Olympia
Washington ChapterOriginal Article - PMI Olympia Volunteer Opportunities
Article of the Month - Work Breakdown Structure
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Glenn Briskin, PMP, Chapter President
This month I'm thinking about elections. It's time to seek nominations for PMI Olympia board positions. Nominations are open now and will run through April. We will confirm a slate of candidates the beginning of May and hold elections in May. New board members start their terms July 1.
I've been board president for two years now, and the bylaws require me to step aside and let someone else be president. I'm good with that. Being on the board has been very rewarding for me. Let me tell you how.
My first year on the board I was responsible for programs and sponsors. I worked with a great committee and we came up with lots of program ideas. People we contacted were very cooperative and enthusiastic. The best part was meeting all the interesting speakers and discussing how best to meet the chapter's needs for information. Even better, it seems that I keep running into the people I met. You know, people often tell me "you know everyone!" It's usually a compliment and not commentary on my age. You get to know everyone by making opportunities to meet new people. Being on the board has been helpful to my career through both contacts and knowledge gained.
Then I became chapter president. A reluctant president. While people view me as responsible and competent, I've never been comfortable with being the 'lead guy' in an organization. I'm a much better helper and facilitator. Hence, my business "Briskin Consulting." Notice it's not "Briskin Leadership" or "Briskin Enterprises." I like consulting. But, I digress. There have been benefits being president, too. Lots of my clients or potential local clients say, "I know you, you're the PMI president..." It's usually a compliment. Even better, I've found it a great opportunity to talk with and work with new people. The board has forged partnerships with the local Information Processing Management Association and the Department of Personnel. I've gotten to know lots of agency and business leaders from our area in talking about PMI, sponsorships, and how PMI and project management could be important to their organizations.
Maybe that's the most important thing. PMI and project management are important to organizations' success. As project managers we are important to our organizations' success. PMI helps us be better project managers. Being on the board of our PMI chapter helps PMI. It is great experience, even if you're feeling reluctant about it. All these things, even if they're a little extra work or somewhat frustrating at times, make board membership worthwhile and important.
Think about running for the board. It will be good for you and good for PMI. Glen Tapanila is the chairman of the nominating committee. Contact Glen at elections@pmiolympia.org to express your interest.
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The Olympia PMI has many opportunities for you to volunteer and help move our organization forward. At the same time, you would be growing your professional network and possibly learning some new skills for a win-win for you and our chapter. More detail is provided below, but specifically we need:
Board Positions
The Chapter will be voting on all board positions in May for appointment to the upcoming year to start July 1, 2006. Elections at this time will give us opportunity to transition in new board members while working in tandem with board members who are stepping down. Our bylaws call for us to vote on all board positions. In some cases there is a current incumbent who intends to re-run for their position, but in many nominees are needed. Members may run against current incumbents. Contact the nominations committee at elections@pmiolympia.org if you would like to run for a position or have a recommendation for a nominee that the committee should contact. You may also be contacted by the nominations committee if you have been identified as a potential nominee. Below is a status of the board positions.
As Glenn mentions above, being on the board is a great honor and benefit. It is your opportunity to drive the direction and programs of the PMI Olympia Chapter, is a great networking opportunity, and provides PDU's for PMP's. Please feel free to contact any board member if you have any questions. Contact information is available at our Contact page.
IPMA Forum Volunteers
The Information Processing Management Association's (IPMA) annual forum is coming May 23-24, 2006. This is a great opportunity for us to spread the word about all the PMI has to offer and introduce some local project management professionals to our local chapter. We need volunteers that are willing to spend two to four hours at the PMI Olympia booth to help promote our great organization. If you have an interest with helping out, please contact Vicki Rummig at communications@pmiolympia.org and let her know when would be the best time for you assist. Please be sure to include contact information.
Webmaster
Do you have an opinion on what our website should look like? Do you have skills you are developing in web design and development? If so, we have the perfect volunteer position for you. The PMI Olympia Chapter is seeking a webmaster to help maintain and spice up the chapter website. This person will collaborate with the Vice President of Marketing and work in tandem to ensure timely updates to the website are possible. Please contact Vicki Rummig at communications@pmiolympia.org and let her know when would be the best time for you assist. Please be sure to include contact information.
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Each month we will provide information on an article that we found on the Internet that we believe will be beneficial to all members. We will try to vary the sources of the articles to provide variety and gain exposure to online resources that may have not previously been found. If you have an article you would like to see linked here, send your request to the Editor.
This month's Article of the Month was discovered on everything2.com. This article goes back to basics on the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It reminds us that the WBS is not a list of tasks entered into MS Project, but a "hierarchical diagram" that provides a view of the work within scope of the project in which to begin estimating cost and schedule.
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1789032 [To Top]
The section is dedicated to congratulating and highlighting the achievement of our members who recently passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.
If you have recently achieved your Project Management Professional (PMP) credential or know someone who has, please contact the Editor to be recognized. This recognition helps promote project management as a profession, the Project Management Professional credential as a desirable item for any project manager, and gives the recipient proper recognition for a true achievement.
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Send and e-mail with link or original posting to the Editor to include in the next edition. Please keep in mind that publication is targeted for the fourth week of each month. In the meantime, job postings can be made and found in our Online Community.
The Department of Licensing is looking for a Commercial Driver License Project Manager.
http://www.dop.wa.gov/JobSeekers/default.htm?JobPostingId=1653
Other Upcoming Events
Original Article - Volunteer with PMI Olympia
Vicki Rummig, PMP, Editor
Article of the Month - Work Breakdown Structure
Work Breakdown Structure
Meet our new Project Management Professionals
Project Management Job Announcements