October 2024 Edition

CMRTA 2024 Annual Conference Highlight

Dear CMRTA Members, 

We wanted to take a moment to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your participation and attendance at the 2024 CMRTA Annual Conference. Your engagement and enthusiasm contributed significantly to the event's success.

This year's conference was a remarkable opportunity for knowledge exchange and professional development. We had insightful presentations from esteemed speakers, interactive breakout sessions, and valuable networking opportunities. It was inspiring to see so many dedicated professionals come together to share their expertise and innovative ideas.

Below are highlights from the 2024 CMRTA Navigating Financial Runways: Taking Off to Revenue Success CMRTA conference:

Standout Topics

Personal Branding - LinkedIn Optimization - Session hosted by Ryder Todd Smith

Ryder Todd Smith opened the conference strong with his session on increasing your influence via LinkedIn—one of the most powerful tools for networking—showing work-related achievements and scouting in today’s day and age. Through updating and actively using LinkedIn, Ryder shared how much greater your sphere of influence can become. 

Becoming a Person of Influence - Session hosted by Marie Knight 

Marie Knight came in at the perfect time to get the attendees excited about their personal growth. With a session dedicated to leadership and becoming a leader, each attendee left feeling inspired on how to continuously become a strong person of influence each day and make an impact in their work.

Legislative Update - Session hosted by Connor Duckworth 

Connor Duckworth provided an invaluable session on current legislative updates. This session offered insight into legislation that is going into effect or being considered in the near future. Attendees got to ask questions and learn more about what each city is attempting to implement.

Exchange of Expertise - Session hosted by Ricky Hawblitzel

Ricky Hawblitzel allowed the audience to speak and ask questions to their fellow attendees about ongoing issues in their cities. Breaking the wall of vulnerability, attendees exchanged valuable insights and advice, learning from one another on how to  continuously better themselves and their cities. 

Presentations will be available to attendees on the CMRTA website.

Awards

The Lighthouse Award – City of Palmdale

The Lighthouse Award, established in 2003 by CMRTA, recognizes outstanding achievements by staff from member cities. It honors local government revenue professionals who have made significant contributions resulting in lower costs, increased revenue, or enhanced service delivery. 

This year, the City of Palmdale was awarded the Lighthouse Award for developing a unique ordinance/regulation that positively impacts the community. Ordinance No. 1612 modernizes Palmdale's business permitting system by eliminating 17 outdated permits and retaining nine essential ones, thereby streamlining the process, reducing bureaucracy, lowering costs, and fostering a more business-friendly environment while ensuring necessary regulatory oversight.

Congratulations to the City of Palmdale for being the recipient of this incredible award! 

The Bruno Marchetti Award – Ricky Hawblitzel

The Bruno Marchetti Award honors the legacy of Bruno Marchetti, who dedicated many years to representing the City of Stockton in the CMBTA (now CMRTA) and mentored numerous revenue professionals before formal programs existed. Recognizing those who embody the highest ideals of municipal revenue professionalism and are willing to assist their peers, this prestigious award is the highest honor given by the organization. 

Ricky Hawblitzel had made a lasting impact on the organization, serving on the Division 1/2 board for 5 years and the State board for 8 years. Ricky has been the president of CMRTA since 2020. 

Congratulations to Ricky Hawblitzel, and thank you for all of the hard work and dedication you’ve contributed to CMRTA! 

Headshots

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Tripepi Smith for providing headshot services at the conference. We hope everyone appreciated the opportunity to have professional photographs taken. Attendees will be emailed a link to download their headshots.

Mixer

The CMRTA mixer was an excellent networking opportunity for attendees to connect and learn from one another and associate members. With a delightful spread of sliders, tacos, drinks and more, participants gathered to explore various companies and gain valuable insights into navigating the world of revenue. The event inspired collaboration and idea-sharing, creating an engaging atmosphere that enhanced the overall conference experience.

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Thank you once again for making the 2024 Annual Conference a renowning success. If you attended, don’t forget to share your feedback! We look forward to seeing you at future events and continuing to share our knowledge and expertise as we advance our mission together.

A special thank you to all of the associate members for their continuous support and the Board for helping the conference come to life.

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