It is hard to believe, but my year as president is at an end.
Inherent in the ASTD mission is a responsibility to be responsive to the needs of a wide variety of members in the communities that we represent. The board has attempted through surveys, discussions, and current trends to provide programming that is current and serves an educational need.
I thought of the past year and my involvement with ASTD as I drove to work this morning into the sunrise. We'd came through the coordination of the Workforce 2000 event for another successful year. We'd weathered through and developed a working budget that was realistic. We'd had frank talks about our development as trainers and human beings. We'd increased our membership to represent more counties.
It occurred to me that this was a challenging and rewarding experience that I will cherish for the rest of my days. Many thanks to our board members for the enthusiasm, support, and willingness to share their expertise and commitment to this organization. I will count my blessings and think of all the wonderful people I have met through ASTD as I drive home into the sunset.
With deepest regards,
Cathy M. Wilhelms
WHAT'S THE NEWS?
Kathleen Alexander will be writing a "MEMBER SPOTLIGHT" feature for the monthly RVASTD newsletter.
We want to know if you've expanded, changed locations, have written an article, been quoted, have a job/service opportunity, need a new career choice, found an interesting article, recommend a product or a web site.
BUT, we don't know what you're doing unless you tell us. Please take a moment each month and let Kathleen know what changes have been taking place in your personal and professional life.
You can contact her at
(815)397-0589 or email k.alexander@worldnet.att.net
MAKING
CONTACT
If you haven't received an email confirmation from
the RVASTD email list, and you do use email, please join by sending an
email to rvastd-subscribe@egroups.com.
LEADERSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
What are the essential qualities of leadership? Every list is different
but they all include adapting to change, making commitments, and becoming
involved. You can practice your leadership skills with the Rock Valley
Chapter of ASTD.
Your Chapter needs help with many small but important tasks...
*Taking registration for a meeting or event
*Finding meeting locations
*Writing an article for the newsletter
*Marketing
*Contacting prospective members
*Evaluating scholarship applications
*Organizing the WorkForce 2000 and April event with IMC
*Distributing, entering or summarizing the survey information.
*Representatives to be at the alternate sites for the April online meeting.
*Review submissions for Most Appreciated Members
The tasks are small but the rewards are large. Contact a Board member
today and offer us your help.
PROMOTE YOUR SERVICES
The August issue of the Rockford Chamber's newsletter The Voice
will have a special section on Education & Training. Contact Becky
Bjornstad at 987-8100 X 117 for details.
SPREAD
THE WORD
Do you belong to other associations? We'd like to involve other associations
with joint events, joint schedules and other efforts. Please either give
Christie Mason with the contact names of any associations that you have
also joined, or have them contact any Board member.
LINKS
WE LIKE
Training
and Development - TRDEV - Review
archived discussions and subscribe to the international email discussion
group.
Training
Supersite - Products, services and free publications such as
Inside Technology Training magazine or free trials of Presentation, Training
Magazine and others (watch for my comments in one of the fall issues of
Presentation magazine)
Submitted
By:
Christie Mason
Changes
and Challenges
We had an interesting beginning to this year but we're ready to go
forward once we complete the Elections.
Each of this year's Board candidates has already been volunteering
their time during this transition period and their enthusiasm and commitment
has helped us begin to build on the
accomplishments of last year's efforts.
Before we discuss the future, let's take a moment of
appreciation and thank last year's Board.
Cathy Wilhelms - President/Newsletter
Christie
Mason- President Elect/Program/Membership
Michelle Pozzi - Secretary
Sheila Snider - Treasurer
Dawn Vicari - Media Relations
Jodi Lenkaitas - Scholarship
Dena Rasmussen - Membership
We have many exciting plans for this year.
Some of them have already started to take place.
|
The
RVASTD email list - to distribute Chapter news, events and Job
Opportunities. If you're not receiving any emails from rvastd@egroups.com
then send an email to rvastd-subscribe@egroups.com.
This is presently set up for a one way distribution from the Chapter to you. Let us know if you'd like to participate in a members only email discussion forum and we'll also initiate that service. |
|
The
RVASTD web presence - Chapter events, newsletter, links and
other information to help you increase your personal and professional
skills. http://www.managersforum.com/ASTD/index.htm
The site is presently being hosted for free by a Chapter member. If this web presence is useful this year, we'll expand the site and obtain our own domain and hosting services. |
|
Events
- We have scheduled a wide variety of member presentations for the
next year. Training, business, personal and professional information
will all be included as topics.
We'll also be using a variety of locations. If you have any suggestions, or want to offer, a location for our regular monthly meeting please contact Christie Mason. The February meeting will take place totally online. You'll be able to attend from your office, your home or you can go to several alternate locations to access the meeting. |
|
Newsletter
& Event Schedules - Have been combined into one monthly
distribution. This will deliver to you more information, more often.
Put the first Tuesday of every month on your event schedule now.
AND, don't forget to check the event schedule
for dates, time, locations and links.
|
|
CORE
- National ASTD is now requiring each chapter to submit annual reports
to comply with their Chapter Operating Requirements. We have
gathered the baseline information and will be collecting more information
to comply with their reporting requirements about Chapter goals,
surveys, budgets and plans.
|
| Meeting Registration and Reservations - Now you can also register for meetings by sending an email to Michelle Pozzi or by filling out the online form. |
This year, we'll also be reviewing other changes
and projects.
Give members who
refer new members one free meeting attendance.
Investigate adding
affinity products and revenue sharing programs.
Consider creating
a RVASTD event with member presentations
and marketing opportunities.
Develop and promote
a speaker/trainer referral system.
Allow Board members
to attend meetings for free.
Increase the number
and type of joint events.
Increase our interaction
with other associations.
By Laws - formalize
policies for elections and fiscal year.
Increase the use
of Committees to reduce the Board members
workload and increase member involvement.
Increase the amount
of information circulated within the membership.
It's an ambitious, challenging list but we can accomplish it together.
Let us know your reactions and suggestions.
Christie Mason
President, Rock Valley ASTD
Phone/Fax 815-652-3196
