September 2002 Newsletter

Mark S. Gilfand, CDP
Region 5 President

It is hard to believe it is fall already. But the temperature is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to turn, the football season has begun, and College tuition for our children is due. The fall is typically a busy time for AITP. Chapters and the Association are holding elections. We are all working hard to achieve our 2002 goals as well planning for 2003 and beyond. This issue of the Region 5 Newsletter will (hopefully) give you information you can use at this time.

AITP Transitions Headquarters Operations

In August, AITP completed the transition of its Headquarters Operations to the professional association management firm of Smith-Bucklin & Associates (SBA). We now have a staff of 3 full-time and 4 part-time people who leverage their knowledge and experience in managing associations. In fact, SBA is the country's leading association management company! This is truly a win-win situation for chapters and the association.

One of the primary tasks in August and September was the transition of our old membership system to SBA's leading association membership system. This should be of great help to both chapters and members. A lot of work is currently underway preparing for the annual meeting and conference in San Antonio, fall publications, financial statements, and 2003 budget. SBA has even joined the committee responsible for the development of AITP's state-of-the-art Web Portal.

SBA staff is more than happy to work with members and chapter leaders on any need they have. Please don't hesitate to call on them. The headquarters staff contact list, with names, email addresses and phone numbers, is always available at the AITP web site - www.aitp.org. Just click on the People button and then select 'Headquarters Staff'. I would like to hear from chapters about their experiences with the new headquarters staff. I'll pass along your comments and suggestions during at the annual meeting.

Be sure to vote in the Association Leadership Election

Elections are currently underway to select your 2003 Association Officers and Board of Directors. Ballots were distributed with the July/August edition of Information Executive. If you haven't already voted, please do so. The positions on the ballot are:

1. Association Vice-President / President Elect
2. Association Secretary/Treasurer
3. District Director. The Association is divided into Districts. We are in the CENTRAL District. Please cast your vote for the Central District Director, ignoring the other districts. By the way, I am running for the Central District Director position.

This year, there is only one announced candidate for each position. But write-in candidates are allowed. Even though there is just one announced candidate, your vote is very much needed. It is important that you have a voice in who will lead the Association in the coming years. Candidate qualifications and vision statements are in the July/August issue of Information Executive and are available at the AITP website - www.aitp.org. Select the link off the home page.

Please be sure to vote and to SIGN YOUR BALLOT. Ballots can be faxed or mailed to AITP headquarters. Either way, they are due back to Headquarters by October 4, 2002. No matter who you vote for, please vote and be sure to SIGN YOUR BALLOT. If you need a new ballot, contact AITP headquarters at 800-224-9371.

Region 5 Conference - November 14 - 15, 2002

The Twin City Chapter is hard at work preparing for the Region 5 Conference, November 14-15, 2002 at the Radisson Hotel in Bloomington, Illinois. The theme for this year's conference is 'The Q Factor: Quality in Information Systems'.

This is a multi-track conference with something for everyone who has an interest in making sure that Quality is a factor in the development and maintenance of all their Information Systems. There will be tracks on Technology, Project Management, and Management/Soft Skills.

The Region 5 Meeting of the Chapter Liaisons will be held Thursday morning, November 14 from 8:00 am to 11:45 am. The conference itself starts at Noon with Lunch and a great keynote speaker. There are educational sessions Thursday afternoon. Join the Twin City Chapter for dinner Thursday night, with an outstanding speaker.

Friday morning, there are more educational sessions follow by lunch and another outstanding keynote speaker. Chapter Leaders -- please note that there is a Chapter Leaders Workshop Friday afternoon. Join your peers in other chapters to learn new ideas and techniques to really 'jump-start' your own chapter.

Please invite your friends and colleagues to Bloomington, Illinois November 14 -15. Check the Twin City chapter web site - www.exu.ilstu.edu/aitp/index.htm for more details and a registration form. The early registration deadline is October 21. For questions, contact Karen Essington at 309-766-3156 or karen.essington.a0oi@statefarm.com.

Association Conference - October 31 - November 3, 2002

AITP's Annual Meeting and Conference will be held October 31 - November 3, 2002 at the Adam's Mark Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. This is a joint meeting of the Association, AITP's Region 3 Student Conference and ISECON (Information Systems Education Conference).

The theme this year is 'The Future IT....Hot-n-Spicy'. There are emerging technology workshops all day Thursday, multi-track educational sessions all day Friday and Saturday morning, and the AITP Annual Membership meeting Saturday afternoon. There are ISECON sessions on Sunday November 3.

Join us at what promises to be one of the best Association conferences ever! For more details, check the link off the AITP web site - www.aitp.org.

