AGA TOPICS Newsletter

From the National President
Jeffrey S. Hart, CGFM, CFE

I was very pleased to accept the gavel as your National President at the recent PDC, and I'm humbled to be included among the many giants of our profession who have held the AGA gavel before me. As some of you have already heard me say over the last year as President-Elect, I am Excited to Serve! And I want you to get excited too because we have lots of good reasons to get excited. We need your help, and every ounce of energy you put into AGA comes back to benefit you in real, tangible ways! Before I go further, I want to thank my predecessor, Immediate Past President Sam M. McCall, CGFM, for his outstanding leadership over the last year. Sam epitomizes the phrase, "a scholar, and a gentleman," and I'm truly honored to have the opportunity to continue the great work he did last year.

I want to thank the Honorable Nikki Tinsley, the recently retired EPA Inspector General, and my new boss, Acting EPA Inspector General William Roderick, for supporting me in accepting this honor. I also want to thank the Nominating Committee and all my AGA friends and mentors who have taught and encouraged me along the way. I especially want to thank my wife Roxy who has always been the biggest supporter of all my dreams, including the one that came true the day I accepted the gavel as your National President.

This year, I’ve chosen the theme, Creating Exceptional Value for Government Accountability Professionals, and I’d like to talk about why I’m excited, and how, based on our shared passion for government accountability, we’ll continue to create value for our Association, our profession, and the American people.

I thought I’d start by telling you just a little about my journey to the AGA National Presidency. The seeds were sown when President Kennedy issued his famous call to public service. I was too young to be captivated in the moment by his words. But, later, when I was making career decisions, the echo of his words were with me when I saw a posting on a bulletin board for a job as an intern with an agency then called the General Accounting Office. Like many others of my generation, at that time, I was somewhat disillusioned by government in the wake of the Vietnam War and Watergate. But something in that posting called to me. An agency I’d never heard of was making government more efficient and effective and more accountable to the people. And there it was! Something I could do to make a difference. I became an intern at GAO and I’ve never looked back. I spent the first half of my career there before moving to EPA in1991.

We’ve each experienced moments that have shaped our lives and made us the people we are today. One such moment for me came almost 10 years ago when I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, considered one of the most deadly forms of cancer. Anyone whose life has been touched by cancer may appreciate that I had to wait 6 long, interminable days to find out how serious it was. During those 6 days, I accepted the fact that I might receive news that was tantamount to a death sentence. In this acceptance, in my surrender to the facts of my situation, I realized something very profound. I had lost any fear of death. Luckily, the cancer had been caught early and it hadn’t spread, and I am now well past the point where I can use the word, “cured.”

What did I learn from this? I found out that when you lose your fear of death, you also lose your fear of just about everything else. It’s very liberating, and very empowering! It set me free to fully realize my dreams, and to experience all the richness of life with my family, my friends, and through my work. I think it also set me free to become the leader that each one of us can be. So, I was ripe for the challenge when I was encouraged to run for National President. Had it not been for my recent epiphany and liberation, I might’ve been afraid to try it. But I had become fearless, and because of that, I felt like I had something important I could give to AGA. So, that’s how I ended up here today, looking forward with tremendous excitement to the year ahead.

But you don’t have to create, or wait for, the kind of wake-up call I received to find the leader within you. Life is short, and we all have the power to liberate ourselves from the fear that comes with putting ourselves out there, taking a risk, and trying to leave things just a little bit better than we found them. It’s a simple choice we each have, and I’m asking you all to make that choice by getting excited about the important work we’re doing in AGA and as government accountability professionals.

“Accountability” is an essential element of democracy, and we’re at the forefront! AGA is playing a critical role in making government more accountable to the people it serves, and there has truly never been a better time to be one of AGA’s 14,000-plus members. We’re witnessing record-breaking attendance at our national conferences--including the recent PDC in San Diego. Our CGFM program continues to grow and its influence expands with every passing year. And our research and performance reporting programs are contributing to AGA’s growing reputation as the thought leader in government accountability. Quite simply, it’s a very exciting time for our Association and our profession.

All of these successes are attributable to many factors and many people over the years, not the least of which is our Executive Director, Relmond Van Daniker, and the rest of our fine staff.

This year, we’ll be putting the focus on “Creating Exceptional Value” for you, the AGA member, for your employer, and for all the people who rely on and pay for government. What do I mean by “creating exceptional value”? I mean we are going to be guided by our core AGA values of Service, Accountability, Integrity, and Leadership. As far as service, we’re going to find new and better ways to serve you, and our mission. We’re going to aggressively seek out new and exciting ways to advance government accountability. Our integrity will ensure that we always walk our talk and that AGA is the role model for all the important things we stand for. And we will stretch ourselves, each one of us, to find and be the leader each one of us was meant to be.

Recently I saw a quote by Department of Labor CFO Sam Mok, who’s a new member of AGA’s National Executive Committee. Sam said, “I want my staff to be people others come to because they want to, not because they have to.” Now, think about how that statement applies to AGA. We’ve put the programs and services in place and the people we serve are responding. Our membership grew this year, and more and more government leaders are coming to AGA for assistance and advice because they want what we have to offer.

Relmond is fond of saying, “People want to be part of a winner.” I couldn’t agree more. As we continue to advance government accountability and remain true to our core values, people will continue to come to AGA because they want to. They’re coming because they respect who we are and what we have to say. And every one of you is a part of that!

So, I hope you agree that we have many good reasons to get excited about AGA, and lots of ways to serve and create value. There’s so much important work to do. It’s going to take each one of us reaching out, digging a little deeper, and finding that thing within ourselves that makes us want to do more and to be more. It’s going to take each one of us remembering that critical juncture in our lives when we chose public service over all the other options we were presented with. It’s going to take each of us, rediscovering that energy and enthusiasm for the important work we do, and reminding ourselves of not only why we came to government, but why we stay. It’s going to take all of us getting excited about the Association we love. And it’s going to take all of us, feeling empowered, and being just a little bit fearless.

Clearly we’re doing something right. The ballroom at the recent PDC was filled to capacity with people who want some of what AGA has to offer, and I am excited to be able to play just a small part in it. As Relmond also likes to say, “This is not your Parent’s AGA.” And he’s right! 

This is YOUR AGA, and it’s a new and exciting AGA!

Let me leave you with a couple of questions…

Will you share your passion for government accountability, and help get others excited?

I ask you right now, will you choose to Get Excited?

Will you choose to serve AGA, your profession, your country, and ultimately yourself?

President Ronald Reagan said, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Well, everything you put into AGA, and everything AGA accomplishes, comes back around to benefit you! Thank you so much for the great honor of being your National President.

Now, let’s have some fun, and LETS GET EXCITED!