raised out of 44 teams. The

event brings cancer survivors

and supporters together for a

12 hours walking relay. We

raised close to $3000.

In October 2010 yours truly

was unjustly sent to jail.

Thanks to our chapter for

raising my bail of over $500

and arranging my release.

The March of Dimes is a non-

profit agency dedi-

cated to improving

the health of ba-

bies by preventing

birth defects and

infant mortality.

This was our 3rd

year gift wrapping

at Barnes and No-

bles to raise funds

to support the Can-

cer Wellness

House. We were able to se-

cure 4 days this year and

helped raised over $250 for

this great organization. They

provide emotional support

for people living with cancer

and their families in a home-

like setting.

We celebrated our 4th year

assisting the Marines with

their Toys for Tots program.

This year we were able to

provided 17 volunteers and

over 148 hours of support

I want to say that as your

President Elect and Commu-

nity Service Committee

Chairperson I could not be

more fortunate to be part of

such a great chapter. The

support this chapter has pro-

vided on the numerous com-

munity activities we have

been involved in is astonish-

ing. For the month of De-

cember 2010 alone the

chapter was involved in

5 activities in which 34

chapter members and

their family volunteered

over 252 hours of sup-

port. For a Chapter to

receive a 5 Star rating

they most participate in

5 activities and have at

least 4 members partici-

pate and at least 20

volunteer hours. As of

Dec we already had 9

activities that we have ex-

ceeded the standard. Below is

a few of the activities we have

help support.

Hill Field Elementary has a

strong tie with the base and

we at ASMC have been a con-

tinuous part of this support.

This year we provided testers

for the Presidential Fitness

Exams. At that event, we

help score over 100 kids

tests, promoting fitness in

youth. We also have pro-

vided volunteers for Literacy

Night, Multiple Book Fairs,

Field Day and Santa’s Work-

shop.

This year marked our 3rd

anniversary answering

phones for Children’s Hospi-

tal Telethon. The hospital is

one of the most respected in

the nation and provides ser-

vices for all without concern

for financial stature. This

year 8 of us had the opportu-

nity to answer phones and

help raise funds for the hos-

pital.

We celebrated our 2nd year of

involvement with the Ameri-

can Cancer Society Relay for

Life in style. Our relay team

finished second in funds

ASMC Utah Chapter Shines Within The Community By Bruce Young, President-Elect

Our Five Star Chapter’s

Annual Goals:

INCREASE CDFM CERTIFICATIONS.

INCREASE ATTENDANCE AT LUNCHEONS.

INCREASE ATTENDANCE AT NATIONAL PDI.

“ASMC UTAH CHAPTER SHINES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY” - PRESI-

1-2

DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE ASMC SCHOLAR-

SHIP PROGRAM!

2

2011 SURVEY CHAL-

LENGE 2

WHAT’S HAPPENING…. 3

2011 MINI-PDI REPORT 4

ASMC NATIONAL NEWS 5

HOW TO TAKE THE CERTIFIED DEFENSE FINANCIAL MANAGER EXAM AT HILL AFB

6

CONTACT 6

Inside this issue:

January/February/March 2011 Volume 7, Issue 1

T h e O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e A m e r i c a n S o c i e t y o f M i l i t a r y C o m p t r o l l e r s - U t a h C h a p t e r

The Water Cooler

ASMC members Melanie Luddington, Anna

Dammer, and Bruce Young, along with some of

their family members, volunteering in the 2010

Toys for Tots campaign.

and helped make Christmas possible for over 3000 families. We

also celebrated our 3rd anniversary volunteering with the Salva-

tion Army on the Angel tree distribution. We volunteered over

26 hours helping an additional 2000 families have a better holi-

day season.

In addition, this year marked our first year in support of the

Salvation Army Kettle Campaign. We were bell ringers outside a

local Wal-Mart. We had one of the best days according to the

commander and raised $903.71.

We helped play Santa for a single mother and her 5 daughters.

You all went above and beyond! Our chapter ensured each child

was well taken care of. One of our members donated an $80

gift card to the family’s local grocery store for Christmas

dinner. We also raised $75 cash to help them. I wish you

could have all been there to see the look of gratitude and

relief on the mothers face as we delivered their Christmas.

