Nashville, TN

December 4, 1999

The North Carolina Council reports a healthy 1999, with all of our sections reporting activity for the year. However, our three subsections were all inactive for the year. A priority for 2000 will be to see how we can better meet the needs of the members in these three isolated parts of the state and either resume activity for the subsections or dissolve them and find an alternative way of serving these members (if possible).

Two major highlights of the year for the NC Council were the annual NC Symposium and the leadership retreat in Asheville at the Biltmore Estate. This year’s NCSE was held on November 9 in Greensboro and was a day-long tutorial on Agents and Electronic Commerce. Drawing its speaker from the Computer Society Distinguished Speaker Program, NCSE 99 drew approximately 40 participants and generated over $300 in revenue, even after a hotel penalty payment of over $900. The Central NC Section which hosted this year’s symposium, is already planning the 2000 symposium, which will be a professional development conference.

The Biltmore retreat, a culmination of a Region 3 Leadership Development project proposed and approved at the 1998 Southeastcon meeting, was a great learning experience for future modifications to the leadership development programs within the Region and IEEE as a whole. A hybrid of the traditional R3 LD training and the new R5 / RAB model, we presented both programs to a group of leaders and rising leaders from across the state. All five NC sections were represented. The retreat was held for minimal cost to the region due to the generous support of the Eastern NC Section, who paid for the Biltmore passes, meals, meeting rooms, and materials for the attendees as well as family members.

The Council will be sponsoring two conferences next year (a first!). Along with NCSE 2000 in the fall, we will be holding a conference for engineers and educators to develop new networks and tools for K-12 engineering education in NC. Dubbed Technological Literacy Counts 2000, the conference is being hosted by SAS Institute in Cary (between Raleigh and RTP). TLC 2000 will be held Saturday, May 6.

All sections are now on a calendar year for officers and finances and all have elected (or are in the process of electing) their 2000 officers.

The council held elections at NCSE for the 2000-1 officers. The following slate was elected:

Chair: Charles Lord

Vice Chair: Silvia Middleton

Secretary: Chip Dawson

Treasurer: Natalie Sayles

The NC Council is ready for electronic meetings, having piloted the econferening class presented this weekend and having had meetings by econferencing. The Eastern NC Section is having their December excom by econferencing next Tuesday (12/7).

We look forward to a fruitful and prosperous 2000!

Charles Lord

NC Council Chair-Elect