AITP Region 5

May 2002 Newsletter

Mark S. Gilfand, CDP
Region 5 President

It is hard to believe, the but year is almost half over.Where does the time go? A lot has gone on in AITP the past few months.Many new opportunities are in the works. Region 5 once again proved it is the Pacesetter Region. Here's a summary of activities.

Region 5 Chapters Win Awards

Region 5 was very well represented in the AITP award process this year. Congratulations to all the winners. These awards show your dedication and effort to the ideals of AITP.

Chapter Outstanding Performance Award (COPA)

Chapters who qualify, by meeting specified objectives, receive this award.

Region Outstanding Chapter

The Region selects the winner from those chapters that qualify for COPA. Region winners compete for the Association Outstanding Chapter Award this fall.

Association Newsletter Award

Chapters compete against other chapters in their category, which is based on chapter size.

100% Membership Goal

All chapters who meet their membership goal are recognized.

AMA - Association Membership Award

Chapters who attain a specified level of growth, through new member recruitment and renewal of existing members are recognized. Chapters compete against others chapters in their category, which is based on size.

50th Anniversary Membership Campaign

The top ten chapters in last year's association membership campaign were announced.Region 5 was represented by:

PCS - Professional Chapter Support

Chapters who meet certain AITP objectives receive a financial reward from the Association.

Student Chapter Outstanding Performance Awards (SCOPA)

These are chapters who qualified last spring. This year's winners will be announced soon.

Region 5 Outstanding Student Chapter

Selected by the Region from the students chapters that attained SCOPA last year.

Association Outstanding Student Chapter

Selected at the National Collegiate Conference, from all the Region Outstanding Student Chapters.

Faculty Advisor of the Year

Selected at the National Collegiate Conference, from nominations made across the association.

Want to learn more about these awards?Visit the the AITP web site:www.aitp.org
Go to the 'site map' (link at the top of the page).
Scroll down to the section on 'AITP Documents'.
Click on 'Manuals/Awards/Forms'.
Click on the 'Awards Manual'.

National Collegiate Conference Again an Outstanding Success

The 7th annual AITP National Collegiate Conference (NCC) was a huge success again this year. Hosted by the Kansas City DeVry student chapter and the Kansas City professional chapter, the conference provided students and faculty an opportunity to showcase their skills and win some impressive awards. 99 colleges and universities from all over the country attended.

Here are the Region 5 Chapters that participated and won awards this year. Congratulations to all the winners:

Region 5 Schools at NCC

Region 5 NCC Funding Assistance

Six chapters received $400 from the Region to help them with NCC expenses. The chapters were selected by a region committee from all those chapters who applied.

AITP Student Chapter Banner Contest

Scavenger Hunt

Web Application Contest

Java Contest

Visual Basic Programming Contest

Webmaster using Microsoft FrontPage 2002 Contest

Network Design Contest

Make plans for NCC next year, in West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University) March 27-29, 2003.

Region 5 Holds Successful Spring Meeting

Region 5 held a very successful Chapter Liaison meeting and Chapter Leaders' workshop on April 26 in St. Louis. Our thanks for all of you who participated. Minutes of the Chapter Liaison meeting will be available at the Region 5 web site soon.

The St. Louis chapter treated us to a very unique experience, the pilot of a web-cast chapter meeting.In essence, the meeting was held in simultaneously in several locations. People from as far as 2 hours drive away were able to interactively participate in this meeting from their location. It was an outstanding success. To learn more about the web-cast, see the May issue of the Twin City Chapter Newsletter (http://www.exu.ilstu.edu/aitp/index.htm). Click on 'Newsletter' and then 'May 2002 Newsletter'.Twin City's Chapter Liaison, Karen Essington, was busy taking notes while the rest of us sat back and enjoyed the web cast. Thanks Karen!

The Chapter Leaders' workshop was a great experience for all who attended. Many thanks to our two main presenters. Larry Jeralds of Southern Illinois University gave us the perspective of the Student Chapter Advisor. He also presented many ideas how to work with our Student Chapters. Past Association President, Larry Schmitz led an inspiring discussion on the value of professional associations.These chapter workshops are a chance for chapter leaders to share ideas from their counterparts in other chapters. Please plan on attending the chapter leaders' workshop at the Region 5 Conference this fall.

AITP Is Alive and Well in Southern Wisconsin

The Southern Wisconsin Chapter in Madison, Wisconsin had fallen upon hard times. The chapter was not meeting regularly, activities had ground to a halt. But that's no longer the situation in Madison.The Southern Wisconsin Chapter is back! On May 2nd, chapter members got together to elect new officers and to get their chapter active again.

The election was officiated by Tony LaCrosse, Region 5 Treasurer and Past Region 5 President. Others Region attendees included Larry Schmitz (the featured speaker), Ellen Mahoney, and me.

The successful comeback of the chapter is largely the result of the chapter's new President, Jeff Goldring. Jeff enlisted the help of several chapter members (and non-members) who, like Jeff, believed in the power and need for AITP. They called every chapter member and everyone else they could think of and had a fantastic turnout at the meeting. Congratulations to the members and officers of the new Southern Wisconsin Chapter!Interested parties can contact Jeff Goldring at: JGoldring@sprinc.com

2002 Region 5 Conference will be November 14-15 in Bloomington, IL

The Twin City chapter will be host the 2002 Region 5 Conference this fall. It will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Bloomington, IL, Thursday November 14 and Friday November 15, 2002. The theme is 'The Q Factor - Quality in Information Systems'. There will be educational tracks on project management, technical topics, and soft skill/general management. The Chapter Liaison meeting will be held that Thursday morning.

Look for more information coming soon from the Twin City Chapter. Make plans to attend the conference this fall.

The Value of the CCP and Proctoring ICCP Exams

Are you looking for an educational opportunity for your chapter? Consider promoting ICCP certification.An opportunity exists for chapters to proctor ICCP exams. See the AITP web site (www.aitp.org) for details.

The Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) provides recognized vendor-independent certification for our industry. States like Illinois and Texas are passing laws that require IT professionals to be certified to do business with the states. Certification will be more and more important. More information is available at the ICCP web site (www.iccp.org).

The ICCP web site contains an excellent document on the value of hiring and working with certified computing professionals. Here's a link to a page with a summary and a PDF file with details:http://www.iccp.org/iccpnew/certification.html Chapters newsletter editors...if you would like that document in Microsoft Word format, just send me an email request.

AITP News in Brief

Here's a brief summary of news around AITP.See the AITP web site for more details:

AITP and SIM, the Society for Information Management have been working together on program offerings, advocacy, membership development and collective identity. A report of their findings is expected late this summer or early fall.

AITP is working with Paradigm Consulting on identifying and capitalizing on growth opportunities, including collaborations and partnerships with other organizations, affiliations with selected service providers, and the recreation of the AITP web site to a best-of-breed portal for IT professionals.

The Association is seeking candidates for Executive Vice-President/President Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and District Directors in the Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts.See the AITP web site if you are interested in these opportunities to provide real leadership within our industry.

The AITP Annual Conference will be held October 31-November 3 in San Antonio, TX. This year's conference will overlap with the Region 3 Student Conference and ISECON 2002.

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