Region 3 ExCom Meeting 12/14 January 2004 Director's Report Happy New Year! Thank you all for agreeing to serve our profession and Region 3. SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS One -- this is my first month on the job as Director for Region 3. Most of you have much more experience on the Region 3 Executive Committee, Area/Council, and Section positions you hold than I do as 2004 Director. We have lots of continuity on the ExCom, some new members, a few switches in jobs. We have worked hard to build a solid Region 3 team. We have lots of past successes to build upon. Two -- I will be transitioning from R3 'Director-in-Training' where I have observed the IEEE Board of Directors in action, to being mainly involved (and voting) directly on the BoD issues and actions. I will have to rely heavily on the R3 ExCom, Area/Council Chairs, Sections and Chapters to keep the region running and serving our members. Our Bylaws and the R3 Operations Manual recognize that mode of operation for the Region and IEEE. I solicit and sincerely appreciate your insights, recommendations and support. Call me anytime. Three -- with whatever flaws it has, to be such a large, volunteer-run, technically/geographically diversified organization, the IEEE has one of the 'smoothest, most functional' operations I have ever dealt with. I have worked with a couple of huge airplane manufacturers (Boeing and Lockheed Martin), state/federal governments, hospitals & health care organizations, small companies, CPA & information technology consulting firms, and I have spent a number of years in academia -- so I think I have some valid experience on which to make those observations about the IEEE organization and our staff support. No doubt about it, in my mind, we are a great institute, and we have good people supporting us! Not to say that we donÕt have internal and external issues to deal with. That will be part of my job -- let me know what you think the most important issues are. Four -- The IEEE provides ACCESS to the industries and organizations that provide lots of our paychecks, opportunities to influence the educational institutions that produce our next generations of technical experts, professional contacts with our local communities, and direct connections to global involvement in research, business and technology. For me, having fun and working with intelligent, motivated, friendly people is what it is all about. What more could you ask? Five -- (and probably the region's FOREMOST area of concern for the future of our association -- is volunteerism). It is a large challenge to work at the local level with Region 3Õs areas, sections and chapters, and to understand and support our memberÕs needs. We need to listen, on one hand; but we also need to stimulate and help the members & local units understand, on the other hand, what the IEEE's international, national, and regional structure and programs are all about -- and how local units fit in and support the Òbig pictureÓ objectives. Region 3 should provide education and leadership. We are well positioned to provide those services to our local units. Charles Lord has developed a tremendous base of education & training resources for the Region. Much of what Charles has produced is recognized and being used on IEEE websites, not just for R3 consumption, but worldwide. Other region officers can be available to present the materials if Charles is not available to support your schedule. Areas and Sections please respond to me and/or to Charles Lord (c.j.lord@ieee.org). Hit us again with ideas and recommendations. We need the input. It may take a while, but I need to know where we want and need to drive the Institute for our personal successes, as well as how we want to impact the national/international politics and economies with our profession's issues. 2004 Ð 2005 INITIATIVES, PROJECTS & PLANS I would like to reiterate the 2004 - 2005 Initiatives, Projects and Plans we talked about at the Region Meeting in Atlanta in November. As incoming Director for the Region, I presented my recommended plans, priorities and initiatives to the Region 3 Meeting. They are outlined in the summary Strategic Plan brochure located at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/excom/meetings/2003-11/sp2004-sf5.pdf. This strategic plan is in the form of a tri-fold brochure. Please consider printing and using it as a handout at your local section and chapter meetings, and in visits to local employers or other local contacts. It looks good in color or black & white. In addition to the SPC's color brochure, the details of the current R3 Bylaws, IEEE Policy and Procedures Manual, and other administrative information are available at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/admin.html. A detailed version of the Region 3 Strategic Plan can be found at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/spc/index.html. The R3 IEEE Region 3 Operations Manual is located at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/excom/opman.html. You may want to review your IEEE official responsibilities and those of your R3 colleagues. Our bylaws, policies and procedures are important. But review them and think about them in relation to where you think we should be going. Give us feedback about how we can tailor Region 3 and the IEEE for the future. The Strategic Planning Committee has primary responsibility for our overall direction in this area. Please contact Bob Duggan, SPC Chair, r.duggan@ieee.org, or me, w.harrison@ieee.org, if you have questions about the SPC plan. In addition to our regular Region 3 committee work, the initiatives and ongoing projects presented at the Region 3 meeting included: - Leadership by Developing Others (LDO) - Membership Development Challenges, including coordinated efforts in: .Industry Relations .Public Relations .Employment Assistance - SoutheastCon/Conference Registration System - Remote Meetings Project(s) - Newsletter/Communications with Members - SSVR (Section Support Via Regions) funds are available for Section-initiated projects Ð contact me for funding guidelines for your proposal. IEEE SECTION/CHAPTER COORDINATION George McClure, as Region 3 Director-Elect will be taking over Section/Chapter Support for the region. Over the past couple of years, I have served on the Rejuvenation Subcommittee of the IEEE Section/Chapter Support Committee. I have contacted inactive sections, sub-sections and chapters to determine whether they wish to continue as viable IEEE units, or not. Overall, Region 3 is in good shape in this area. I have been getting positive responses that several of our Region 3 technical society chapters want to continue operating. However, we do not see the activity and the meeting reports being sent to IEEE HQ from some units. We need to make some hard decisions in 2004 about whether to dissolve a number of seemingly inactive units. George or I will be in touch about delinquent units in your area and sections. Meanwhile, do not hesitate to contact George, or me, with your questions. If we do not know the answers, we will help you find them. Section/Chapter Support staff at the IEEE in Piscataway, NJ is there to provide assistance to the volunteers of IEEE's geographic and technical units worldwide. They are trying to help us resolve these issues. IEEE Regional Activities Department Section/Chapter Support Phone: + 1 732 562 5512 Fax: + 1 732 463 9359 Email: sec-chap-support@ieee.org Also, consider joining and using the Section-Chapter Volunteer Forum (Virtual Community). It is located at https://www.ieeecommunities.org/section-chapter_vol. You may need to sign up as a new user if you have not already done so.