AIG President, Melinda Miguel

In this edition of the IG News,  we highlight the activities and accomplishments of some current and former members of the Association’s Board of Directors. As President of the Association, I am honored to work with such a distinguished and dedicated Board. All Board Members are deeply committed and passionate about building and supporting the inspector general community. Board members featured include Robert Clift – Inspector General for the Florida Department of Transportation; Joseph Ferguson – City of Chicago Inspector General; Matthew Harris – Special Agent for the United States Postal Service; Ed Quatrevaux – City of New Orleans Inspector General; Sheryl Steckler – Palm Beach County, Florida Inspector General; Stephen Street, Inspector General for the State of Louisiana; and Betty Vega, former Naval Inspector General for the Pacific Fleet.

I would also like to take a moment to recognize Christopher Mazzella, Inspector General of Miami-Dade County, Florida, who retired after 14 years of service to the county. Over the years, Chris has been a stalwart of the inspector general community and strong supporter of the Association. Congratulations Chris on a job well done.

Finally, I want to report that this month, the Association held its first video-conference Board of Directors meeting over the Internet. Traditionally, the Board met in person, twice a year at our semi-annual conferences. In these financially challenging times, however, the Association decided to hold one of our semi-annual meetings electronically. I am pleased to report that the video-conference was very successful, and we were able to conduct all of the Association’s business in two sessions over a two day period. We are looking toward the use of video-conferencing and webinars in order to expand the services we can bring to our members. You will be hearing more about these initiatives in the coming months.

Inspector General Institute^TM Professional certification programs offered;

• Certified Inspector General (CIG)
• Certified Inspector General Auditor (CIGA)
• Certified Inspector General Investigator (CIGI)

Lodging Information

The institute will be held at:

AIG President, Melinda Miguel

It was wonderful to have the Institute in Texas. I want to personally thank Inspector General, Douglas Wilson, Texas Health and Human Services Commission and his staff for their warm welcome and general hospitality.  The Association looks forward to strengthening our relationship with the oversight and inspection community in the Lone Star State, and we are committed to returning to Texas to provide additional training opportunities.

It is clear, the IG concept is continuing to grow. Los Angeles County, California recently created a new IG office, along with Jefferson Parish in Louisiana and the City of Detroit.  There is also a currently pending bill in the Kansas legislature for the creation of a statewide inspector general office.  The Association is committed to building the IG community, and we are excited to see that, even in these tough economic times, jurisdictions around the country continue to recognize that inspectors general add value.  A list of inspector general offices and other public sector oversight agencies that make up the inspector general community is available on our website.

Once again, I want to encourage members to become involved and consider volunteering on a committee of the Association.  Committee work is tremendously important to our future success.  Please email our Executive Director, Philip Zisman, if you are interested in serving with the Association of Inspectors General.

Our two upcoming 2013 events are the summer institute in Jacksonville, Florida, August 19 – 23, 2013, and the fall conference, November 6 – 8, 2013, in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I look forward to seeing you there!

The directory is a work in progress, and we need your help in keeping it current. If you know of other oversight agencies that should be added to the list, please email Phil Zisman, AIG Executive Director at  exec@inspectorsgeneral.org. 

To access the director click here or on the button on the Black toolbar at the top of the website.

AIG President, Melinda Miguel

I hope you all are well and enjoying the holidays.

I am so pleased to report that 2012 has been a terrific year for the Association of Inspectors General.  Our conferences in Anaheim and Clearwater were incredibly successful, as were our Florida-based Certified Inspector General Institute. There is no question that the Inspector General community is growing and very supportive of our Association.

Plans are well underway for our upcoming events in 2013.  In light of the budgetary constraints that many of OIGs are facing, we decided to hold only one conference this year, but I can assure you that our 2013 conference in New Orleans will be something special. I want to thank New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux and his dedicated staff for the considerable work they have already put into planning the conference, which will be held the week of November 4, 2013. Please mark your calendars, and I hope to see you next Fall in the Crescent City.

Also, our 2013 institutes are quickly approaching! The winter institute will be held in Austin, Texas, February 25^th to March 1^st and our spring Institute will be held in Honolulu, HI, May 20^th to 24^th. Please contact the AIG Office for more information. The seats for Austin are rapidly filling up.

