What will 2012 Bring?
Joanne E. Guennewig, PMP, MPM
President
It is hard to believe the New Year is here already. 2011 was a busy year for the Chicagoland Chapter and 2012 will be just as busy if not more so!
As I indicated in my past messages, we are focusing on two strategic goals for 2012, first and foremost, a focus on better communicating the value to you of PMI and Chicagoland Chapter membership and second, continuing our efforts to bring continuous improvement to the work of the Chapter.
We have already started some work on the projects, and have completed a survey of the membership to gain your feedback on how we are doing as a Chapter. We will be presenting the results and key insights from the survey soon. Thanks to those of you who participated and provided your candid comments and suggestions for how we can improve as a chapter. Work is underway on some community outreach initiatives including volunteering to teach project management as part of the Junior Achievement program as well as working with PMI's Education Foundation to bring project management to our community schools and universities. Our Chapter Toastmaster's club is up and running and receiving great feedback.
In the Education / Programs area we have a lot of great training getting lined up for 2011 and the team is beginning work on preparations for our 2nd Annual Professional Development Day, which will is a one day educational conference with a variety of speakers and topics. I have heard from many of you who attended how impressed and pleased you were with the quality of the event. We have set a high bar and intend to continue to meet your expectations.
Another key upcoming item is our nomination process has starting soon for the 2012 elections. Be sure to watch the website, newsletter and our emails for information from Tom Kroupa and Jonathan Lee on how you can participate in the process. We will need volunteers to participate on the nomination committee as well as nominees for our Board and Director positions. Volunteering for the Chapter leadership team is a great way to get more involved in PMI, influence what we do as a chapter all while earning PDU's, so please start to consider now how you can and would like to get involved. Without volunteers, our Chapter will not continue to make strides and deliver on the promise of member value.
One key initiative that started early last year is the launch of a new Chapter Website. We are upgrading to a new vendor which allows us access to more current technology and functionality. Look for the launch in the first quarter this year! Arnab Dan, Julia Manning and the whole website project team have been working hard to make sure we have a really slick new site. More details to come soon!
Lastly, I am looking for two strong volunteers to help me work on proposals and project charters for two key initiatives for the chapter. First, I am looking at having a project to launch a PMO for the Chapter. Second, the board is looking to do a formal succession planning process. If you have any interest in either project, please reach out to me and we can discuss details! My email address is president@pmi-chicagoland.org.
Welcome to 2012. I hope this year brings success in all your ventures, professional, and personal and through PMI!
