By Glenn Boylan

The October PMI Atlanta Technology Forum reached out across geography and time zones. A timely and relevant subject for many PMs – working effectively with remote teams.

Steve Kruger and Nancy Berlin opened the meeting talking about PMI Atlanta. The Atlanta chapter can always use volunteer help in many capacities, including speakers. If you have an interesting job or project to discuss, please consider volunteering to be a speaker. Not only will you help build the chapter’s body of knowledge, but you’ll get 3 PDUs towards your PMI certification as well.

There are certification and education classes being offered in November and December, but with the holiday season coming up, many regular events, especially those in the middle or end of the month, will not be held. Be sure to check the Events page on the chapter web site, at www.pmiatlanta.org, for the latest news and schedule of events.

by Mike Ososki, PMP, Communications Committee

They’ve been making the rounds at our events, pressing our flesh, kissing babies, and asking for our support to be elected. (Well, maybe not so much the babies part.) From November 10-21, you have the chance to exercise your freedom once again, and make your voice heard in PMI’s Atlanta Chapter. We have six great leaders stepping out, vying for three slots—

• For the Vice Chair spot, there’s Lydia James vs. Joe Sisto.
• It’s Barbara Wallace or Delton Zimmerman for Treasurer.
• And for Director 4, Sam Abdelaziz takes on Nara Acharya.

Here they all are in beautiful full living color ... and you can click on each name to read their Bio and Vision statement.

This won’t be an easy choice for you. Every candidate has plenty on the ball, with already proven performance records that eminently qualifies them to do a bang-up job. We are a fortunate group indeed.

Generally, every candidate emphasizes his/her dedication to add value to PMI Atlanta’s membership: to keep growing overall, and to increase member/volunteer participation (as we are 100% volunteer-run).

Following is a snapshot of some plans and priorities for each contender. Visit the website link above for more detail.

Written by Valerie Williams-Ndikintum, PMP

PMI Atlanta Toastmasters conducted its second meeting of October on Thursday the 23rd. The meeting consisted of 21 attendees in total including 4 guests. Guests included professionals, as well as students most of which were PMI Atlanta members.

The theme of October 23rd’s meeting was ‘Changes’, facilitated by Toastmaster Shannon Kraiger, CTM, CC. Three speech projects were delivered, all of which were presented to satisfy speech 2: Organize Your Speech, from the Competent Communication manual. A Table Topics session was also conducted.

The goal of project 2: Organize Your Speech, in the Competent Communication manual, is to deliver a speech as an outline allowing the audience to easily follow and comprehend the speech topic. The speech is expected to transition from message to message appropriately, presenting a clear and concise message all within the timeframe of 5 to 7 minutes.

Congratulations, Carolyn Toomer! Carolyn, who serves as VP of the Education Committee, was awarded Volunteer of the Month for November. Over the past three years, Carolyn has dedicated her time to growing a volunteer team that teaches project management skills to the Atlanta area middle and high schools by participating in programs like Junior Achievement and providing PM workshops.

Carolyn encourages all PMI Chapter members to volunteer and give some time back to the profession during their careers. She adds, “Volunteering is a very rewarding experience and project management skills can make a difference in the lives of many people. “