12:30 PM – Welcome and Networking

1:00 PM – Call Business Meeting to Order

1. Secretary Report
2. Treasurers Report
3. Membership Report
4. Governance Report
5. Professional Development Report
6. Communications Report
7. Programs Report
8. Vice President Report
9. President Report
10. Old Business
11. New Business
12. Nominations
13. Adjourn

1:45 PM – Break and Networking

2:00 PM – Hybrid Professional Development Program: "Stuck in a Low Bid World? Recommendations to Adopt Next Practices TODAY"

Jake Smithwick, PH.D, MPA Dr. Jake Smithwick is a professor at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. His research focuses on organizational performance benchmarking within procurement, facility management, construction, and business services. His industry experience includes work on more than $500M of procured services, field inspection of nearly 2,000 roofing systems across the United States, and six years in the US Air Force Reserve (civil engineering squadron). He is a board member of the Center for Procurement Excellence.

"Stuck in a Low Bid World? Recommendations to Adopt Next Practices TODAY" Let’s cut straight to the chase: low-bid procurement is extremely risky and has far-reaching negative impacts on many parts of our work. As a result, quality decreases and the owner receives an inferior product. We are at a crossroads: continue the status quo on project procurement or make the change to leverage expertise. Through real examples and practical advice, procurement professionals can learn to become the industry’s “client of choice.”

Please note that suppliers and non-governmental entities are not eligible for MN NIGP membership and some resources may only be available to MN NIGP members.