We are the NCMA's best (or maybe worst) kept secret!
The NCMA Rio Grande Chapter is small in numbers but has a very large footprint in the Contract Management profession. As they say in boxing ... we punch well abover our weight!
Welcome to the Rio Grande Chapter - the best kept secret in the National Contract Management Association. Our award winning chapter represents the Middle Rio Grande Valley including Albuquerque, Sandia National Labs, Kirtland Air Force Base, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Our members come from both government and industry. All are welcome at our chapter and we invite you to attend one of our Board meetings or a Chapter event listed below.

Contract Changes, Disputes, and Terminations - In Person Event August 29

Ya Should'a Been There !!!
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If you think you have seen everything when it comes to NCMA events - hold your hat!

It was everything it was cracked up to be and more! Don v. Don - Mansfield and Shannon trading humorous barbs .. each trying to outdo the other in a live version of FAR/DARS Trivia with the topic of the day being Contract Changes, Disputes, and Terminations.

The day started off with renowned Albuquerque caterer Chef Sean (Royal Empire Catering) providing plenty of chow to fuel these two through 8 hours of dueling. Chef Sean reappeared at midday with a fantastic spread o cheese enchiladas - asking you to choose your favorite from green or red chile and Fiesta Chicken plus a local favorite calabacitas (a delicious melange of Zucchini , squash, corn, and green chilies)

The duo picked up after lunch diving into terminations - both for convenience and for default. The speakers took turns - first covering the regulatory basis and language in the far followed up by numerous examples drawn from the duo's extensive backgrounds to put things into perspective. One of the more interesting aspects was a deep dive into some of the historic case law that has shaped the termination landscape including DiVito, Torncelli, VibaTech Art Metal v Soloman, and others.

Attendees were each given a helpful spiral bound copy of the briefing slides - all 320 of them - and treated to a full 8-hour day of training.

If you think this sounds like a heck of a bargain ($199 per person) you're right! If you want to see more of these drop a line to the president@ncmargc.org and let us know.

New Information Resource for Rio Grande Chapter

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For years the NCMA Rio Grande Chapter's website has been our primary tool to collaborate with our members and 'get the word out' concerning events and other chapter activities. Beginning with the 2024-2025 Program Year the chapter will gradually shift many of our information and other chapter activities notices and registration to a new tool sponsored by NCMA HQ. Here you can see a snapshot of the landing page.

As with so many things it will take us time to learn this new tool and leverage it for chapter activities but our expectation is the tool will support better communication and collaboration by being easier to use for our communications team and integrated with NCMA HQ resources. Here are some details: (Some of the Items shown on the left are administrative options and may not be accessible to all members.)

1. Home. The home or landing page has notices of coming events, announcements, and is your gateway to all other information on the site. It is intended as an easy to access, fast, and centralized news source for our chapter members to get up to speed or check for coming events.
2. Discussions. Anyone familiar with NCMA Collaborate will feel right at home on the Discussions page. This page is an open forum for chapter members to ask questions, make suggestions, or simply share their thoughts.
3. Chapter Pages are a bit of an unknown for now but we see great potential in the ability to create and post informational pages on various topics or just to riff on how great Albuquerque is and how fun it is to be a chapter member. Stay tuned for this.
4. Chapter Events. This will be our publicity source for chapter events. It is linked to the NCMA HQ site such that our events will be publicized on the National HQ site and then linked to this page for registration and other information. What's great about the integration is that the financial details are handled by HQ, CPEs are awarded and added to members's accounts automatically, and many other benefits.

Follow Community puts you on a notification list so you don't miss out on new events or postings.. I encourage everyone to take that step and Follow the NCMA RGC.

But I'm not a NCMA Member! No worries … registration is available for Non-NCMA Members for free.

Collaboration Event

From time to time our members support our sister chapters with an event. On July 10th, Don Shannon the incoming President for NCMA Rio Grande Chapter presented on the topic of barriers faced by small businesses attempting to enter or operate in the Defense Industrial base. In case you missed it the slides are available on the NCMA Community Platform.

Click on the button below to go there. A log-in will be required but free credentials are available for non-members.

Enjoy!

Employment Opportunity

Suggestions for Event or Training

The NCMA Rio Grande Chapter Annual Planning Meeting took place on July 20th. Meeting minutes and action items will be distributed to Boar Members and Committee Chairs shortly.

If you have suggestions for events or other activities please use the below form to contact us.

This is going to be a great year and we can't wait to share with your more details of the planned events. Keep track of upcoming events and Chapter activities here and on the chapter's web page on NCMA HQ.

Certification Preparation

The NCMA Rio Grande Chapter also offers a number of study aids to our members including a free preview of what to expect on the certification exam. To try your luck simply click on the below button and you will be redirected to a site that will allow you three attempts to take and pass a very realistic simulation of the exam.

No obligation … no Junk email or mailing list enrollments … just a preview of what to expect. Try it for fun, try it for bragging rights, or use it to see where you need to study more.

Enjoy!
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Upcoming Events

General Membership Meeting

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Periodic meetings with chapter membership are essential to keeping us responsive to the needs of our membership. Over time the Rio Grande Chapter has tried several formats for these meetings and now we're looking at what best meets your needs once again!
Here are some options:
1. Lunchtime meeting with buffet lunch and a short (max 30 minute) presentation by a contracts professional from the community or potentially a nationally recognized individual.
2. Breakfast meeting. Similar to the contracts and coffee events we had before COVID
3. Evening event with dinner and a speaker
4. Holiday event
Let's hear your thoughts!using the reply form below.
    • 16
      October

      Rio Grande Chapter Meeting

      The monthly meeting of the Chapter Board - open to Bpard members.
      location_on Albuquerque, NM access_time 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
      https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89645627996?pwd=WDd5L3JicGxnOU1xWCt3SkJxbzcvZz09
       
      Meeting ID: 896 4562 7996
      Passcode: 824838
      One tap mobile
      +13462487799,,89645627996#,,,,*824838# US (Houston)
      +16699006833,,89645627996#,,,,*824838# US (San Jose)
       
      Dial by your location
              +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
              +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
              +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
              +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
              +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
              +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
      Meeting ID: 896 4562 7996
      Passcode: 824838
    • 20
      November

      Chapter Board Meeting

      Special Meeting of the Chapter Board.
      location_on Albuquerque, NM access_time 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
      Join Zoom Meeting:
      https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89645627996?pwd=WDd5L3JicGxnOU1xWCt3SkJxbzcvZz09
       
      Meeting ID: 896 4562 7996
      Passcode: 824838
      One tap mobile
      +13462487799,,89645627996#,,,,*824838# US (Houston)
      +16699006833,,89645627996#,,,,*824838# US (San Jose)
       
      Dial by your location
              +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
              +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
              +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
              +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
              +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
              +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
      Meeting ID: 896 4562 7996
      Passcode: 824838
      Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kevHoXrQji

    Monthly Board Meetings


    Our monthly meetings are scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month at 5:30. These meetings will be hybrid meetings as you can elect to join via Zoom or in-person. The monthly Zoom information was setup for recurring meetings so the Zoom information provided below will be consistent for this program year.

    In-person meetings at Verus Research, which is located at 6100 Uptown Blvd NE, Albuquerque - 7th floor.

    Please download the below .ics file for your calendar https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZ0rc-yurDwjE9LtHvsrSPDUIiDLsskanyRi/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGhqD8vHNaSuRCBRpx5BI-gZ-7zpmZEj_pxiDfzEDJgUifDH-tmHqFsG9ne