e x e c uti v e d i r e c t o r ’ s m es s ag e E
xcellence in Local Government Finance is a Team Sport! Finance professionals entering local government from the private sector, or other public sectors for that matter, soon realize that local government is different—not good or bad, just different. While local governments themselves can be quite unique reflecting the communities that they serve, for all new-to-local government finance professionals a big part of thriving in the local government sector ultimately comes down to understanding that local government finance is a team sport. Newcomers who find their stride quickly often to do so with a huge amount of support from their network of colleagues. For those who have attended Boot Camp over the years, the Finance Officer Development Program has provided a jumping off point for establishing not only a solid foundation in local government finance, but also establishing a network of colleagues that they can reach out to for support—support throughout the long and often unrelenting days of Boot Camp, but more importantly support through their first budget, first LGDE, first municipal election, first pandemic, etc., and indeed throughout their careers. Boot Camp is predicated on the understanding that local government is unique from the private sector and unique among other public sectors, such as universities, for example. It was developed to meet a growing need for new and not-so-new local government finance professionals to get up to speed quickly on the fundamental elements of their role, including the legislative framework in which they work. Underpinning the program however is the opportunity to build a network of colleagues from those on your team to those more
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experienced finance professionals and partners delivering the program each day. Over the course of five days, teams jump quickly from introductions to completing various challenges in pursuit of the Golden Boot. It is always interesting to see how each team initially shows up either ready for the challenge or resigned to their fate. By the third day, everyone has realized that resistance is futile. In person, attendees begin to lean into the team spirit by decorating their tables in their team colours—these can become hilarious monuments to objects representing their colours. In Zoom, team spirit is demonstrated with virtual backgrounds, props, and make-up – special shout out to Green Team for their virtual background prowess, Yellow Team for being GILTy of some bad jokes, and the entire class for the very Brady Boot Camp surprise! By the end of day five, what we hope is that everyone leaves with a solid foundation in local government finance, a network of colleagues to reach out to, had fun while doing it, and has realized that success and indeed excellence in local government finance is a team sport! Congratulations to the Green Team, winners of the coveted virtual Golden Boot, and this year’s Deb Humphrey Scholarship Award winner, Tamara Nelson from the District of Ucluelet. Thank you to the faculty and guest presenters, who shared their knowledge and expertise with this year’s Boot Camp class. And lastly, thank you to the GFOABC Boot Camp Team, Lya Iglesias, Emily Lewis and Dave Malcolm for their assistance in delivering this year’s program. Kala Harris, Excutive Director
