2009 Conference Is History March 29, 2009 -- The 2009 MACE Business and Educational Conference is history. The 17th annual gathering was held March 25-27 at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Springfield. Participants attended two and one half days of educational seminars and conducted the organization's regular business including the election of officers. Outstanding Educational Lineup Members in attendance were treated to a superb educational lineup including Linda Pieczynski's Legal Aspects of Code Administration on Tuesday, Laura Scott's IPMC Fundamentals on Wednesday and Ronald Rains' presentation on Electrical Safety on Thursday. The seminars were interesting and informative and offered participants the opportunity to accumulate valuable continuing education units (CEU's). Officers Elected The MACE Board of Directors for 2009-2010 were elected and installed at the conference. The offices of 1st Vice President, 3rd Vice President and Secretary were decided at this year's conference. Those offices are filled during odd-numbered years, while the offices of 2nd Vice President, Treasurer and Sergeant-at-Arms are filled during even-numbered years. Each officer elected will serve a two-year term. Johnny Benisch ran unopposed for the office of 1st Vice President and Jeff Vogel was unopposed in his bid for another term as 3rd Vice President. In the only contested race for the board, Lara Mormino won election for another term as Secretary. She was opposed by John Parks in that race. Patrick Milatovic Named Code Enforcement Officer Of The Year The MACE 2009 Code Enforcement Officer of the Year honor was awarded at the banquet on March 26. Patrick Milatovic of St. Charles and Ryan Kasper-Cushman of Kansas City were the two nominees. The Code Enforcement Officer of the Year is chosen by a committee of five MACE members, with a board member serving as committee chairman. The committee chose Milatovic. Officer Milatovic has been employed as a Police Officer for 33 years. For the last 27 of those, he has been employed by the City of St. Charles. In April of 2005, he was appointed to the Division of Community Development and assigned to the Code Enforcement Division as a Code Enforcement Police Officer. This was a new position for the city and did not come with a lot of direction. Officer Milatovic seized the opportunity and began working with staff to re-write procedures, improve ordinances and make a positive change to the division. He has busted an active meth lab, been support for city staff in the field and has managed to collect thousands of dollars in unpaid business licenses. Officer Milatovic has received his ICC Property Maintenance Inspector Certification and serves as the Vice President of the St. Louis Association of Code Enforcement. Milatovic started the St. Charles Neighborhood Preservation Partnership. This is a new not-for-profit organization that is teaming up with the Police Department, city staff and private industry to work together for the betterment of the City of St. Charles. The organization will work with residents in need, subdivisions and industry by promoting crime prevention through education, neighborhood clean ups and working with the elderly and needy to assist in bringing their property into compliance with city codes. Officer Milatovic serves on the Board of Directors as the President of the organization. Annual Banquet The first Annual Banquet was held Wednesday evening, March 26 where the new officers were installed, the Code Enforcement Officer of the Year award was presented and other members were recognized for their contributions to the organization. Laura Scott (left in photo), Vice President, Chapter Relations for the International Code Council, presented outgoing president Pearline McFall (right in photo) and incoming president Tamara Gray (center in photo) with MACE's ICC Chapter banner. Strategic Planning On Friday's final day of the conference, the 2009-2010 Board of Directors held a strategic planning session (left) with members in attendance. Subjects discussed included the location of the 2010 conference, the benefits of holding a joint educational conference with another association and the goal of creating additional local or regional chapters, similar to the St. Louis Association of Code Enforcement, in other parts of the state. MACE's annual conferences provide members with excellent educational offerings as well as time to unwind and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow code enforcement personnel from around the state and the 2009 gathering was no exception. First Vice President Johnny Benisch will serve as chairman of next year's annual conference, for which planning is already underway. Be sure to check back here for updates on the 2010 MACE conference as they become available.

News updates on the 2010 MACE Annual Conference will be posted here when they become available.