Welcome to the National Contract Management (NCMA) Denver Chapter Associations website! The Denver Chapter of the NCMA has been a recognized leader in offering training, continuing professional education, employment services, and networking opportunities for contracts and acquisition professionals in the Denver Metro area. Your volunteer Board of Directors shall continue to strive to provide this outstanding level of service for the 2009-2010 Program Year, while we also look and explore new opportunities and venues to increase the value of your NCMA membership. 
This new Program Year will present many challenges to the membership both personally and professionally. We are in the midst of one of our generation's most difficult financial crises, which not only impacts us as individuals and families, but also within the work place. Due to these unique fiscal challenges and the new Administration's focus on procurement, our profession is being wrought with extreme oversight, new and unexplored areas of funding (ARRA), and the ramifications and implications of transparency on both government and contractor entities is yet untested and unchallenged. These are new frontiers that will test and challenge us in ways many of us have not seen in our careers. This is the time to foster and grow relationships with your fellow professionals, not hunker down and stop taking the time to learn, grow, network and share with your collegues.
This is also a time where we need to come together as a professional organization, building and bridging the gap of understanding between government and contractor personnel. I have written about it before and with the new administration, new initiatives, new oversight, I see the level of trust, relationships, understanding and respect eroding between the organizations. Having been both a government and contractor contracting professional over my more than 25 years in the profession, this is an area that continues to bother me. We are one profession–In the end, we are all seeking the same ultimate objective. It is my continued journey and mission to try to ensure that this bridge is mended, our friendships and relationships are renewed and we can all value each other as a unified profession.
Even during these unique and challenging times, your Chapter continues to provide scholarship opportunities assisting in supplementing the funding for some of your college education, we provide financial assistance for any successful applicant to the National Leadeship Development Program (to which our Chapter has one this year!! Matt Gomer), we provide reimbursement of costs for successfully passing one or all of the National Certifications, we provide the resource material for studying for these Certifications and we also provide financial recognition for getting articles published in trade jounals or local/national publications (Tom Reid received $100 this past year).
Your Denver Chapter promotes the contracts/acquisition management profesison to both the governmental and commercial sectors. While it is true much of our training focus is on or related to Federal/Government issues, the lessons learned can be broadly applied to commercial acquisitions. I spent over 6 years doing 100% commercial (regional and international) contracting and I found the issues covered and addressed at NCMA Chpater events were still informative and I could, in many respects, use the contractual/procedural and legal nuances in the commercial environment. Not to mention, I continued to benefit from the relationships fostered with fellow professionals in the community. With that said, our mission and vision is clear. With the continued, necessary and essential support of our sponsors, your Board of Directors works hard to add value for the members and their employers.
Therefore, please come, support and join us at our monthly meetings (September through June) and at our Seminars/Symposiums that we will be holding throughout the year. Please take the time to visit your Chapter's leading edge - nationally recognized website and the newsletter for information and continuing updates on these events as they develop. So, please come and join us often, bring a friendand make the most of your membership experience.
Blake Couture, MA, CPCM
Denver Chapter President
2009-2010 Program Year
The Denver Chapter
Officers
Blake Couture
PresidentGayle Niles
President ElectTony Karpowicz
TreasurerStacey Gustus
Secretary & RegistrarPaul Fisher
President Emeritus
Chairs
Cathy Smith
MembershipDon Toussaint
NewsletterSue Holland
EmploymentMichael Adeyemo
EducationPhil Seckman
ScholarshipPaul Fisher
Fellows & AwardsMatt Gomer
Programs & EventsDolly Fernandez
Corporate SponsorBob Bosselait
LeadershipGayle Niles
Publicity, Historian & PhotographerNicole Haines
FacilitiesNancy Royce
Webmaster
