by Mike Ososki, PMP
The pastor said, “We think of people as part of our lives, but they’re actually the point of our lives.”
Welcome to PMI Atlanta membership, dear newcomers! 2024 was a banner year for us as a chapter, adding 1,472 new members. The ATL is currently at 5,889 total members, #2 size in the world, ranking behind only Washington, DC (9,000+ members). We want to keep up this kind of positive momentum, and our 2/20 gathering at The Main Event in Alpharetta was a good step in the right direction, with plenty of fresh faces—plus good eating with a variety of Mexican-style foods served buffet-style.
Geoff Berlin (VP Engagement) shared a few words to emphasize the importance of networking and volunteering to earn PDUs. (If you don’t know, PDUs are Professional Development Units, and PMI-certified PMPs (Project Management Professionals) are required to earn 60 every 3 years to maintain their PMP credential). Chiquetta West (AVP Volunteer Coordination) offered a short pitch for new volunteers, an always super-important aspect of vibrant chapters. Where do you want to plug in?
Allison Gardner (AVP New Membership), opened things up with a high level summary. She introduced everyone to a slide deck pic of our current leadership team, and here they are for you, too (click here). Allison encouraged everyone to reach out as needed to the leaders and/or anyone else that may answer questions or assist in any way. She mentioned the monthly chapter meetings (next one is Monday, March 10th (register here) and spoke about the Brand and Land ChatGPT workshop on Saturday, March 22nd (register here), part of the PMI Atlanta Career Series.
Some of us then played PMI Atlanta Newcomer Bingo, a networking activity where you rush about to find people that meet the descriptions in each bingo card. The first ones to complete the rows won prizes
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Everyone received a free 2-hour Fun Card to engage in the wide variety of activities offered by our fun host, The Main Event. These include games, bowling, billiards, and gravity ropes.
Between the open and extending leadership, enthusiastic other volunteers, continued learning to earn PDUs, a variety of meetings and events, the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), PMI.org, PMIAtlanta.org, ProjectManagement.com, and more, our resource cup overflows to PM success in abundance.