Hello Chapter Members,
July Membership Meeting. Please join us on Friday, July 11, 2025, for our Chapter Membership Meeting: Join us for Chapter Ambassador Fatima Calkins providing an NIGP update. Price is $15 in-person attendance, including box lunch, and $0.00 virtual attendance. The Chapter Membership Meeting and presentation is 12:00 PM (lunch in-person), 12:30 PM meeting, and presentation at 1PM. Register at July 11, 2025 Membership Meeting and Presentation - Events - Central Florida Chapter of NIGP.
Officer Nominations. Interested in becoming an officer? Call for nominations is this year. You are welcome to shadow any officer, come to board meetings, etc. Applications are available on our website (log in, go to member resources, document library, chapter documents, and officer application folder to download documents) and are due July 16, 2025 to Kristine Rodriguez at kristine.rodriguez@osceolaschools.net. We will vote on Offices at the September 2025 meeting.
LAST CHANCE for Pro-D Opportunities Scholarships (Closing on Wednesday, July 9, 2025)
- Name: Leadership Summit - Edge / Impact (up to $1,500 value). Courses may begin in the Fall of 2025.
Dates: Wednesday, Feb 18, 2026 to Friday, Feb 20, 2026 (3 days)
Format: Virtual and In-Person, El Conquistador, A Hilton Resort, Tucson, Arizona
Included: Registration and Airfare (purchased in 2025) costs ONLY. Does not include hotel, extra travel, or per diem expenses.
Up to two (2) members, or as decided by the committee, may be selected for this opportunity.
- Name: Specialization Certificate: Technology Procurement Virtual Class ($520 value, 28 contact hours)
Dates: Monday, December 8, 2025, 8:00 AM until Wednesday, December 10, 2025, 5:00 PM Eastern Time: (3 days)
Format: Virtual
Up to ten (10) members, or as determined by the committee, may be selected for this opportunity.
Register for the surveys on our website Home - Central Florida Chapter of NIGP! You will need to log in to your account and be an Active Member. The surveys close on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. NOTE: This is the last day to register for the surveys.
NIGP Outstanding Chapter Finalist in 2025. I am honored to inform you that the Central Florida Chapter of NIGP is one of three finalists for the coveted 2025 Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award for Membership. Congratulations! The Outstanding Chapter awards will be announced during the NIGP Annual Awards Luncheon on Monday, July 28th, in Denver.
NIGP FORUM July 27 - 30, 2025 in Denver, CO (In-Person). Are you going to FORUM? Let me know, president@cfcnigp.org. There may be an opportunity for us to sit together during plenary sessions, award luncheon, meet up, and share ideas. Come see the Chapter display on Monday, July 28, from 1:30 – 5:00 PM and Tuesday July 29 from 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM at the Procurement Excellence Showcase in the Expo Hall! We are showcasing work by Chapter Member Heidee M Santiago-Rullan, NIGP-CPP, PPA, CPPB, Orange County, Florida!
Reverse Trade Show. Join us on Friday, November 7, 2025 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld!!!
- Event Registration: Registrations for vendors, agencies, and the room raffle survey are located at Home - Central Florida Chapter of NIGP on the home page.
- Rooms: Scholarship points can be used for hotel rooms the day before and night of the event! A room raffle is on our website for Chapter Full Members that are registered for RTS full day and live 25 miles from the hotel location. The survey closes on August 31, 2025.
- Volunteer Opportunities: Contact me if you would like to volunteer for RTS! There are virtual opportunities before the event and in-person opportunities on the day of the event.
- Marketing Materials: Sample emails, a flyer, and QR codes have been sent out to the membership. Please use them to market for your vendors to attend.
University of West Florida and Florida APEX Accelerator Reverse Trade Show.
- The University of West Florida, Florida SBDC Network State Office, in conjunction with the Small Business Success Summit, the Florida APEX Accelerator, would love your participation at a Reverse Trade Show. Their Reverse Trade Show is on Monday, August 18, 2025, 9 AM – 12 PM, at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 2900 Bayport Drive, Tampa, FL 33607. The number of attendees is approximately 150-200.
- If you are interested, contact Jessica Tenney, Program Manager at Phone: 850.361.3843 or Email: jtenney@uwf.edu to reserve a table for you and advertise your participation at the event.
- Benefits are getting in front of 150+ new small businesses and ongoing collaboration with our organization to help agencies increase visibility to their opportunities and encourage Florida businesses to bid that will ultimately help with our local economy. Last year we were sold out. Plus, several individuals from our APEX and SBDC network will be attending so they will get to connect with them too.
Pro-D Opportunities Scholarships. Congratulations to our NIGP FORUM scholarship winners!
NIGP FORUM (In-Person)
- Marisole Ordonez, City of Sanford
- Damaris Nazario, Toho Water Authority
NIGP FORUM (Virtual)
- Arima Santana, Seminole State College
- Gwendolyn Jordan-McKinney, Orange County Government
- Inga Campbell Fegley, County of Volusia
- Selda Vasquez-McMahan, City of Palm Bay
By-Laws Update. We voted at our May Membership Meeting on Friday, May 23rd, 2025 to update our By-Laws. The updates reflect a reorganization of the Board of Directors.
Engagement. I want to encourage members to evaluate talents and strengths and identify if there are any committees or task forces opportunities that you would be willing to volunteer for in 2025. Committee chair, member, and RTS positions are available. We have a lot of work to do as a chapter this year and we can benefit from having active volunteers. Please do not hesitate to contact me or one of the other board members with any questions you might have. Let’s make this year a fantastic year for your Chapter!
Thank you!
Tabatha Freedman, MBA, NIGP-CPP, CPPO, CPPB
2024-2025 President
president@cfcnigp.org