President's Message – May 2009

Dear Potomac Chapter Member,

Potomac Receives the 2009 Chapter of Excellence Award!

Pardon me while I crow! It was a thrill to be recognized for our hard work and, of course, measurable progress, in bringing our beloved Potomac Chapter back to health. On April 20th, Tim Esque, Board Member of ISPI (International), bestowed upon us the Chapter of Excellence Award at Awards Luncheon at the 2009 International Conference on Performance Improvement in Orlando, Florida. On stage were President-elect nominee and Membership Chair Dr. Molly Wankel (ATF), Learning Technology Chair Mark Boccia (Marriott), and past Presidents June Fair, Dr. Karen Medsker (HPSI), and Matt Peters (DIA). Karen made us look even better by being the recipient of ISPI's Distinguished Service Award, which she richly deserved and for this belated recognition of her outstanding service, we are over the moon. It was also wonderful to have Matt there, who has invested a very busy year as President of ISPI International, and to whom we give our deep thanks. An unexpected bonus was the presence of conference speaker, Dr. Rich Perlstein, whose generosity and gift for making evaluation easy to understand and use well will manifest in both a program and a workshop for us next season.

Sharing at the CLW

Mark Boccia, Molly Wankel, and I presented on how we worked to revive our chapter at the Chapter Leadership Workshop (CLW), which June also attended. We received enthusiastic responses and the Potomac Chapter has many new friends, equally committed to bolstering chapter strength and leadership throughout ISPI. We are working together to field several sessions next year devoted to helping chapters build their infrastructure. ISPI_Potomac_Presentation.ppt

Speakers Lined Up through August 2010

Throughout the conference Molly and I were unstoppable in lining up national and internationally renowned speakers for our upcoming season. Their gracious consent means you can look forward to marvelous programs on everything from new approaches to changing culture based on the latest brain chemistry research, legacy programs from Dr. Dale Brethower and Dr. Karen Brethower, and a review of current popular models and approaches by the irascible Don Tosti (The Seven Habits of Successful Plumbers and Other Considered Opinions). To kick it all off, Rick Rummler will give a presentation in September on The Evolution of Current Rummlerian Techniques in Performance Improvement (PI) and two workshops for us on the Fundamentals of PI and Advanced PI Techniques. A workshop by Carl Binder will provide us the opportunity to serve our Maryland constituents and re-connect with the avid PI community at NSA.

Annual Membership Drive

Want to know what else to look for? Watch for details in Molly's upcoming Membership Renewal Letter. Please renew promptly and keep our chapter strong. Also, we're only 20+ members short of my personal goal of having 100 members by the end of my term in July. PLEASE consider finding ONE PERSON and convincing them to join our chapter. Again, every one—especially our amazing Board members—who has so generously contributed to our protracted, ongoing, and successful efforts to transition deserves a great, big "Thank you!"

Online Videos of Our Programs

Don't forget to check out Mark Boccia's many hours of wonderful work: online program videos. Go to our website, click on Video Programs on the left side. Watch our monthly programs including Paul Elliott's program on Joe Harless, Karen Medsker's presentation on Robert Gagne, and Rich Arnold's terrific talk on Training Needs Assessment (you missed a master at work if you couldn't attend and this is "rich" enough to ask your colleagues to view). Thanks to Dan Elbert and Mark Boccia for filming these events.

Once more let me express my deepest gratitude to everyone who helped make our Award of Excellence possible. We have less work to do to keep going and grow our future, but we wouldn't be in such a strong place without your support. Any volunteers to help run the election? You know where to find me! president@ispi-dc.org.

Sincerely,
Sarah Ward
P.S. Come to our May 13th program: Strategic Planning!