I hope your holidays were safe and enjoyable. We were very busy but we managed the time to remember why we were celebrating with our friends and family members both near and far.
We are sending out the Region 3 Newsletter to allow you to include some key activities in your planning for 2005. I also want to apprise you of several projects Region 3 is undertaking to make your membership even more beneficial to your career and the industry you serve.
The Region started 2004 with a number of ongoing ExCom Committee activities, and with special emphasis on several special cross-functional projects. The areas the Region has been concentrating on include:
Leadership Development (ongoing activities)
o The Region 3 Leadership Development brochure is located at https://ewh.ieee.org/r3/leadership/R3LDFlier.pdf.
Leadership by Developing Others (LDO) Special Project
o Region 3 continues development of this project. Future reports based on activities at the section/chapter level will be provided as the project progresses.
Membership Development Challenges
o Region 3 is recognized as an IEEE leader in Membership Development activities, IEEE Employment Assistance, and Industry Relations projects. The Membership Development Committee has done a great job integrating these three Region 3 ExCom functions this year.
o Quoting from our Membership Director, Lee Stogner, “I am proud to say that Region 3 has exceeded the IEEE goals for 2004 Senior Member upgrades. For 2004, we were asked to nominate Members for a goal of 208 new Senior Members. In fact, our nominations resulted in 252 new Senior Members. We exceeded our goal by 21.3%. No other Region in the world exceeded the IEEE goal by that percentage.” Applause for Lee and for our region!!!
Newsletter/Communications
o The tools and techniques Region 3 continues to develop provide access to our committee and project reports on the Internet, speed up handling our routine operational matters, and make us more efficient and more proficient in taking care of the region's business. I encourage all sections to explore ways to use these communication and collaboration tools.
SSVR (Section Support Via Regions) funds for Section-initiated projects
o The Winston-Salem/Forsyth Section supported an Egg-Drop Contest to interest kids (of all ages) in science and engineering.
o The Alabama Section is sponsoring a special project with Hoover High School of Hoover, AL. A national pilot program is being conducted in the form of a four-year Engineering Academy
o The Western North Carolina Section is sponsoring a Robotics Competition at UNC-Asheville.
o Three sections celebrated anniversaries: Atlanta Section 100 years, Alabama Section 75 years, and Savannah Section 50 years.
o We will have SSVR funds for 2005 – get your projects planned and send them in – the Region will do what we can to help with funding and other support.
Strategic Planning
o The Region 3 Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) held a planning retreat in Atlanta in August to prepare for 2005 and beyond with over 20 people in attendance. Summary of the Strategic Plan 2005 is located at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/spc/sp2005.pdf
Preparation for Sections Congress 2005
o Sections Congress will be held in Region 3 during 2005. SC2005 will be in Tampa 14-17 October 2005 at the Tampa Marriott Waterside. The host section is the Florida West Coast Section. See https://www.ieee.org/sectionscongress
Student Activities
o Region 3 has 4432 student members as of October 2004. Region 3 Student Membership is up by 5.725 % since October 2003 and up a whopping 12.3 % since October of 2001--despite an increase in student dues over the period.
o The student branch at Georgia Tech hosted the first-ever Student Leadership / Membership Retreat the weekend of 8-10 October at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast with over 40 attending.
Mark your 2005 Calendars
February 16-17, 2005 – SouthCon 2005 • Orlando, Fl Orange County Convention Center (More details elsewhere in this issue)
April 8-10,2005 - SoutheastCon 2005, Fort Lauderdale, FL Marina Marriott (More details elsewhere in this issue)
14-17 October 2005 - Sections Congress 2005 , Tampa FL Marriott Waterside
If you have any comments, suggestions, questions, please contact me or anyone on the Region 3 Executive Committee.
William B. Harrison Director,
Region 3 2004-2005
404-378-5553