thanked 20 volunteers for helping with the Rebuilding Together project and for those who helped with the WYES pledge drive and the Italian cooking pledge drive. He reminded the members that AGA is still collecting cell phones, magazines, personal hygiene items as well as baby items for various groups. He then passed out certificates for those who helped with Rebuilding Together.

Jill Byrd then gave a brief explanation of the Adopt a Family campaign at St. Philips Center. For only twenty dollars you can sponsor a family. Our chapter has collected enough money to adopt 6 families and hopes to adopt a few more before Thanksgiving.

Betty Salisbury then discussed two more community service project. The first one is for Children's Hospital. AGA is collecting teddy bears to be donated to the children at Children's Hospital and as every year, a collection for Toys for Tots is also being made. Donations can be given to one of the members of the Community Service Committee, or brought to the December Christmas Party. Having no other reports the meeting broke for lunch.

Jim Julian introduced the afternoon's speaker David Romero, who led a very interesting discussion of Finding Balance in Your Life.

After completing the discussion, a gift was presented to Mr. Romero who in turn pulled the winning ticket for 50-50 that was won by Ms. Fikes.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 p.m.

Dawn Wagener
Secretary

Making Christmas Special for the Children

There are individuals who work among us whose Christmas past were made brighter by the Toys for Tots campaign. We are collecting unwrapped new toy donations from AGA members to ensure that this important tradition of kindness continues. We are also collecting teddy bears that would like to be best friends with young patients at the Children's Hospital. Please share in the joy of the season and bring your donations to the AGA Christmas Party. If you are an employee at NFC, you can contact Betty Salisbury at 255-2344 for NFC's TANO Building, and, for NFC's Building 350, contact Gerry Knepp at 255-4602, or Marcia Curole at 255-6232, (teddy bears only).

VITA Now Operates Under AARP

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program has become part of AARP. For AGA purposes, that is the only thing that has changed. Our Clearview Mall site will be operating as it has in the past.

Tax assistance is a topic in this December 2002 newsletter because a training session has been

3

The three day training is scheduled for January 7, 8, and 9, 2003, from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm at East Jefferson Hospital. We are waiting for the delivery of Publication 17. If you are planning to volunteer to assist in this tax preparation program, please contact Betty Salisbury (504-255-2344) to choose a date and I will give you the self-study information.

Continuing Community Service Collections

(1) Old Cell Phones to be reprogrammed and distributed to battered women for emergency situations;
(2) Books and magazines for La Fon's Senior Citizen Center; and
(3) New or used maternity and baby clothing, baby toys, and diapers for the Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Please consider supporting one or more of the above mentioned community service opportunities. Thank you in advance for your support and consideration. Contact Betty Salisbury (504-255-2344) or Gerry Knepp (504-255-4602) for additional information.

November 2002 Community Service Kudos

Adopt-A-Family for Thanksgiving Campaign:
Give yourselves a round of applause!!!! It is truly a time to give thanks. We would like to thank everyone that helped make the Adopt-A-Family campaign a HUGE SUCCESS. On November 26, through the generosity of AGA members, corporate donors, and other interested donors, we adopted 47 families through the St. Philip Center and donated 175 pounds of non-perishable and canned goods to their food bank. Each adopted family received the following items in a beautifully decorated laundry basket: turkey or gift certificate for a turkey, roasting pan, oven bags,

We especially want to thank Jill Byrd who enthusiastically spearheaded the campaign and did a great deal of work to make this event a success. We would also like to thank Karen Morrison and Linda Michel (Jill's Mom) for making beautiful bows for the food baskets. We, also, want to acknowledge the AGA volunteers who helped collect and deliver the food baskets and food bank items. They were: Jill Byrd, Yolanda Genovese, Gerry Knepp, Pam Lincoln, Andria Milton, Betty Salisbury, and Warren Wilson.

We want to acknowledge the corporate entities that generously donated gift certificates or food items to the Adopt-A-Family Campaign. They are:

Wal-Mart (New Orleans East)
Community Food Store
Albertson's on the (West Bank)
Courtesy Discount Furniture (Arabi)

Lastly, we would like to thank all the AGA members and other interested parties, too numerous to mention, whose donations made this campaign possible. "You all" deserve a round of applause. Thank you for your generosity to those less fortunate than us!!! May you and your families have a blessed Thanksgiving and a happy and healthy holiday season!!!!!

WYES Italian Cooking Celebration:
On Saturday, November 16, five AGA volunteers acted as bid takers during WYES's newest cooking show, the Italian Cooking Celebration. AGA volunteers included: Bill McSweeney, Anne McSweeney, Gary Millet, Roxanne Knepp and Gerry Knepp. The show was broadcast live from the studios from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. AGA's volunteers were on-air quite a bit, got to eat all the great tasting food the chefs prepared, and took bids for $7,000 to help keep WYES's quality programming on the air. WYES expressed their appreciation for AGA's continued support through its dedicated volunteers.

