by David Tennant, PMP, PE
As 2013 comes to a close, it is appropriate to provide a summary of the Chapter’s challenges and accomplishments over the last 12 months. As your chapter Chairman, I have been privileged to work with a talented Board and Leadership Team. Just for clarity, the Executive Board is concerned with the strategic direction and planning for the chapter, maintaining financial stability, and supporting the Leadership Team. The Leadership Team is responsible for implementing many of the programs and services that are provided each month. These include the chapter dinner meetings, lunch-and-learn sessions, continuing education courses, professional growth, forums, and the many other activities put on by the chapter. The Leadership Team also has many volunteers that assist every month to ensure our operations run smoothly. It is truly a strong partnership.
Your Atlanta chapter is the second largest PMI chapter in the USA (behind Washington DC) and the third largest chapter in the World (behind Ontario, Canada). Current Atlanta membership stands at just over 4,500.
The accomplishments for this year included a partnership with both Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State University (KSU). For Georgia Tech, we have formed an internship program for seniors near graduation and also graduate students. A number of Atlanta companies have been approached to participate in this effort and we anticipate significant growth moving into 2014. For KSU, the chapter will provide PM mentoring and guest speakers. PMI Atlanta has also had a long-standing relationship with DeVry- Keller, which continues to be active.
We have also been able to increase our university scholarship donations from $7,000 to $9,500 in 2013.
In the area of Marketing, 2013 saw the development of a PMI chapter promotional video. This is useful in promoting our chapter to local Chambers of Commerce, new members, and potential sponsors. The video has been well received and is timely in promoting the chapter to external groups.
One of the complaints we have received in the past is the volume of e-mails received by chapter members. We heard the message and made a serious effort this year to be more efficient in our communications. For example, instead of each Forum sending monthly e-mails to advertise their programs, this has been consolidated into one-mail indicating the activities of each forum combined.
Other streamline efforts have occurred and more will follow in 2014. This year saw an increase in efforts to promote the chapter using social media. PMI Atlanta is now using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to inform people about chapter programs and events. A new chapter policy was developed for this to occur.
There were several new members who joined the Leadership Team in 2013. As a result, the Atlanta chapter sent a large contingent to the PMI National Leadership Conference, held in New Orleans in October. The conference provided the opportunity for Atlanta chapter leadership to improve their operational skills, learn about programs and challenges faced by other chapters, and to make many industry/PMI contacts. The ideas and information obtained from the conference enables both the Board and Leadership Team to better plan and manage the chapter. Also, a number of your Atlanta Chapter leaders gave presentations at the event.
Atlanta has become acknowledged as an innovative and creative chapter. Based on the many programs and activities we offer, many other PMI chapters look to Atlanta for fresh ideas and leadership.
Additional activities that occurred in 2013:
• Developed a PMI Atlanta committee in Athens, GA
• Provided outreach through all major Chambers in the metro Atlanta area
• Provided an average of 12 PM events each month
• Five Forums are active and offer meetings for networking and growth: Engineering, Governance, Healthcare, Technology, and Agile.
• The Board and Leadership Team participated in a Strategic Planning session in June to account for chapter development and growth over the next three years.
• The Board and Leadership Team attended a PMI Region 14 conference in Augusta, GA to share best practices with, and learn from, other chapters.
• The final meeting of the year (December 9) was a major networking event held at the Georgian Club. It was a festive event with exceptional food, entertainment, and over 200 attendees. It allowed the Chair to provide a summary of the year and to introduce newly elected Board members.
There were a number of challenges to address and will continue to need our attention moving forward. Membership in our chapter has remained essentially flat. There are 12,000 PMI members in the Atlanta area, but only 4,500 are affiliated with our chapter. We will be working to bring more of these into our base by offering new programs and activities.
We found enrollment decreased in some of the chapter courses this year. Coupled with the lack of membership growth, we feel, is due to the current state of the economy.
In closing, the state of the Atlanta chapter is strong and dynamic. There will be many activities and new events as we move to 2014; and continuing efforts to grow the chapter. I want to thank everyone on the Executive Board and Leadership Team for their support and dedication, as well as the many volunteers who support them. The new Chairwoman, Yvonne Byars, will assume the role as your chapter leader on January 1. She has a number of new initiatives to share and will take the chapter to the next level of development. Finally, I wish to thank you – the 4,500 members of the chapter — for your continued support and interest in your chapter. I look forward to seeing you at events in 2014.