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. “

Written by Glenn Boylan

The September PMI Atlanta Technology Forum featured a fascinating talk about big data by Rich Wise.

Steve Kruger welcomed everyone and thanked our hosts, Hewlett-Packard. Excellent food this month. This month’s announcements included the fact that HP has a job opening for a Technical Accounts Manager, and that the chapter can always use additional volunteer help. (Speaking of which, don’t forget that being a speaker at one of the Forums will get you three PDUs towards your PMP!)

The chapter has many events coming up – lunches, dinners, forums, and networking events. The chapter website at pmiatlanta.org has all the details.

Nancy Berlin introduced Mr. Wise. Rich, who is a Software Architect and Professional Services IT consultant, has over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. The title of his talk was "Why Big Data ... How We Got Here".