Area 4 (FL Council) Report

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 19:48:22 -0500

From: Butch Shadwell 

Subject: Area 4 - Florida Council Report, Winter R3 Excom Meeting

To: r3-excom1998@ieee.org

Reply-to: Butch Shadwell 



To: Region 3 Excom

From: Butch Shadwell - FL Council Chair

Subj: Area 4 Report



It is a never ending battle to try to provide the section leadership the

most value for the time they put in.  Often, with some of the less stable

sections, the council is the principal source of information about section

operations for new officers.  For example, we regularly debate whether the

council should provide in state training opportunities when SECon is

elsewhere.  It will not be an issue this year, but I will be proposing that

we do so in the future.



We are in the process of taking advantage of the web site space on the IEEE

server.  We expect that shortly, if not already, the council and many

sections will have moved their sites there.  This should be a very valuable

communications mechanism, but I fear that most members are still unaware and

that many of the sites are not undated frequently enough to be of optimal

value.



I an effort to preserve precious council funds, we generally try to schedule

council meetings to coincide with region events so that region funds may

help defray travel expenses.  Due to some unfortunately planning, Southcon

and Southeastcon are both in Orlando and only thirty days apart.  Since our

council meeting agenda usually runs for 7-8 hours, this year we are going to

divide the agenda in half and do the first part on March 24 at Southcon and

then the second installment on April 24 at Southeastcon.  We will schedule

at least one more council meeting this year, but the date is to be

determined.



As is true for most non-technical IEEE meetings, the greatest reward from

attendance at council meetings seems to be the pleasure of the company of

the many fine professionals involved.  They help to build esprit de corps

and motivation for section chairs in need.  Also we make a point of

identifying good programs so that other sections may use them as well.  This

data has been posted on our web site.



During my tenure as Council Vice-Chair I started a program I call "Section

Trek".  I have been making a point to visit all of the sections in the

council and bring a program with me.  I can't swear it's improved section

attendance, but I get good reviews on the programs and I have enjoyed

getting a first hand picture of the status of the sections.



As you may know, the Florida council continues to mirror the region awards

for outstanding engineers and to present awards at the state science fair.



Financially the council is in the black, but declining income demands we

assemble a longer term plan to either rejuvenate Southcon or identify

alternate sources of revenue.



Respectfully submitted,

Butch Shadwell

Florida Council Chairman