Kansas City Mid-America Chapter of Project Management Institute Needs YOU!

Have you ever thought about what is really involved in being a KCPMI Mid-America Chapter Officer? Have you wondered what the benefits are aside from all the great forums in which you could be a part?

Becoming a chapter officer is a rewarding experience unique from many others. Regardless of the officer position, you are presented with numerous project management opportunities and forums to network with other PMI chapters and professionals across the region and country as a representative of KCPMI. Elected chapter officers are required to participate in approximately fifteen meetings throughout the year. These meetings include attending two to three strategic planning meetings that reevaluate the short and long range planning to ensure continued KCPMI’s success. Also as an officer you will attend six officer board meetings where you will be able to share your position’s goal progress as well as provide input on various chapter governing items. In addition, elected officers represent the chapter at the six dinner meetings that are held opposite the board meeting months-free of charge. Does that sound like a lot? It is really not as labor intensive as it sounds. These meetings average out to a little over one meeting a month and you set your own flexible schedule for any other deliverables in which you are responsible. And can I have a drum roll please…..the best part is that you can earn up to ten PDUs for the year if an elected officer not to mention the PDUs earned by attending the dinner meeting speakers! If you consider a PDU to cost over $100 per instructional hour, that is $1600 plus saved and you have still earned up to 16 PDUs total for your participation!

Think you might be interested in running for a position for 2011? Start your fact-finding now by perusing the position definitions and qualifications which can be requested by emailing me at president@kcpmichapter.org. Don’t stop shy of talking with the Board of Directors about the position in which you may be interested. We would be happy to share our experiences. All officer contact information is listed on the chapter’s website. Nominations open August 1. Election biographies are due no later then October 1. Election ballot opens October 16 and closes November 14. All voting is performed electronically with election results to be announced at the November 15 KCPMI Chapter Dinner Meeting. Refer to the chapter website for more details!

YOUR Kansas City Mid-America Chapter of Project Management has all kinds of exciting opportunities available to earn PDU’s through various volunteering whether it is as a chapter officer or a team volunteer.

Not quite ready to be an officer? You can still begin contributing simply by completing our volunteer form on the chapter’s website.

Every helping hand is appreciated as we all have various talents to offer. KCPMI is a 100% volunteer and not-for-profit organization. We look forward to hearing from YOU and hope you decide to spend some time giving back to YOUR local chapter!

Respectfully yours,
Sonya K. Corrigan, PMP
President
Kansas City Mid-America Chapter of Project Management
president@kcpmichapter.org

Volunteer Committee Highlights

• Charity Events - Ronald McDonald House 7/19
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Volunteer of the Month

Charity Events

Our next Chapter Charity event is benefiting the Ronald McDonald House (RMH). We will be collecting items for RMH at the July 19th PMI Business meeting. The RMH Wish-list items include:

1. Forks and spoons
2. Postage stamps (the Forever stamps)
3. Kitchen-size plastic trash bags
4. Disinfectant wipes
5. Dryer sheets
6. Paper towels and toilet paper
7. Healthy snack foods: granola bars, peanut butter crackers, drink boxes, individual size boxes of raisins. These are popular because families enjoy healthy snacks at the hospital, can pick them up on the run out of the House when going over to the hospital and don't have to spend money at the cafeteria.

Our last event will be November 15 - the charity TBA at a later date. If you have questions please contact Kathleen Cavanaugh.

Volunteer Opportunities
It’s time to begin thinking about chapter officer or director positions for next year. If you are thinking about getting more involved with the Chapter, being a VP or Director is a great way. Don’t hesitate to contact any of the active directors and VPs to ask questions and discuss your interest areas. The Chapter is always looking for qualified, enthusiastic volunteers!

Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Nancy Jewell as May’s Volunteer of the Month. Nancy has been a longtime volunteer in service to the chapter. She served on the board of directors in a variety of roles - VP Volunteers, VP Administration, and VP Membership. This year she is outdoing her past contributions as the Director of PDD Speakers. She has organized a dedicated team of volunteers to recruit and sign up a group of the best speakers for any PDD event. Nancy and her team have been able to do this while using only about half of their budget. This is a great accomplishment in this economy.

Nancy always focuses her volunteer efforts so as to provide the best for our chapter members. Those efforts have cost her many hundreds of hours. However, Nancy always has a smile and a kind word for everyone. Every project manager could probably improve team work if they emulated Nancy's approach to life. The chapter and the members have all benefited from having Nancy in the chapter and that benefit has been multiplied since Nancy gives of her time so generously. Congrats!

AUGUST KCPMI TRIVIA NIGHT – COMING SOON!
How would you like to win an Apple iPad, have a great evening connecting with existing and new project manager friends, and just have fun?

Well mark your calendars now to attend the first ever KCPMI Trivia Night. It’s for those that want to play or those that just want to network and have fun.

When:	Monday, August 23rd 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Where:	Johnny’s Tavern Private Room, 6765 W. 119th St., Overland Park, KS
Who:	KCPMI members, past members, prospective members
What:	Networking, Team Trivia Game, gourmet pizza, sodas, cash bar, prizes
Investment:	Just $10 per person

Watch the KCPMI website and your email for more details to come.

