OGFOA's Scholarship in Honor of Haley

Having worked as a city planner, councilor, and administrator in multiple cities in Oregon and Alaska, Rick Hohnbaum has extensive experience in public administration and is currently the accounting director for Coquille City. Rick Hohnbaum is also a member of the Oregon Government Finance Officers Association (OGFOA).

The Oregon Government Finance Officers Association was formerly known as the Oregon Municipal Officers Association. In 2015, the general membership voted to change the name to align better with the national finance officers organization and to include other financial professionals in Oregon. OGFOA is committed to promoting excellence and professionalism in public financial management.

In fostering the government finance profession, OGFOA offers scholarships to students in government accounting. One of such scholarships is the Haley Fish Scholarship at Oregon State University. The Haley Fish Scholarship is named in honor of Haley Fish, a deceased member of OGFOA. OGFOA aims to use this scholarship to help accounting students as they pursue careers in accounting and auditing. The organization also provides means for individuals to donate to the scholarship to support the next generation accountants and further Haley Fish's legacy.

The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference’s

Rick Hohnbaum is currently the accounting director for the City of Coquille, Oregon. Having served in various cities in the state of Oregon as mayor, councilor, city planner, and city manager, Mr. Hohnbaum possesses years of experience in public administration. Mr. Hohnbaum also served on the Board of Trustees for the Oregon-Idaho United Methodist Church Conference for four years.

The United Methodist Church’s mission is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the World.” The church carries out its mission through its regional body, the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference’s churches, ministries and programs.

The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference aims to grow healthy, vital congregations that transform communities and change lives. The conference achieves both its mission and the United Methodist Church’s mission with its strategy of starting new faith communities, revitalizing existing congregations, and encouraging lifelong Christian formation through its Vital Church Project. The Idaho Conference crosses two states and two time zones, encompassing people and churches from Astoria to Ashton.

Promoting Economic Growth in Rural

As the city accounting director in Coquille, Oregon, Rick Hohnbaum has experience growing and sustaining rural economies. To further his professional knowledge and gain insights from other local economies, Rick Hohnbaum is an active member of the Oregon Economic Development Association (OEDA).

OEDA is invested in broadening local economies and providing resources to shape economic policies throughout Oregon. The association specifically aims to create new businesses and facilitate training programs across the state. One such program is the Oregon Certified Economic Developer (OCED) Program.

Completion of this program requires 64 credits and eight different courses taught by experts in various fields of economic development. The training includes courses on business retention and expansion, branding and marketing, and entrepreneurship/innovation. Trainees are shown specific data and case studies with real-world applications for both urban and rural communities. To specifically promote economic growth in rural communities, OEDA has partnered with Business Oregon and the Ford Family Foundation to provide professional development scholarships for OCED certification.