With the recent election of our new Board of Directors, I would like to take a moment to thank the members whose terms have ended, for their vital and greatly appreciated service to the Association. A special thanks goes to Elizabeth Archer, David Ray, Vicki Fisher, John Moriarty, Tracy Smith and Betty Vega. I also would like to take this opportunity to welcome and congratulate our newly elected and re-elected board members: Debra Rayna Alexander, Tom Caulfield, Cedric Johnson, Barry Kluger, Milton Mayo, Jr. Ricardo Meza, Austin Onwualu, Howard Schwartz, Sheryl Steckler and Stephen Street.

As we begin a New Year, one of the Association’s top priorities is building and strengthening the IG community.  To do this, we need your input. Please let us know what you are thinking and tell us how we can continue to improve our services.  We do listen. In response to the survey we conducted in 2012, we have plans to begin offering online training opportunities for our members to earn CPE credits. We hope to start by offering video presentations on current IG related topics. Please stay tuned.

As always, we encourage members to get involved and consider volunteering on a Committee of the Association.  Committee work is tremendously important to our future success.  The committees are as follows: Certification, Training, Membership, Conference, Legislative, Professional Standards, Peer Review, Strategic Planning, Integrity, Treasury and Finance and Chapter Development.  Please email our Executive Director if you are interested.

Speaking of our Executive Director, I want to thank Phil Zisman and his staff for all their hard work and leadership in administering to the needs of the Association.

As we enter a new year, please be mindful of the things that enrich our lives the most such as health, family, friends and freedom. Let’s embrace the opportunities that are before us, foster service to our communities, and work to enhance public trust in government – TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Happy holidays to you and yours.

Respectfully,

Melinda M. Miguel, President

I am pleased to report that after a difficult week of contending with the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Association’s offices at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City are now open and operational. On behalf of the Board of Directors and all Association members, I want to extend our heartfelt sympathies to everyone who suffered from this terrible storm.

AIG President, Melinda Miguel

On a more upbeat note, I cannot say enough about our terrific Fall Conference that was held in Clearwater, Florida on October 10 – 12, 2012. Over 200 members of the IG community gathered to network and hear cutting edge presentations on a wide range of topics that are central to the work of inspectors general across the country. There were so many highlights, but, for the sake of brevity, I’ll only mention one: Vice Admiral James P. Wisecup, the Inspector General of the United States Navy, gave an inspiring and informative talk on the challenges that naval IG offices face.

Again, I want to thank all of our speakers and sponsors for making the conference such a big success. And, I especially want to thank Board Member and Conference Chair Hector Collazo and his staff from the Division of Inspector General, Pinellas County Clerks’ Office, in Pinellas County, Florida for the fabulous job they did in planning and administering the conference. They made us feel so welcome in Clearwater and played an important part in helping us build and strengthen our inspector general community. The Clearwater team really set the bar high for our next conference in New Orleans in the Fall of 2013.

Finally, just a short word about our hard working and very dedicated Board of Directors. We held our annual meeting in Clearwater and our Board Members worked hard to help assure a bright future for our Association. We are working on a new strategic plan for the organization; we’re exploring new online delivery systems for our state-of-the-art training; and with the adoption of our 2013 operating budget, the Association’s finances are secure. I can’t say enough about our Board and I welcome the new Board Members who were elected to serve three-year terms starting on January 1, 2013. I look forward to working with the new Board, and I am also honored that the Board has elected me to serve another term as the Association’s president.

Please keep the following dates on your calendar. Our Winter Certified Inspector General Institute will be held in Austin, Texas, February 25–March 1, 2013. We will also hold a Spring Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii, May 20-24, 2013. And as previously mentioned, our next conference will be in New Orleans in the Fall of 2013. Information on all of these events will be available on our website.

As always, your feedback is welcome. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Together – we make a difference.

Respectfully,

President Melinda M. Miguel

Congratulations to the New Board of Directors

We are pleased to announce the results of the 2012 election to the Association’s Board of Directors. The following members have been elected or re-elected to serve three year terms starting in January 1, 2013:

Debra Rayna Alexander

Tom Caulfield

Cedric Johnson

Barry Kluger

Milton Mayo, Jr.

Melinda Miguel

Ricardo Meza

Austin E. Onwualu

Howard Schwartz

Sheryl Steckler

Stephen Street

We would also like to thank the following Directors who are leaving the Board for all of their dedicated service to the Association:

Elizabeth Archer

David Ray

Vicki Fisher

John Moriarty

Tracy Smith

Betty Vega

The candidates are listed below in random order as they will appear on the ballot:

A link to the candidates’ biographies can be accessed by clicking here.

All members in good standing for 2012/13 are eligible to vote and will be provided access to the ballot on September 10th. We encourage all members to vote!