President's Message
Greetings Texas PRIMA family and Happy 2022! Just to be clear we are not looking for a 2020+too! I am excited about what opportunities this new year brings, specifically for Texas PRIMA. We had a great recovery year this past year being able to bring our annual conference back live in Galveston with a Bang! and we are in a great position because of it.
I also want to wish a warm welcome to Bridget Chustz-Morrison, Kaltrina Minick, and Retha Youell to the board. We are excited to have these new board members on and look forward to their contribution and partnership to help make Texas PRIMA even better. I am pleased to see we have three highly qualified board members with their experience to share a fresh perspective with this great association.
I would like to say that as we move forward into 2022, I want our focus as an association to be that of Re-Engagement. I challenge each of us to see how we can individually re-engage ourselves to our profession, our employers, our families, and this association striving for personal and professional growth and development. I want to challenge our membership and our sponsors and exhibitors to re-engage in the networking and education opportunities upon which Texas PRIMA was founded. I have challenged the board to look for opportunities to focus on expanding membership not only by public entities risk management professionals, but all categories of membership to include risk pool, corporate and even student members, as we think outside the box about how we normally recruit new members, sponsors, and exhibitors. I want to see us look for partnership opportunities where we can best promote industry best practices through education and networking opportunities with other organizations. We will have an example of that as Texas will be the location for the National PRIMA Conference in San Antonio June 5-8, which I hope each of you can attend. Texas PRIMA will be hosting a pre-conference event to wish a warm Texas PRIMA welcome to our national partners.
If the past few years has taught us anything, it is that we can adapt and overcome any challenge and sometimes new and better processes come out of that. We saw that first hand these past two years for Texas PRIMA - as we pivoted in 2020 to a full virtual conference, the addition of Coffee Talks, and expanded webinars; then into 2021 building on this trend to a hybrid in-person and virtual conference with the highest conference attendance as well as the highest number of first-time attendees.
One method of engagement for members is to serve on committees. Texas PRIMA has the following committees on which members can serve and each committee has a board member who serves as committee chair.
- Education and Webinar
- Member Services
- Newsletter
- Website and Social Media
If you are interested in serving on one of our committees, please let us know and we’d love to connect with you through the committee chair.
Also, we also have opportunities for members to engage by being active in our Members Only Community found on our new web platform. This might look familiar as this is the same platform used for the 2021 annual conference and virtual expo. I encourage each of you to share in this community by engaging with our membership around challenges and shared resources. Start by uploading your profile photo! At the top right of the Community, click on the arrow next to your name then click on view profile and you'll see the options to upload a profile photo and cover photo.
Lastly, membership is encouraged to engage by attending our education and networking events to include our webinars, regional seminars, and Coffee Talks. We also are very excited to LAUNCH this year’s annual conference and expo as we explore the SPACE of Risk Management: The Universe of Uncertainty. Your Texas PRIMA board has already begun planning for this year’s conference in Frisco as we aim for the MOON…. Sorry, I mean Frisco for the Texas PRIMA Annual Conference and Expo November 13-16, 2022 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Dallas Frisco Hotel Convention Center & Spa.
Thank you all for your commitment to Texas PRIMA and helping fulfill our purpose:
- Increase the proficiency of risk management in governmental agencies, political subdivisions thereof and school districts;
- Strengthen the quality of risk management through continuing education;
- Be an educational and research organization for the benefit of governments, governmental agencies, political subdivisions thereof, school districts and other special district units through the State of Texas;
- Provide the members the opportunity to exchange ideas, to consult with one another, to meet persons in or associated with public risk management, and to supply members with information concerning their organization;
- Act in any manner which will further the best interests of governmental agencies, political subdivisions, schools and other special districts in their risk management activities.
Look forward to engaging with you all soon!
Robert Warren, CRM, IPMA-SCP,
Texas PRIMA President
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Educational Committee Update
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Another year, another chance to take advantage of all the educational opportunities Texas PRIMA has to offer. Covid-19 will not hold us back from learning about the best practices in our respective fields. The Texas PRIMA Education Committee has been hard at work and will continue offering coffee talks, webinars and regional seminars throughout the year. Many members already have volunteered to serve on the Education Committee, but we continue to welcome new members and new ideas throughout the year. Last year’s conference surveys have been reviewed and we are committed to provide educational opportunities in which our members are most interested.
