From DCC4@aol.com Mon Nov 29 16:57:43 1999
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 15:36:55 EST
From: DCC4@aol.com
To: r3-excom1999@ieee.org
Subject: Director's Report-Nashville Meeting


To:  Executive Committee Region 3
Fr:  Dale Caston, Director
Subj:  Report for November, 1999

During 1999, there have been many Region 3 IEEE events and activities
like Region and Executive Committee meetings, Southeastcon '99,
Southcon '99, Sections Congress, Section Anniversaries, Corporate
Relations Project, Strategic Planning Committee E-Conference, planning
for Executive Committee E-Conference in 2000, and web site use to name
a few.  In this final report as Director of this Region, a brief
summary of these are presented.

The Region 3 Committee meeting is held annually in conjunction with
our Southeastcon Conference.  This year the Conference was in
Lexington, Kentucky and was chaired by Don Hill.  The attendance by
professionals and students was good with over 100 papers for
presentation.  It was a well managed conference and generated some
surplus funds for both the section and Region 3.  About 30 sections
had representatives for the Region meeting.  There were training
session in Leadership for section officers, Area and Council meetings
and the annual Region 3 meeting.  Reported at this meeting were
increases in both regular and student members for the Region.  The
climax of the conference occurred Sunday noon at the Awards Banquet
when the four Region Awards and numerous Student awards were presented
which included Student Paper, Device Competition and Web Site Design.

Southcon/99 sponsored by IEEE, Region 3, Florida Council and the
Electronics Representatives Association (ERA), Florida/Sunshine
Chapter was held at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center near
Atlanta, Georgia 13-15 April 1999.  On the Southcon Board of Directors
representing our Region were Debbie Powers, Jim Beall, Jim Howard and
Carl Hussey.  Technical Short Courses and Workshops were offered and
nearly 400 booths of exhibits were on display.

A total of 53 Region 3 members attended Sections Congress '99 in
Minneapolis.  Thirty-four of the Region 3 sections (79%) were
represented by primary delegates.  Region 3 provided thirteen
speakers, several of whom participated in more than one session.  One
of the program track chairs, David Green, was from Region 3.  The
Regional Activities Board Chair Dan Benigni publicly commended Region
3 specifically for two projects which can be expanded Institute wide;
Corporate Relations and e-Conferencing. Thanks to Bill Harrison and
Bill Ratcliff for chairing these two projects. Good recommendations
were made by the delegates at Sections Congress which will be
investigated and acted on during 2000 and beyond.

The Region 3 Strategic Planning Committee pioneered an e-conference
during the summer and late fall.  This was headed up by Chair Bob
Duggan with assistance from Bill Ratclift and Dave Green.  It was
successful to the extent that a proposed Strategic Plan for 2000 was
dicsussed and developed.  The success of this trial prompted our next
Director Dick Riddle to propose having an EXCOM meeting in January
2000 in the e-conference mode.  To prepare for that session, it was
decided to have two training classes at our Nashville EXCOM meeting in
November for those who will participate next year.

The Corporate Relations Project under the direction of our Membership
and Development Committee Chair Bill Harrison has completed the
initial phase and made a CD-ROM to highlight this undertaking.  Two
sessions at Sections Congress was held to discuss this pilot project
and how it could be adapted for use in other Regions.  Also, at
Sections Congress a session was held about our Region 3 e-conferencing
which was lead by Bill Ratcliff.

It was the Director's pleasure to present 50 Year Anniversary banners
to the Miami and Virginia Mountain Sections this year.  Both Sections
had special events to honor the occasion.  The Professional
Development Conference (PDC) held over the Labor Day weekend was well
attended by Region 3 members.  At this conference George McClure was
given an award for Distinguished Contributions to Engineering
Profession.  Lee Stogner and others from our Region had leading roles
in workshops at the conference.

The Region 3 Web Site has been used by our Secretary Dave Green to
post the agenda and meeting minutes.  In addition, Brian Swail has
kept the roster of the Region Executive Committee current at this
site.  Next year's Executive Committee will be looking at additional
ways to use this web site.

In conclusion, a big thank you goes out to the Executive Committee and
all the committee members that have worked very hard to make this a
successful IEEE year. As Dick Riddle takes over as Director, I am sure
these volunteers will continue to give him this same support.  It has
been my privilege to work with each of you and I look forward to our
continued association in future years in Region activities.

Dale Caston