Francis Tuttle’s Judy Robbins was recently named recipient of the Betty McDonald Outstanding Member Achievement Award by the Association
of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers for her work to establish a
national certification program for procurement professionals. The award
was presented at the national APTAC Spring Training Conference in Seattle.
The
Betty McDonald Award is named in honor of the first national president
of APTAC, and is the highest honor given to an individual member of the
association’s approximately 600 members nationwide. Procurement
professionals assist businesses to secure federal government contracts
and advise of grant opportunities.
Robbins’
work to modernize and reinvent a national certification program, and
build national consensus for acceptance, demonstrated her knowledge of
federal government contracting, and will provide a foundation and guide
for training. Robbins is a member of the Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network, whose members have a strong leadership presence in the national association.
Carter
Merkle, Program Manager for the OBAN, commented “Judy has worked
tirelessly to raise the bar for the national association. She not only
provides outstanding services to clients but is also recognized by her
colleagues across the nation as a “go-to person” for professional
development.”
The
OBAN serves as the statewide Procurement Technical Assistance Center,
funded in part by a cooperative agreement from the Department of
Defense through a program that is administered by the Defense Logistics
Agency.
Congress created the Procurement Technical Assistance Program
to help businesses seeking to compete successfully in federal, state
and local government contracting. Funded through Cooperative agreements
between the U.S. Department of Defense and state and local entities,
PTACs provide a range of expert services at little or no charge.
The
new certification, the Certified Procurement Professional, uses a
combination of APTAC training events and a curriculum of courses from
the Defense Acquisition University, as well as other sources, to
deliver a strong program that is getting national recognition in the
profession.
“Judy was the driving force and organizer behind the revised certification’s development,” added Merkle.