New Chapter Members

April - May 2010
Katherine Babcock Rajesh Bangalore Dwayne Bargfrede Daniel Berry Staci Bockwinkel Nancy Budd Jacqueline Clark Cecelia Claybrook Frank Dachille Regina DeGarmo Angelica Diaz Ronald Ediger Steven Enabnit Sue Garnett Shankare Gowda Denise Grace	Matthew Griffin Patricia Hamilton Allan Haverkamp Arthur Hughes Ted Jacobson Tracy Jamerson Brian Johnson Darrell Jones Robin Jones Kathy Knapp Stanley Koehler Ginger Lackman Stephen Lanigan Tina Latimer Curtis Mahone Robert Mason	Michael Maxwell Jenifer Meehan David Nemitz Eric Nzube Jamie Patterson Angela Paxton Cynthia Price Karen Resco Brad Shipley Brenda Smith-Keene Jarred Soukup Sarah Stagner Jeff Wilcox Michelle Wood Miguel Yanez

Welcome to all new members. Please let us know if you do not receive your your “Welcome to KCPMI” email. We’d also like to hear from new members who want to find out more about getting involved and getting the most out of chapter membership. When you check in at your first chapter dinner meeting be sure to ask for your New Member Welcome packet.

Chapter membership numbers dipped slightly this period.

Membership Update Apr-May 2010
Starting Membership	1347
Renewals	135
Gains	58
Losses	90
Ending Membership	1315

Student Membership
Student membership holds steady at around 32. We have the opportunity to visit the PM class at Ft. Leavenworth on July 8th; this will be our third visit in 2 1/2 years. Cecil Webb and JR Growney will represent the chapter.

We have developed a new partnership with the American College of Technology based out of St. Joseph. Look for them as a sponsor for future chapter dinner meetings and a Silver sponsor at 2010 PDD. ACOT is developing a new online project management program. The developer is our own Tom Milner!.

Ronn Newton joined the team as our student membership web page manager. We have been searching for such help for two years. Welcome Ronn!

Our student membership program is growing in span of influence. In the past six weeks Nancy Petersen has counseled a potential student as to which graduate program was best for his needs; he has since joined as a student member. She also met with an unemployed individual to explore PMP training opportunities that she could take advantage of under her state unemployment benefits.

On June 24th, Nancy Petersen and Bob Bolinger participated on a panel to evaluate final projects for the PM class at Avila University/Advantage. We had the opportunity to promote membership benefits again and offered to meet with any of the new graduates who would like some job hunting tips.

These activities have matured the student membership program to be more than just numbers. The KC PMI chapter is here to support students and hopefully influence them to participate in local PMI chapters.

The 2010 Chapter Budget was finalized and approved by the Board in January. 2010 is a break even budget ($265k) with 76% of funding sources coming from the annual PDD event and year round Professional Development events. 83% of funding allocations will go to the annual PDD event, year round Professional Development events, and Membership Dinners.

The deficit for Jan-June was $4,835. 95% of funding sources came from Professional Development events and Member Dues. 89% of funding allocations went to the annual PDD event and Board management activities. The Cash Reserve remains at a healthy level ($91k).

2010 Professional Development Days
"Enhance Your Professional Standing" by attending this year's Professional Development Days (PDD). You can earn 14 PDUs while attending top-notch presentations and networking with your peers. Mark your calendar to spend October 4 and 5 at the Overland Park Convention Center.

Learn to be a better communicator with "How to Un-Crapify Your Life" by Jeff Havens. Learn "95 Things Every Project Manager Should Know" from Barbee Davis.

See some of the best presenters around at our "Super Track" including the Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas, and Cathy Newton. Learn from themed tracks like "Leadership" and "Best Practices". Attend case studies from the areas key construction projects like the Performing Arts Center and the Independence Events Center.

This year's PDD costs $425 for KCPMI members and $575 for non-members. Think you can't afford to go to PDD? Send a request for a hardship scholarship to vppdd@kcpmichapter.org.

Registration opens July 19. If you are part of a group attending PDD, contact

Visit us at Linked In or Face Book. On behalf of the 2010 PDD team, I hope to see you there.

Bob Bolinger, PMP
VP Professional Development Days

About PMI KC Mid-America Chapter
When you have a question about PMI KC Mid-America Chapter, there are several locations on our website you can visit to check for an answer:

• Use the Search feature on the home page of our website. Simply enter a keyword in the text box and click on “Go”.
• Visit FAQ section on our website under the “ABOUT KC PMI” dropdown menu.
• Visit Board of Directors page through the “ABOUT KC PMI” dropdown menu. Each Board member has e-mail and/or phone contact information.
• Use the Contact PMI form on our website. Please indicate a subject area from the drop-down list, which will help us direct your comment / feedback to the proper party.

Social Networking Media
In addition to our website, our chapter also utilizes the following social media channels to communicate with our members:

• LinkedIn
• Facebook (Log in and search for PMI KC Mid-America Chapter)

New Position Alert
The Communication Team is currently looking for a volunteer to fill a new role: e-Social Networking Lead. This position will be responsible for creating, maintaining and updating content of our Chapter’s Social Networking websites. This includes but is not limited to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. This position will report to the VP Communications. Please feel free to contact Yawen Hsu-Brown for more information.

Profile Update
Please visit www.PMI.org to update your PMI member profile, communication preferences and contact information. Your profile determines whether you’d receive our email announcements or if your name is included in the PMP list. Please understand that this update process is controlled by PMI National and it is NOT a real-time update. If you would like to become a member please allow at least one (1) week of time for your membership information to be imported into our database. We must have your information in our system before you can sign up for any Chapter events and take advantage of the member discount.

Best Regards,
Yawen Hsu-Brown, PMP
VP Communications

We had a great May meeting with good attendance. From the comments looks like everyone found something new in Lisa Qualls discussion of digital tools for project managers. Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey.

Our July meeting is planned for Monday July 19 at the Marriott in Overland Park. Our speaker is Curt Finch, CEO from Journyx. He will be speaking on "How to Successfully Execute Projects Every Time". Triple-I is our sponsor for the meeting. We will be having a great Tuscany buffet featuring char-grilled chicken and oven roasted cod fillet so plan to attend now.

Debbie Prochnow, PMP
VP Programs