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Local Managers Graduate with Certification, Valuable Training

The Ohio Certified Public Manager (OCPM) program graduated the first class from southeastern Ohio, along with about 40 other students from across the state. The ten regional public managers who completed the rigorous two-year training program join a growing number of others from local, county and state governments who have been certified through this unique program.

Through OCPM, participants develop the leadership, managerial skills and tools specific to the challenges of public sector management in the 21st century. Graduates leave the program with knowledge, work-related projects and a new network of valuable contacts to benefit their communities and the entire region. Graduation ceremonies were held in Columbus on Friday, October 11, 2002.

The Ohio Department of Administrative Services has worked with Ohio’s state universities to bring OCPM to public managers in all regions of the state. The first

OCPM class began in 1998 in Columbus and the program was extended in 2000 to include public managers in other regions, including southeastern Ohio. Classes are offered in Athens and Chillicothe, and a new site in Zanesville will open in April 2003.

This year’s graduates were from the Athens program, which drew public managers from all over southeast Ohio, including Washington, Fairfield, Lawrence, Noble, Vinton, Athens, Ross, Hocking and Muskingum counties.

"I've really been impressed with the caliber of the managers in the program,” said Dick Lusk, Zaleski State Forest manager, who graduated today. “These people are truly the best and brightest people in public service today, and because of the OCPM program, I hope they are going to revolutionize the way government agencies are operated."

Even before graduating, OCPM participants begin instituting changes at their work places through OCPM projects. Each student completed an individual project relating to his or her specific agency—from evaluating current procedures to implementing new training measures. A group project also is required.

In his individual project, Lusk worked with his staff to develop a self-directed work team that equipped them to take on more day-to-day management responsibilities. The staff subsequently brainstormed ways to reduce operating costs and implemented several ideas, two of which realized an immediate $4,000 savings.

“These two ideas alone have nearly paid for the cost of sending me through the OCPM program,” Lusk said.

Lusk also took part in a group project, which addressed teen-agers’ use of Ohio state parks. Group members developed a model that enables individual parks to research and increase park visits among this age group.

In Chillicothe Mayor Margaret Planton already has seen concrete improvements from one graduate, her city’s safety-service director, Randy Sneddon.

Planton says OCPM training sharpened Sneddon’s “ability to take a look at issues thoroughly and methodically when they come up and [widened] the breadth of questions he looks at.

“OCPM has more than met my expectations as I’ve seen this new method of approach in his work and the issues he has been able to bring to the table,” Planton said.

For individuals, completing the program results in workplace efficiency ideas, work-related problem-solving skills and planning acumen. Many participants have advanced their careers as a direct result.

Mark West, who was promoted to manager of Muskingum River Parkway and Blue Rock State Park during his OCPM training, said networking among the graduating southeastern Ohio class might have profound effects on the region.

“One of the real attributes of the program is a group of public managers—whether from city, county or state governments—goes through this program together, and that really develops some good contacts,” he said. “I think in the future…you’ll see some more partnerships developing between, for example, city agencies and state agencies. They’ll be pooling their resources to accomplish the best for that area.”

At a time when fewer college graduates are choosing public service and today’s managers near retirement age, agencies can look to OCPM for a valuable career development option to groom the best and brightest managers and reap long-term benefits for their agencies, communities and state.

“OCPM has been a blessing to Ohio State Parks,” said Dan West, chief of Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Division. “With well over 50 percent of our managers retiring in the next five years and 90 percent in 10 years, this program has provided many of our new supervisors with professional management training that is timely, affordable and focused on managing in the public sector.”

The next OCPM class, beginning April 11, 2003, will be based at Ohio University-Zanesville. Applications are available immediately, and the deadline is March 16, 2003. Applications and more information can be obtained at www.ilgard.ohiou.edu/ocpm or by contacting the Marcia Nation, southeast Ohio CPM program site manager, at 1-877-321-OCPM or nation@ohio.edu.

Southeast Ohio’s CPM program is coordinated by the Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development at Ohio University’s Voinovich Center for Leadership & Public Affairs in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.