I am so proud of how much good our chapter does through-

out the community. These are just a few of the events we

are involved in. There are so many members that volunteer

in their churches, schools, scouts and so much more. You

are all the greatest and I look forward to working with each

of you on upcoming events like Relay for Life and Primary

Children’s Telethon. In closing thanks to everyone; you

make us shine!

“ASMC Utah Chapter Shines Within The Community,” cont’d from pg 1

2011 Survey Challenge

Don’t Forget About the ASMC Scholarship Program!

Page 2

“The ASMC

scholarship

program is a

great program

and a

wonderful

opportunity

for deserving

students!”

Only 6 weeks left until the scholarship application deadline! This year the Utah chapter of the American Society of Military Comptrollers is offering four academic scholarships up to $1,000 each. Applicants must be a current ASMC Utah Chapter member (military, civilian, or contractor), a member’s spouse, or their dependant. Applications must be received by March 18, 2011. Scholarship application information and forms are attached. Inquiries and applications should be sent or emailed to the Scholarship Chairperson: Bret Poll 75CPTS/FMA, 7437 6th Street, Bldg. 430, Hill AFB, UT 84056 Phone: 801 777-9054 Email: bret.poll@hill.af.mil This is a great program and wonderful opportunity for deserving students. Our chapter’s Executive Committee is very supportive of this program. They let me increase the amounts and number of schol-arships this year. We will have categories for high school students, undergraduate students and even graduate students. I would encourage you and your family to apply! I hope to see lots of applications start rolling in.

Volume 7, Issue 1

ASMC, along with Grant Thornton LLP, is doing an online survey of defense financial manag-ers. This Defense Financial Management community survey should take only a few minutes to complete, and asks respondents about issues facing the financial community that relate to cost management and savings. Three ASMC chapters with the highest percentage response rate to this survey will receive a cash award.

1st – $300

2nd – $200

3rd – $100

These awards will be based on the number of responses received per chapter divided by the total

paid membership of a chapter as of April 15, 2011. An additional $200 cash award will be given to

the ASMC chapter with the most responses. Please be sure to enter your chapter’s name when

you fill out the survey.

Access the survey before April 15, 2011, using either the hyperlink above or accessing it thru the ASMC website (www.asmconline.org)! Aggregated results of this survey will be published and available on the ASMC website.

Please take the Online Survey of De-

fense Financial Managers prior to

April 15, 2011!

Our next luncheon will be Thursday, March 24th,

11:30 a.m. at ABC Mandarin in Roy (5260 S 1900

W). Our guest speaker will be the 388th Range

Squadron Commander Col David Reth. Col Reth

will speak to us on “The Mission of the Range

Squadron and the Impacts of Funding.” For further

information, please contact Peggy Flores at 801-775-

5350.

….in March? “A Luncheon & Guest Speaker”

….in January? “ASMC Bowling Luncheon”

On January 27th, our chapter had our annual

bowling luncheon at Hilltop Lanes! Here are

some pictures of the fun event!

Page 3 Volume 7, Issue 1

….in February?

“2011 Mini-PDI”

(see page 4 of this newsletter for

details!)

Nancy Wold & Wendy Myers smile for the

camera!

Bob Henry was having fun drinking a

LARRRGGGEEEE beverage!

Our President, Linda Spencer.

Wendy Myers certainly looks like she’s

having a good time!

Lynn Falslev and Troy Waters eagerly

watch the bowling scoreboard….

Alexis Myers takes a break from bowling to

pose for our camera!

A big THANK YOU to our

Mini-PDI Committee

Members:

Daniel Gladwell

James Davis

Bruce Young

Tresithney Peraza

Brad Thomson

Marylou Breitigam

Donna Parada

Ariel Bambrough

Liz Clawson

2011 Mini-PDI

Page 4 Volume 7, Issue 1

Mini-PDI chairman Daniel Gladwell presents a

certificate of appreciation to U.S. Representa-

tive Rob Bishop (R) of Utah’s 1st Congres-

sional District.

Carl Schweinfurth, Hill AFB Comptroller,

presents U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R), with a

certificate of appreciation for taking time to

speak to our chapter.

