CMI-CJA “New Economy” Conference a Success

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Despite the downturn in the economy, more than 150 prison and jail construction and maintenance professionals attended the recent Construction & Maintenance Institute for Criminal Justice Agencies (CMI-CJA) conference, held Oct 17-20, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The CMI is a non-profit professional organization of public employees and is designated as a clearinghouse for information related to the construction and maintenance of criminal justice facilities.
With an emphasis on working within the budget constraints of a new economy — workshops included energy auditing, detention retrofits and how to extend the life of a detention facility to a comparison of facility maintenance in prison versus mental health facilities.

The Bill Harmon Fund in memory of Mr. Bill Harmon of South Carolina has been established to assist members or prospective members with costs associated to attend the annual CMI conference. Members may be any individual representing a qualified agency.
This year’s Chairman Steve Hudenko said: “Despite the down economy and the inability of most state and county agencies to get permission to travel we are very pleased with this year’s turnout, the CMI is on solid ground economically and we are actively seeking out those individuals in our line of business so that we can encourage them to become members of CMI. We get a lot of work done at the conference, but we have a lot of fun too! It’s interesting to learn how your counterparts in other parts of the country solve similar problems.”

A facility tour of the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility by Warden Pamela J. Ploughe concluded the conference.

For information regarding next year’s event or to learn more about the Bill Harmon scholarship fund, contact Lisa Richardson at Lisa.Richardson@cmi-cja.org or visit the website: www.cmi-cja.org