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2026 Spring Professional Development Conference

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Date and Time

Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM

Location

Hilton Garden Inn / Home2Suites
Hilton Garden Inn Reservations
6811 TraVure Drive E
Germantown, TN  38138
USA
901-567-7717

Event Contact(s)

Camille Thomas


Lori Bryant
Virtual Conference

Category

Annual Conference

Registration Info

Registration is required
Payment in Full In Advance Or At Event
Registration cancellations will be accepted until Friday, April 17, 2026 at 6:00 PM

About this event

The Tennessee Association of Public Purchasing (TAPP), a chapter of NIGP, is holding its spring conference at the Hilton Garden Inn / Home2Suites located in Germantown, TN on April 23-24, 2026 and registration is now available.   Registration is available until April 12, 2026.  We are required to give a head count to the hotel for our meals.

Join us for our event night on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at the hotel.  We will have plenty of food, music and some games to play.

April 22 - NIGP Class: Technology Management - Virtual Class
April 23-24 - Conference Sessions we are working on

In order to provide the hotel with an accurate count for the meals, registration will be available until April 12, 2026.


Conference Topics:

  • Keynote Speaker:  Walt Stasinski
  • Federal & State Grant Reporting
  • AI for Specification & Document Writing 
  • FEMA Procurement & Contracting Essentials
  • Legislative Update
  • Roundtable
  • AND MORE!!

Meals Included:

Thursday: Breakfast & Lunch 
Friday:  Breakfast


Reservations:


Hilton Garden Inn / Home2Suites Germantown, TN
Conference Room Rate: $129.00
Reservation Deadline: March 22, 2026 - WE ARE WORKING ON EXTENDING THIS DATE

The room block code for Hilton Garden Inn (HGI) is 90K.
The room block code for Home2Suites is 903.

Make sure to indicate the room is for the Tennessee Association of Public Purchasing Spring Conference.

 

 

2026 Spring Professional Development Conference
presented by the

Tennessee Association of Public Purchasing

APRIL 23-24, 2026

HYBRID CONFERENCE

Germantown, TN

 

ALL SESSIONS SCHEDULED IN CST

 

WEDNESDAY

APRIL 22, 2026

NIGP Class

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CST

THURSDAY

April 23, 2026

7:30 – 8:00 CST

Breakfast

 

April 23, 2026

8:00 – 8:15 CST

Welcome and Convening of Conference

Cathryn Perdue, TAPP President

 

April 23, 2026

8:15 – 9:00 CST

Keynote Speaker

Walt Stansinski

Session 1

Having Fun in the Workplace

April 23, 2026

9:00 – 10:00 CST

Shelley Vineyard, MBA, NIGP-CPP, RTSBA

Disaster Recovery Services

Session 2

FEMA Procurement & Contracting Essentials

April 23, 2026

10:00 – 10:15 CST

Break

 

 

April 23, 2026

10:15 – 11:20 CST

Vendor Expo

 

 

April 23, 2026

11:20 – 12:30 CST

Lunch – Provided by TAPP

 

April 23, 2026

12:30 – 1:30 CST

Chris Yarbrough, Director, TDOT Procurement & Contracts Division

Michael Gilbert, TDOT Local Programs

Session 3

TDOT Local Programs & Procurement

April 23, 2026

1:30 – 2:00 CST

Member Engagement

Ice Breaker Game

 

April 23, 2026

2:00 – 2:30 CST

 

Session 4

Legislative Update 

April 23, 2026

2:30 – 2:45 CST

Break – Visit with our Vendors

 

 

April 23, 2026

2:45 – 3:45 CST

Zach Polk

Session 5

Using AI for Specification & Document Writing

April 23, 2026

3:45 – 4:45 CST

Lori Bryant, Purchasing Director, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System

Session 6

Roundtable 

4:45 – 5:15 CST

Membership Meeting & Door Prize Drawings

 

5:45 – 8:30 CST

Event Night

 

Hilton Garden Inn

FRIDAY

April 24, 2026

7:30 – 8:00 CST

Breakfast – Provided by TAPP

And time to visit with our vendors

 

April 24, 2026

8:00 – 8:15 CST

Welcome and Convening of Conference

Cathryn Perdue, TAPP President

April 24, 2026

8:15 – 9:15 CST

Lauren Winters, Grants Manager, City of Clarksville

Session 7

Federal & State Grant Reporting

April 24, 2026

9:15 – 10:15 CST

Lauren Winters, Grants Manager

City of Clarksville

Zak Kelley, Department of Finance, Metro Nashville Government

Session 8

Panel Discussion – Lessons Learned from Disaster Recovery

April 24, 2026

10:15 – 10:30 CST

Break – Visit with our Vendors

 

April 24, 2026

10:30 – 11:30 CST

Elisha Crowell, State of Tennessee

Session 9

Cybersecurity & What to Require of Vendors

April 24, 2026

11:30 – 11:45

Announcements & Door Prize Drawings

 





Sponsorships:

A variety of sponsorships are available. Please check the link for sponsors on the TAPP homepage.

Number of People Who Will Attend

In-Person Non-Member *
Virtual Non Member *
Attending the Event Night on Thursday, April 23rd
In-Person Non-Member Guest
Virtual Non-Member Guest
* This can be your primary registrant type. Only one primary registrant type is allowed per registration.
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Activities/Items (Click the down-arrow to view details)
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Attending the Event Night on Thursday, April 23rd
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In-Person 2026 Spring Professional Development Conference
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Virtual Conference - Thursday & Friday

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