Pam Hepburn of OCP Contractors Chosen as National Board Chairman for CFMA

Pam Hepburn is making history, as the first ever member of CFMA Northwest Ohio to be chosen as national board chairman for the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA).

Pam is the CFO at OCP Contractors, a metal framing and interiors contractor based in Ohio. She’s been with OCP for 32 years. Hired on as a cost accountant, she has advanced through the years to other roles within the company including controller, vice president, and her current role as CFO.

Pam has a long history of involvement with the CFMA Northwest Ohio chapter as well. She became a member in 1997, but says attending the national conference in 2009 is what spurred her to get more involved at the local level. She sat on a steering committee for the local chapter and right around the same time was asked to get involved with a national specialty subcontractor committee. Since then, she has had several roles at the national level, including a seat on the executive committee and the role of national treasurer, vice chair last year, and now chairman in 2021.

Why so involved? She says she has developed a broad network of connections across the country, people to turn to with questions or for advice. She’s also made great friends and grown professionally.

“Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s also contributed a lot to my success at OCP. As part of my involvement with CFMA, yes, there’s the educational content, but also working with leaders and other CFOs, interacting with people at that level. You learn so much from each other. I think CFMA is a critical part of my success in my career.”

The strength and size of local CFMA chapters can vary greatly across the country. Some have been around for decades and are very active. Others work hard to retain members and grow. CFMA Northwest Ohio chapter happens to be a strong group with a strong history. Pam says there are a couple of reasons. Here are the two most critical ingredients for what she calls the Northwest Ohio chapter’s “secret sauce.”

1.       We have fun. We joke, laugh, get the work done, but have a great time.

2.       We help each other.

Pam says associate members at CFMA Northwest Ohio don’t go to meetings to try to sell to each other, they go to help each other.

“A good example is when we did the presentation about media relations featuring Gilmore Jasion Mahler’s (GJM)’s marketing department. The presentation offered insight into things the media might ask, or we may need to be prepared for. We didn’t offer that topic to try and sell people on GJM. We did it because we needed a good program and content.”

Pam’s one year term as CFMA national chairman begins in April. She says typically it would be a very busy travel year with national conference, regional conferences and chapter functions across the country. The pandemic has changed everything, of course, but it doesn’t change her enthusiasm about taking on the chairmanship.

“It is an honor. I am absolutely humbled by just being selected and given the opportunity to work with all the leaders at CFMA. I am hoping that we will emerge from the COVID lockdown and we’ll get to do some more things in person. No matter how it plays out, I am excited. It’s really going to be a good year.”