Region 8 Chapters Meeting
The 1998 IEEE Division I/IV Region 8 Chapters Meeting was held at the RAI Conference Center in Amsterdam on Sunday, October 4, 1998. It was the third annual meeting in which CPMT had been involved, and it provided a fine occasion to continue to share views of Region 8 needs, and interactions with the parent Societies. Mike Adler and Bill Van Der Vort have been key drivers for this activity over the years.
About 75 delegates attended from Region 8 ("EMEA") with heavy representation from countries of the Former Soviet Union. The Division I and Division IV Directors, Mike Lightner and Bill Duff, moderated the meeting. The MTT, CAS, CPMT, EDS, SSC, EMC, LEOS and NPS Societies were represented by their current or past presidents, or alternates, and each presented their program and technology status.
This was followed by panel discussions on goals for IEEE globalization (and how to interface with national societies); membership development, and finally presentations on chapter best practices and statuses by each of the attending chapter officers. Discussions of policy issues as they affect Region 8 were lively, with a sense that IEEE has made significant progress in globalizing using the IEEE’s undisputed technology leadership. Its organizational, political and membership program successes requires continuous improvements which should lead to faster membership growth and global influence. This meeting identified a number of areas where continuous improvement will be fruitful.
-- Ralph W. Wyndrum, Jr.--CPMT envoy