Greetings Fellow PMI Members,
It has been an eventful 2nd quarter and I am excited to share our success with you.
A new chapter website was launched that includes features such as member counts; online sponsorship registrations and archived newsletters. The website will result in an estimated savings of 60% over the next 3 to 5 years. Additionally, internal collaboration and meeting and storage tools were streamlined resulting in a significant reduction in operational cost for the Chapter.
First quarter membership activities were continued including the monthly dinner meeting table networking, recognizing new members with special events and planning the upcoming July career month activities.
In line with our goal of providing premier professional development, we completed our first online PMP Exam Prep course in June, began advertising Certification & Education (C&E) courses via the Monthly Dinner Meeting and offered 11 courses totalling 132 PDUs.
Several educational and community initiatives were implemented during the second quarter in support of our commitment to build awareness and increase the value of project management in the Atlanta metro area. The 2014 Scholarship Program consisting of one $3,000 and two $2,000 scholarships for members and Educational College and University Program Initiative students was established; the High School and University Educational Program assisted Georgia middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities by bringing real-life project management experience into the classroom; and the Education Community Affairs Program established sponsorship for the Atlanta Project for a Day 2014 Event.
We rolled out our strategic plan centered on recruiting, selecting and retaining volunteers. The chapter’s use of the Volunteer Relationship Management System (VRMS) tool and processes to solicit volunteers; and track open volunteer roles and future individual interests increased volunteer participation by over 200%. As part of our newly implemented Volunteer Recognition Program, the annual volunteer appreciation dinner was held to recognize over 120 volunteers for their commitment and dedication to PMI Atlanta.
Each year the Atlanta Chapter recognizes local companies who have accomplished stellar achievements in project management. During this year’s award ceremony held in June, each winner provided an overview of their project highlighting key accomplishments, issues and lessons learned.
This year’s winners were 1st Place - The Coca-Cola Company--McDash-Business Intelligence Dashboard for McDonald’s Division at The Coca-Cola Company (Manufacturing); 2nd Place - Manheim Technology/Cox Enterprise-- Demand Management Implementation Project (Service) and 3rd Place - The Home Depot-- Blackberry Refresh (Retail).
Honorable Mentions were awarded to The City of Atlanta – IT Department – ATL 311 Program; Kone, Inc. – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – Vertical Transportation Upgrades, Phases 1 and 2 (KONE EcoMod on 16 Escalators and 2 Moving Walks); Northrop Grumman/CDC – Chronic Disease Management Information Systems (CMIS); The Rockdale County MIS Department – Rockdale County MIS ITIL Implementation – Phase I; and Genuine Parts Corporation (NAPA and GPC) Catalog Operations – The NAPA Parts Pro SE Project. Each award is well deserved and represents a commitment to excellence in the practice of project management.
Finally, the Chapter hosted the 2014 Region 14 Leadership Conference in April with great success. During the conference chapter leaders from the Southeast and Caribbean shared best practices and attended professional development activities that will facilitate new and exciting programs and improve chapter operations.
We have made significant progress this past quarter and I look forward to working with you toward continued attainment of our goals.
Best Regards,
Yvonne Byars, PMP
Chair, PMI Atlanta Chapter