In February, we had the opportunity to listen to Nancy McKenzie from the City of Arlington discuss her award-winning recovery program. Lance Nauman of the Katy ISD Risk Management Department discussed their successful approach to dealing with COVID in a large school district. Almost 50 members attended the coffee talk, and the feedback was positive. The recording can be found in the Community under Resources/Archived Presentations.
Join us Wednesday, March 23rd at 9am for a webinar " What the CDL? New Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations".
In this webinar, Diana Clendenin from the City of College Station will be bringing us up to date on the newest Regulations in the CDL field.
We want to hear from you! Please let us know if you have specific topics you would like to learn about this year. Also, if you have a story to share with members about an obstacle you overcame or a valuable lesson learned, please let us know so we can schedule a coffee talk or webinar with you (email [email protected]). We could even create a panel discussion around your topic for Texas PRIMA members. You never know how your story can inspire, inform and help someone who is going through something similar. These opportunities to connect are more important now than ever.
A big thank you to the members of the 2022 Education Committee. We know you are all extremely busy, and we appreciate you taking the time to contribute your ideas and talents for Texas PRIMA members.
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Happy Public Risk Awareness Day
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The goal of Public Risk Management Day is to bring a heightened level of awareness and education throughout communities by giving public risk management a platform to use as a springboard to create special activities, proclamations and publications commemorating every March 1st as Public Risk Management Awareness Day! Click here for the toolkit and be sure to tag #texasprima on social media so we can all celebrate together.
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Congratulations to Stephen Tovar, Senior Director at North East ISD, on his retirement!
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Congratulations to Norma Martinez on her retirement from the City of Sugar Land! Norma has started a new position with City of Houston.
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Farewell to long-time Texas PRIMA friend Archie Kountz who passed away December 26th. His son's tribute can be found here.
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Congratulations to Mandy Riske on her promotion to Risk Management Program Coordinator for the City of San Marcos! Mandy has the most beautiful cover photo in her Texas PRIMA Community profile! Go check it out and tell Many congratulations on her newsfeed.
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Congratulations Kaltrina Minick!
On February 16th Kaltrina officially became a United States Citizen!!
I was born in 1986 in Kosovo, and when I was 6 years old my family and I immigrated to Germany to escape the growing tensions in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Once in Germany, the plan was to finish High School and pursue a career as a Professional Tennis Player. A major injury prevented that path, and I decided to accept a Tennis Scholarship at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas instead. With $400 in my pocket and my tennis rackets I headed to the USA in 2007. In my freshman year at Lamar University, I met my future husband Matthew but our paths wouldn't cross again until 8 years later. I obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Lamar University and a Master's in Public Administration. I started working at the City of Beaumont in 2012 and won the H-1B Working Visa lottery in 2013 to remain in the country. While at the City of Beaumont my now husband Matthew and I reconnected and we were legally married in 2017. We welcomed our son Connor in 2019 and in 2022, I officially became a United State Citizen.
It has often been said that " Only in America can someone start with nothing and achieve the American Dream-that's the greatness of this Country". For those who know me and my story, know that I am a true testimony to that saying.
Becoming a United Stated Citizen was an incredibly humbling experience for me and I feel very privileged and honored to be taken in by the greatest country in the world.
God Bless America
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McGriff provides risk management solutions to tax-supported institutions, city and state governments, educational and transportation districts, and non-profit agencies. We are intimately familiar with the exposures faced by the public sector as well as the usual constraints related to budgets and staffing. Because every public entity has special needs all their own, we search the globe to find just the right fit. Whether its alternative risk transfer vehicles such as self-insured pools, offshore captives, loss portfolio transfers, OCIP programs, or foreign reinsurance placements, the McGriff team has the contacts and resources to get the job done. In addition, we have significant internal experts such as transportation risk management consultants to provide expertise and resources to owners of large bus/auto fleets.
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