GFOA's new president-elect and executive board.

• Position: Government Finance Officers Association - Paul A. Macklem,Catherine R. O'Connor,Christopher P. Morrill

The Government Finance Officers Association is governed by an 18-member executive board, which consists of 15 members-at-large serving staggered three-year terms, the current president, the previous year's president, and the president-elect. At the association's annual meeting in June, GFOA members voted for a slate of nominees for president-elect and five new members-at-large, each of whom is profiled below.

PRESIDENT-ELECT

PAUL A. MACKLEM

Director of Financial Services

City of Kelowna, British Columbia

Macklem has served in various leadership positions during his 18 years as a GFOA member, and he has been on the Executive Board since 2005. He has served on the Committee on Canadian Issues for the past six years and has been chair for three years, also acting as the liaison between the committee and the various Canadian provincial financial associations. Macklem has also provided materials for the GFOA Canadian Finance Matters quarterly newsletter.

Macklem co-chaired the 1997 Western Canada GFOA conference and has been a regular speaker and instructor at provincial GFOA conferences. He is also a guest lecturer for a post-secondary local government training program. He is the provincial appointee to the Development Finance Review Committee and the provincial Crown Corporation appointee to the Tax Jurisdiction Advisory Committee. In his jurisdiction, Macklem developed unique public-private partnerships to create facilities and services that his city would not otherwise have been able to afford.

Goals for GFOA

I enthusiastically support the GFOA objectives of expert knowledge, education and training, financial leadership, raising public awareness of sound financial policy and practice, enhanced cooperation, and strategic use of technology.

The goal of developing finance professionals who have a passion for their community can only be accomplished by recognizing the essence of public service in establishing relationships with leaders, decision makers, stakeholders, and constituents. Being present and available in the community naturally calls for a greater level of accountability that can then be rewarded by individual, departmental, and corporate credibility.

CATHERINE R. O'CONNOR

Assistant City Manager

City of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Cathy O'Connor serves on the GFOA Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning. A member of the GFOA for 20 years, O'Connor has been a speaker at various GFOA annual conferences, and she frequently...