From: Lee Stogner [l.stogner@ieee.org]
Sent: Monday, October 19, 1998 8:17 PM
To: Region 3 Excomm 98
Cc: d.green@ieee.org; b.skelton@ieee.org; b.swail@ieee.org
Subject: Communications Report to the Fall EXCOM Meeting


Communications within IEEE-USA was a major topic at the recent PACE
Conference in Phoenix.  In fact it has been a topic for several years as
the organization has struggled with how to improve the way in which we
connect and share information.  One thing for sure is that as an
organization, IEEE-USA is behind other groups in delivering a message
throughout the membership.  One new way that we are trying to deliver
current news quickly is through a new Web paper called:

     www.ieeeusathisweek.org

This is a new Web based publication that is published every two weeks with
the help of several volunteers and the Washington office.  We have tried to
make the publication "the place" that the US based IEEE member can go to
find timely articles that will be old by the time you read about it in
Spectrum or any other paper based publication.  For example if we needed to
pass along information about a pending vote in Congress, by the time that
you read about it in a traditional paper publication, it will be too late.
The Web paper can print the news quickly or even print a special edition.
This publication is also meant to be a two way street.  The top IEEE-USA
leaders can talk to the members and the members can talk to the rest of
IEEE-USA through this common channel.  For example in a earlier issue of
the paper, we printed an article about the recent Region 3 awards.  Bottom
line we now have a fast way of sharing timely information throughout
IEEE-USA.  We also need your help,  if you have an opinion, a special event
or an electrical engineering news item, please write an article and forward
it to:

   editor@ieeeusathisweek.org

Region 3 needs to communicate as well.  We have a growing infrastructure of
local Web pages and Email based information.  We have a number of the
Region 3 pages identified and posted on the IEEE-USA Web site but not all.
If you have a site and want to get it listed, please contact myself or
Brian Swail.  If there is anything else missing on the IEEE-USA site,
please let us know about it as well.  If you still have people within your
section that haven't made the jump to Email or the Web, please tell them
that 80 million Americans are there and it could be embarrassing for them
to admit to the neighbors that they are not connected.

Lastly we need to connect better to local news organizations about the good
work that electrical engineers are doing.  Please write an article about
your special project and get the local paper or TV station to carry it.
While you're at it, send me a copy and I'll publish it in IEEE-USA THIS
WEEK.  If we don't tell the world about electrical engineering, they won't
know and won't care.

Respectfully submitted,

Lee Stogner
Chair, Region 3 Communications Committee


 
Lee Stogner