Fixed Income Academy and The Bond Buyer have announced two winners in their "Back to Basics" scholarship contest.
Andrew Hicks, Chief Deputy to the Franklin County, Wash., Treasurer, and Joshua Nacey, Staff Administrator at the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, won the scholarships, which are being awarded to outstanding individuals who are new to the public finance sector.
The winners will receive a fully paid scholarship to the Fixed Income Academy's bond school along with a six-month free online subscription to The Bond Buyer.
The scholarship program was designed by Susan Munson, CEO of Fixed Income Academy, to help in succession planning for finance officers in state and local governments by providing an introduction to the bond markets for new staff.
The bond school will cover the basics of fixed income investing and shed light on frequently misunderstood market concepts and practices.
The two winners came from diverse backgrounds.
Previously, Hicks was a commercial banker. His prior employment was at Community First Bank, Columbia Bank and Washington Trust Bank.
"I left a career in banking to work as Chief Deputy in the Franklin County Treasurer's office to make a difference," Hicks wrote when applying for the scholarship.
He said he has a goal of being able to modernize the county's financial methods, which at present do not allow the pooling of investments.
"This has resulted in our Junior Taxing Districts only being able to invest through the Washington State Local Government Investment Pool," Hicks wrote. "My goal is to offer an investment pool for Franklin County that will be managed locally to meet the investment and liquidity needs of our local districts."
Nacey formerly worked as a staff attorney for the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and as Assistant Public Advocate for the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy. Prior to this he worked at the law offices of Boehl, Stopher and Graves and as senior legislative assistant to former U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis.
He said that when he came to the Legislative Research Commission he had no experience with the municipal bond market, and that he was hired because of his experience as a litigator. But his predecessor left the LRC to join one of Kentucky's bond issuing commissions, and her departure left a gap in experience and skill about the muni market.
"I want to acquire more knowledge of the basics of the bond market," he wrote in his application form, "so that I can achieve the level of understanding that our Legislators have come to expect from our Committee's staff."