The South Carolina Society of Certified Public Managers, also known as SCSCPM, was established in 1991 in South Carolina under the Budget and Control Board’s Office of Human Resources. The Certified Public Manager Program was developed as a response to the need in this state for a comprehensive skills-based management training program in order to develop managers with a core set of competencies. The National Certified Public Manager Consortium provided the framework, support, and credibility needed to implement this initiative. This professional credential involves intensive study, practice, application, and testing to prepare public managers for the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s workplace.

The South Carolina CPM Program received accreditation by the National CPM Consortium in 1996. The CPM Program was gradually built over a period of time prior to 1996. This quest began with the original 5 founding CPM society members- Don Harwood, Herb Lanford, Al Lyerly, Karen Lynch, and Fletcher Pace, who are the members of the Class of 1996. The “Founding Five” established and adopted the first set of bylaws March 24, 1997. Through many meetings and networking, SCSCPM was incorporated by the SC Secretary of State, Jim Miles on April 29, 1997.

The Society received its charter on February 20, 1998, from the American Academy of Certified Public Managers® (AACPM). Ms. Margaret Bailey, CPM of the North Carolina Society and Past-President of the AACPM, presented South Carolina with the charter. South Carolina became the fifteenth state to be granted official membership by the AACPM on May 17, 1998. AACPM is the professional association of public sector managers whose purpose is to unite Certified Public Managers. The Society was granted state and federal tax exemption status in August 1998. It was a year later in 1999, when the SC Governor began declaring the month of May as CPM month. A resolution is passed annually declaring each May as CPM Month.

The early members of the SCSCPM Society sought participation from various agencies. Several members met with agency heads to market and distribute information about the program. The first newsletter for the society was published in the summer of 1998. The newsletter remains an active line of communications today, but is distributed in an electronic form. As early as 2000, a website for the Society was discussed, and by October 5, 2002, the website was officially online with the domain of “scscpm.org.”

The Society has partnered with several organizations to outreach into the communities, other agencies, and other states. A joint meeting with the North Carolina Society of Certified Public Managers was held in Montreat, NC in October of 2000. The purpose of this meeting was to form alliances and to network with a neighboring Society. In March of 2001, the first organized community event by the Society was assisting ETV in their telethon. This outreach continues to be an annual event. Members of the organization were also led in 2002 and 2003 to participate in the SC Lung Association’s Asthma Walk. The Society has participated in the CROP walk, and continues to have food drives within agencies to benefit a local food shelter – Harvest Hope Food Bank.

In 2003, South Carolina was the host state for the Fifteenth AACPM Conference. Polly McCutcheon and Herb Lanford co-chaired the SCSCPM National Conference Planning Committee for the 2003 AACPM National Conference in Charleston. The three day conference held April 9-11th was at the Francis Marion Hotel. It was considered a great success. South Carolina is also slated to host the Twenty-fourth conference in Columbia, SC during the fall of 2012.