The Utah Chapter’s 2011 Mini-PDI was a great success! The conference featured 13 different speakers from a variety of backgrounds and

subjects. Two distinguished speakers we’d like to mention were U.S. Representative Rob Bishop and U.S. Senator Mike Lee, who both spoke

to the group on the Federal Budget. Other speakers and their subjects included: Hill AFB Today and in the Future (James O. Sutton III),

Leadership and Self-Deception (Kasey Thompson), ASMC National (Jennifer Sizemore), Career Planning (Desiree Murray), Personal Fi-

nance and TSP (Thom Hall), Peak Energy (Jeffrey Norman), Auditing (Clark Roberts), Economics You Can Use (Kelly Padden), and EBIS

System and Personnel (Andy Flowers).

We also held a raffle. The raffle winners were: quilt, Norma Bradley; Utah Jazz jersey, Donna Parada; Utah Jazz lower bowl tickets (2 to

each winner), Jennifer Shaw, Steven Maurice, and Josh Jackson; condo stay—Laura Traum; shoes—Kimberly Lockhart; and Utah Jazz bas-

ketball—Erica Laplant. Thanks to everyone for participating! Proceeds go to The American Cancer Society and the ASMC Scholarship com-

mittee.

Ms. Desiree Murray, from the Defense Financial

Management & Comptroller School, discussed

tools and ideas for FM Career Planning.

We were happy to have Jennifer Sizemore here

from ASMC National to speak at our local

event! Utah Chapter ASMC members earnestly

listening to a guest speaker.

Chapter member Donna Parada introduces

Andy Flowers, Director of Personnel.

Our VIPs sitting at the head table prior to Rep.

Bishop’s discussion.

Utah Chapter members await the first work-

shop!

Senate rejects House-passed FY2011 Continuing Resolution and Senate alternative (10 Mar 2011): The Sen-

ate rejected both the House-passed FY2011 year-long Continuing Resolution (CR) and an alternative proposed by the Senate Ap-

propriations Committee (SAC). Neither bill attracted the 60 votes required for passage under an agreement between Senate De-

mocrat and Republican leaders. The current CR runs out on March 18 and many believe that the next short-term CR, expected to

be about a month, offers the best chance of finding some common ground. The House is already preparing the next short-term CR

because there is little chance of agreement by next week and there is almost no support for a government shut down.

President signs bill extending FY2011 Continuing Resolution until March 18 (2 Mar 2011): The President

signed a bill extending the FY2011 Continuing Resolution until March 18, 2011, right before Congress begins a one-week recess.

The House passed the measure on March 1, 2011, and the Senate followed quickly the morning of March 2,2011. The way ahead

for finalizing appropriations for FY2011 remains unclear.

SES initiative to enhance career development and expand recruiting (22 Feb 2011): Members of the Senior

Executive Service (SES) will receive more programs aimed at enhancing career development, improving performance manage-

ment, and expanding recruitment efforts under a new initiative called the SES Initiative. To further enhance development efforts,

OPM is planning to introduce a one-year “on boarding program” to aid an employee’s transition into an executive role.

Secretary Gates testifies on the FY2012 DoD budget and warns of consequences of funding DoD under a

CR (18 Feb 2011): Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ADM Mike Mullen, testified

before the House (HASC) and Senate (SASC) Armed Services Committees on the FY2012 budget. Secretary Gates said the FY2012

budget request, although lower than previously planned, “will make it possible to protect the U.S. military’s global reach and

fighting strength.” He told members of both committees that the budget reflects almost two years of work to “reduce overhead,

cull troubled and excess programs, and rein in personnel and contractor costs.” Also, Gates again addressed the serious conse-

quences of the significant cut to defense resources if FY2011 were funded under a year-long continuing resolution (CR). He

warned that cutting the FY2011 DoD budget to $523 billion (assumed in a year-long CR) would cause delays and increased costs

for procurement and research programs, hinder new program starts, and disrupt production of programs needed for war. In addi-

tion, he said, because the cuts would most likely fall heaviest on operations and maintenance, it would mean “fewer flying hours,

fewer steaming days, and cutbacks in training.”

FY2012 DoD base budget request totals $553 billion (14 Feb 2011): The FY2012 DoD base budget request, an-

nounced on February 14, 2011, totals $553.1 billion. The budget also requests $117.8 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations.

The FY2012 DoD budget supports four main objectives: 1) maintaining and strengthening the commitment to caring for the all-

volunteer force; 2) balancing the U.S. defense posture; 3) continuing support for deployed personnel; and 4) reforming the way

DoD does business and allocates resources (shifting funds from “tail to tooth”).

