Service Day - Coast Guard.

Mr. Robert Horowitz,

Coast Guard Chief Financial Officer

Mr. David Klein berg,

Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Transportation

The Coast Guard opened PDI 2001 on the afternoon of May 29 with an informal panel discussion headed by Captain Bill Wissman, Chief of the Office of Financial Management of Coast Guard Headquarters. Captain Wissman was joined by the Chief of the Office of Financial Systems, Commander Larry White; Chief of the Office of Procurement Management, Mr. Richard Freethey; the Commanding Officer of the Finance Center, Captain Tom Johns; and the Maintenance and Logistics Command Finance Officers, Captain Steve Krupa (MLCPAC) and Captain Jesse Dickens (MLCLANT).

The topics of discussion included financial systems updates, the impact of the A-76 program and FAIR Act implementation, Web-based financial tools, the roles of financial managers in the future, procurement system updates, and expanding Performance-Based Contracting opportunities.

Following the panel discussion, a no-host social and dinner was held at the Spaghetti Factory restaurant. Over 100 Coast Guard civilian personnel and military members from around the country attended. The meals were tasty and the discussions were lively.

Mr. Robert Horowitz, Coast Guard Chief Financial Officer, opened Coast Guard Service Day on May 30 with a warm welcome to the attendees and thanked everyone for their assistance and patience while he becomes familiar with his new position.

Mr. Horowitz spoke of three areas the financial management community should focus on in support of the Coast Guard Commandant's transformation vision for our Service. He spoke of the need to develop our workforce, including managing the ongoing federal government human capital crisis, the need to innovate and transform our processes, and the need to produce tangible performance results that support the Commandant's strategic goals.

Mr. Horowitz then introduced Mr. David Kleinberg, Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Mr. Kleinberg praised the Coast Guard for leading the way for DOT on many financial fronts. He complimented the Finance Center for excellent support and service. Mr. Kleinberg acknowledged the excellent effort put forth on the department-wide Delphi project and the new WINS payment system. He finished with a personal pledge of continuing support for the Coast Guard and its financial systems and functions.

Following Mr. Kleinberg's remarks, Mr. Horowitz presented the annual Comptroller Awards for Excellence. The awards are made to Coast Guard personnel who demonstrated exceptional service in Financial Management for 2000. The awardees included the following:

Senior Officer: Lieutenant Commander David Sweeney, Coast Guard Exchange System

Junior Officer: Lieutenant Jeffrey Yarosh, First Coast Guard District Budget Officer

Chief Warrant Officer: Chief Warrant Officer Dennis Svatos, Coast Guard Group Galveston Comptroller

Enlisted: Storekeeper First Class David Horkey, Integrated Support Command, Portsmouth, VA

GS-13 and above: Ms. Barbara Semiatin, Financial Analyst, Office of Financial Systems

GS-9 -- GS-12: Mr. Terry Chrisroffer, Integrated Support Command, New Orleans, LA

GS-8 and below: Ms. Antoinette Zeind, Integrated Support Command, Boston, MA

Team: The Comptroller Workload Study Team, which included LCDR David Sweeney, CDR Eric Hultmark, CDR Steve Finton, LCDR Dan Chrisrovich, LCDR Thomas Flora, LCDR George Bowen, Mr. Frank Capitano, Mr. Scott Ogan, Mr. Dan Cook, and Mr. George Kane, Mr. Tony Apodaca, LT Michael Yensz, LT Anthony Alarid, and LT Richard Petersen

Following the awards ceremony and lunch, the Coast Guard held workshops on the A-76 program, Web-based financial tools and reports, budgeting tools, the standard rate mode, and the Coast Guard's Deepwater project.

Transcripts of Mr. Horowitz's speech, as well as electronic versions of the Service Day presentations, may be obtained by contacting Lieutenant Mark Haag in the Office of Financial Management at [phone] or [e-mail].