by: Randy Tangco, July, 13-15 2007
Newsletter Editor

It was a quiet afternoon when I decided to check my email. To my surprise, the VP-Communications sent me an email informing me of our SIG board's decision to invite me to attend the face-to-face (F2F) meeting. Without batting an eyelash, I said yes even if it means I will lose a day's pay. Well, I would say it was well worth it. Our board held the F2F meeting at the beautiful Royal Sonesta Hotel which is in the heart of Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I would say this street is fantastic. It is a combination of modern U.S.A and history French structures.

I had the honor of meeting our board officers, namely: Mark Lurch, our chair; Dave Prior, our vice-chair; Andy Maxymillian, our VPOperations; Dan Twedt, our VP-Membership; Vasilj Petrovic, our VP-Professional Development; Dave Garrett, our VP-PR; and Charlie Shaw, our VP-Finance. Another volunteer who was invited is our beloved Amir Mosavi. He is our manager of guest speaker. This is the gentleman who makes it happen for our webinars. Unfortunately I was not able to meet in person our board members from Europe, who called in by video conference: VP-Globalisation Petra Goltz and my boss Despina Giannopolou, VP-Communications.

I witnessed our board members working hard for 8 hours addressing issues affecting the SIG and also brainstorming on how to serve us, members, better. I have seen that our current set of leaders are good stewards of the SIG. I sincerely commend Despina and Petra who stayed on the phone for two long days just to be in touch with our other board member and give their reports. You cannot discount the dedication and effort here because it is not easy sitting on the phone for two days. In my case, I got to experience the board in action and provide some inputs on how to address an issue that will serve you better. We also touch based with the New Orleans Chapter and spoke with its chapter president and some of its officers during lunch and at a networking session later in the evening.

There are other benefits you will get as a volunteer of the SIG. Due to my presence in the F2F meeting, I volunteered to be involved in the planning for the IT and Telecom Networking Engagement at the PMI North American Global Congress (NAGC). This is a good PM experience as far as I am concerned because the NAGC is a big PMI event which requires careful planning of schedule, logistics, budget, and resources.

I would encourage all SIG members to check out volunteer opportunities in our website. Our board needs your help to make things happen. Below is a photo of our board members so you recognize the team of PMs that spend so much time to bring you high value products and services; Connecting PEOPLE, DATA, and IDEAS.

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