Deputy Secretary Lynn and Service leaders testify on defense efficiencies (28 Jan 2011): Deputy Secretary Bill

Lynn told the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) this week that DoD’s new budget plan “strikes the right balance for these

difficult times.” Testifying along with the Vice Chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and the Assistant Commandant of the

Marine Corps, Lynn said the fiscal pressures facing the U.S. require DoD to “make the most out of every dollar entrusted to us.”

The Federal Budget: How low will it go? (26 Jan 2011): The business of cutting the federal budget has begun. The

question is: how low will the budget go? There is general agreement in the Congress and in the body politic that the record-high

federal budget deficits ($1.3 trillion in FY2010) are a huge problem and must be cut drastically. And there also seems to be gen-

eral agreement that a sharp cut in the federal discretionary budget (that part of the budget enacted in appropriations by Con-

gress), which totaled over $1.2 trillion in FY2011, must be an important part of the solution to this problem.

All these stories can be found at this hyperlink: http://www.asmconline.org/category/news/.

ASMC National News: January/February/March 2011

Page 5 Volume 7, Issue 1

Many ASMC members have studied, taken classes, or attended seminars to prepare them for the Certified Defense Fi-nancial Manager exams. You can now take the tests here at Hill AFB. Unfortunately, due to firewall incompatibilities, the on-line version of the exam is no longer a possibility on Base. To take an on-line exam at the Salt Lake City testing center, the instructions are given on the ASMC web site http://www.asmconline.org/certification/cdfm-information/. If you’d like to take the paper and pencil version of the exam here at Hill AFB, follow the steps below; if you have any questions, please contact Joel Hatch, 586-2183.

1. See the American Society for Military Comptroller’s web site concerning the CDFM testing and become familiar with the information. http://www.asmccertification.com/.

2. Complete the CDFM Enrollment Form and pay the $35.00 (fee for ASMC members). http://www.asmconline.org/certification/cdfm-forms/program-enrollment/

3. When you have received the letter verifying your enrollment in the CDFM Program, contact Matthew Mason, 777-

9964, Paul Merola, 775-3293 (or any Test Control Officer) in the Base Training Office, Bldg 383 (north of the Base Bowling Alley) to schedule a test time. You’ll need to schedule your exam 3-4 weeks in the future to allow for the mailing of your exam copy.

4. E-mail Shelly Johnson, Director for Certification, Johnsons@asmconline.org to request a “Special Arrangement” exam. Let her know the test module you are requesting, the date you’d like to take the test and your CDFM ID num-ber from your enrollment letter, and our location—Hill AFB.

5. Once you get permission from ASMC to register, you will receive the information you need to register on-line for the “Special Arrangement” exam. Note: you will need a bank card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover or Am Express) to pay the $95.00 exam fee. As part of the registration, you will choose a test user ID and password for the test.

6. On the testing day, go to Bldg 383 15 minutes before your exam time. You will have two hours to take the exam module. ASMC will later mail you the results.

7. When you have completed all three exam modules for the CDFM, you can then submit the paperwork for reim-bursement. Please see the “Certification (CDFM)” tab of the ASMC web page, “CDFM Info, Policies, AF Reimburse-ment Policy,” for the current Air Force policy. Employees must meet the eligibility requirements to qualify.

How to Take the Certified Defense Financial Manager Exam At Hill AFB

Linda Spencer, President, 586-0555

Bruce Young, President-Elect & Community Service, 775-2650 Scott Johnson, Past President, 777-9202

Brad Thomson, Treasurer, 777-7802 Tris Peraza, Secretary/Historian, 775-3575

Wendy Myers, Awards, 777-3558 Joel Hatch, CDFM, 586-2183

Liz Clawson, CDFM, 777-2369 Gina Patterson, Elections & Fundraisers, 586-1247

Nancy Wold, Fundraisers, 586-1242 Brooke Wallwork, Membership, 775-4347

Daniel Gladwell, Mini PDI, 777-8365 Amanda Davidson, Newsletter, 586-1047

Peggy Flores, Programs/Publicity, 775-5350 Bret Poll, Scholarships, 777-9054

Michael Chinn, Webmaster, 801-779-1800 ext 124

Page 6