The AGA Portland Chapter is a professional organization dedicated to the advancement of government financial management and government accountability. The Chapter supports the careers and professional development of government finance professionals working in federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector and academia. Our members are offered opportunities to attend educational programs, participate in community service activities, and network with other members from various areas of the profession.

Our Chapter holds monthly board meetings and we encourage members to attend to discuss chapter activities. We also invite members to consider joining the board. The time commitment is minimal and the benefits include leadership experience and opportunities for scholarships to high quality national conferences.  Board meetings are generally held the second Thursday of the month at 4:30, on east Burnside in Portland.  Please contact Lee Ball at 503-464-6524 to learn more.

Training:

Our annual spring conference will be held on May 14, 2019 at the BPA Rates Hearing Room near the Lloyd Center in Portland.  We hope you can join us and welcome suggestions and recommendations about topics and speakers for future trainings.

Community Service:

There are many opportunities to volunteer in the Portland area.  We have a group membership on the Hands on Greater Portland website to help coordinate volunteer activities.  We participated in the following events in the past and plan to schedule more group volunteer activities soon.

• Sorting books donated by Powells at the Free School for Teachers store in NE Portland.  The store is operated by Schoolhouse Supplies, a non-profit that provides books and supplies to teachers for use in their classrooms.

• Participating in the Doggy Dash to support the Oregon Humane Society, held in May at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

• Supporting the Cat Adoption Team by caregiving for adoptable cats and volunteering at their annual fundraising event in November.

• Repackaging food at the Oregon Food Bank.

• Ushering at the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

• Volunteering at the annual Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland in July.

• Volunteering at the BPA Science Fair for middle and high school students

• Assisting low income and elderly with tax preparation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program

We hope you will join team AGA in supporting these worthwhile causes and having fun while giving back to the community. If you have a favorite not-for-profit that could use some help let us know. We are open to new ideas. We’ll keep you posted on upcoming volunteer opportunities in the community page of our website. For questions or to sign-up, please contact our community service chair Shelia Deng at agapdx.comsvc@gmail.com.

We look forward to another successful year for our chapter, but we can’t do it without your help and support!  We invite you to join the board, volunteer at one of our community events or speak at spring training.  We very much welcome your ideas and involvement.

Sincerely,

Kathy Griffith, Chapter President