4

Our Chapter of AGA wishes to extend a warm welcome to the following new member:

Steven Aucoin
He is sponsored by Michelle Taucer

Steven, welcome to AGA. Once your application has been processed, a member ID and password will be sent to you for you to begin using AGA's Member's Only website. Again, welcome and feel free to contact the New Orleans Chapter Officers with your questions or concerns.

We cannot stress the importance of keeping the New Orleans Chapter of AGA at its strongest. That can only happen with your support. AGA National has adopted REAP-Recruit & Retain Essential Accountability Professionals Membership Campaign, as its theme this year. The focus is on recruiting 2,300 new members into membership this year. The intent is to encourage you to recruit one new member into AGA. As always, prizes will be offered to Top Sponsors and Top Recruiters.

To all of our sponsors, we appreciate your efforts with the growth of the New Orleans Chapter of AGA. Continue to keep up the good work!!

The following list includes sponsors from May 2002 through November 2002:

{text10}

ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTANTS
                                        NEW ORLEANS CHAPTER

                                  2002-2003

                                  CALENDAR OF EVENTS

STATISTICAL SAMPLING AS A MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT TOOL Presented by: Bill Johnston, DPA, CGFM Date: Thursday, December 12, 2002 Time: 9:00am - 12:00 Noon	Place: National Finance Center, Conference Room 2 If you are interested, you may contact Chris Cutitto at 255-5903 or Marcia Tureaud at 255-7818 Credit Hours: 3 Hours CPE Cost $60.00

6

that is familiar, selection of minimal reading may be appropriate; in areas unfamiliar, more extensive readings and course work may be more appropriate.

The resources that follow provide a solid base for study and preparation for the exams. Or, you may choose to attend Review Courses in Government Financial Management sponsored in partnership with Management Concepts.

Source Material Reading for the Certified Government Financial Management Examination (CGFM)

EXAMINATION 1: GOVERNMENTAL ENVIRONMENT

Recommended Practices to Improve State and Local Government Budgeting ,National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting, Chicago, IL, 1997, www.gfoa.org,$10.
Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting, Governmental

7

Finance Officers Association, Chicago, IL, 2001, www.gfoa.org, Link to "Publications."
Powdar, Juliet Carol, The Operating Budget: A Guide for Smaller Governments, Government Finance Officers Association, Chicago, IL, 1996,
Chapters 4, 6, $24.

EXAMINATION 2: GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING FINANCIAL REPORTING AND BUDGETING

Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting, Governmental Finance Officers Association, Chicago, IL, 2001, www.gfoa.org,
Link to "Publications."

Tierney, Cornelius E., Federal Accounting Handbook, Wiley, New York 2000.
(This may be the most comprehensive source for federal Accounting and reporting.)

CPA Code of Professional Conduct (Rule 203), www.aicpa.org.

EXAMINATION 3: GOVERNMENTAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CONTROL

OMB Circular A-11, Preparation and Submission of Budget Estimates www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/bulletins/index.htm.

Financial Handbook for Federal Executives and Managers, 1991, JFMIP, Washington, DC, www.financenet.gov/financenet/fed/jfmip/reports.htm.

Framework for Federal Financial Management Systems, 1995, JFMIP, Washington, DC, www.financenet.govfed/jfmip/reports.htm.

Please let me know if you are interested in taking the CGFM exam.

Carolyn Sibley, CGFM Director

TOPICS Newsletter is Going Electronic

AGA's National Executive Committee (NEC) voted in September to cease the printed version of AGA's Government Financial Management TOPICS newsletter with the March 2003 issue. As of April 2003, AGA members can access the online version of TOPICS. To ensure that you will continue to be notified when each new issue becomes available, please register your e-mail address at www.agacgfm.org/membership/form_address. If you know of a member who does not have access to the Internet, tell them to call AGA at 800.242.7211.

AGA Career Center

We are proud to announce the new and improved Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Career Center. Members can post resumes and jobs, plus use priority services at a significant discount!

Through this network, members will now have access to thousands more resumes and job postings via a nationwide network of more than 300,000 government financial management professionals. CareerBank.com also provides an outstanding set of services for employers, including discounted job postings and online recruiting tips. The AGA Career Center now provides premium services such as priority job postings, an automatic resume matching service, a resume search capability and e-mail notifications.

Ready to make your career move? Go to <http://aga.careerbank.com/> http://aga.careerbank.com/.

Questions? Email help@careerbank.com <mailto:help@careerbank.com>

8

9

P.O. Box 29186
New Orleans, LA 70189-0186

TIME VALUE MATERIAL
   PLEASE EXPEDITE

Please contact Linda Lewis (255-5902) with address corrections.