Newsletter Award Survey

The association administers an annual Outstanding Chapter Newsletter Award to encourage the chapters to publish quality newsletters for its members. Over the past few years, many chapters replaced their paper newsletters with on-line publications at their chapter web site. This has made administration of the award difficult. The August month-end mailing to chapter leaders contained a survey from the Association Awards Committee to get chapter feedback on the direction for the Newsletter award. Please be sure to complete the survey and return it by September 30, 2002.

Web Portal Progress

Work on the AITP's new Web Portal is well underway. This is an exciting new development in our Association that will bring real value to AITP members. What is this 'Web Portal'? Well, it will be much more than just another web site. It will be your gateway to Information Technology information, products, services, and education. Check page 13 of the July/August issue of Information Executive for an article about the web portal. There will be another article in the September/October issue of Information Executive.

Check out the July/August Issue of Information Executive

The July/August issue of 'Information Executive' is packed with useful information for both chapter leaders and members alike. There is candidate information, great articles on both industry topics and chapter operations, and details on the transition of headquarters operations to SBA. Chapter leaders will be interested in a survey of chapter operations conducted by Mark Kleine of the Oklahoma City Chapter. You can learn when and how other chapters hold meetings, what topics are presented, what kind of promotion is done, etc. This article will help you gain a lot useful ideas for your own chapter.

No longer have your paper copy of Information Executive? No problem...the full issue is available on-line in PDF format at the AITP web site - www.aitp.org. Just click the 'Info Exec' button on the left side of the home page.

Check out the updates at the Region 5 Website

Region 5 Webmaster, Perry Fritz, recently revamped the professional and student chapters listings at the Region 5 website (http://new.aitp.org/region5/). Chapter leaders, take a few minutes to check out your chapter's links. Student chapter coordinators and Presidents, check the links to your the student chapters.

Please send me corrections at mark.gilfand.ah3y@statefarm.com.

ICCP Board of Directors Election

Bill Reaugh, past AITP Region 5 President, past AITP Association President, current Regent for the AITP Education Foundation and current Central Illinois Chapter Liaison, is a candidate for a position on the ICCP (Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals) Board of Directors.

This election is being held via email and is to be completed by September 27, 2002. In late August, ballots and supporting information for each candidate were emailed to ICCP members of record (those who are CDP/CSP/CCP certificate holders AND who are on ICCP's database).

If you are a CDP, CSP, or CCP holder and did not get a ballot, then chances are your email address is not on the ICCP's database. To request a ballot, send an email message to: office@iccp.org. Specify your name, certificate number and/or year of certification and your Email Address.

Please consider voting for Bill Reaugh. His experience, talent, and dedication in that position will be of great benefit to all of us.

Interest in ICCP Certification Exam Program?

Over the past few months, I've had several conversations with chapters, individual members, and the ICCP about the availability of an ICCP Certification exam program within the Region. One of the items discussed, of course, was how many people would travel for a two-day examination program that culminates in taking ICCP exams. Chapter Leaders, please poll your chapters and let me know of the interest level for such a program. That will help us plan upcoming activities within the region.

Chapter Bylaws Updates Due

This is a reminder for all chapters in Region 5 to make sure that their Chapter Bylaws are revised to conform to the Association model bylaws. If you have not yet started the process or have any questions, please contact the Region 5 Bylaws Chair, Bill Reaugh at 71524.3070@compuserve.com. Chapter Liaisons should be prepared to discuss the status of the their bylaws revisions at the Chapter Liaison meeting November 14.

Chapter Officer Lists Due

This is the time of year for student chapters and professional chapters to elect new officers and directors for 2003. This is a reminder for both student chapter and professional chapters to send their officer/director lists to both Association Headquarters and me within 30 days of the election. This will ensure that the proper people in your chapter receive vital Association and Chapter-related information.

The Chapter officers forms are available at the AITP web site - www.aitp.org. To access the forms, click on the 'Manuals/Forms' button on the left side of the home page.

Professional chapters should scroll down to 'Chapters' section. The form is 'Attachment C - AITP Chapter Officers' of the Chapter Operations Handbook.

Student chapters should scroll down to the 'Students' section. The form is 'Exhibit 5 - Student Chapter Officers' of the Student Chapter Operations Handbook.

Please note that at the time of this writing (September 16) the forms have the old AITP headquarters address and fax number. Those forms as well as others are currently being revised. You can still use these older forms. If you snail-mail or fax them, please be sure to use the new headquarters address or fax number. Just click on the 'People' button at the AITP web site and select 'Headquarters Staff' to get that information.