February 2012
President's Message:
We would like to reach you!
So much of the success of this chapter's service to its members relies on us being able to get valuable information to you - in the way you'd like - with a frequency that's not overwhelming.
We strive to do that with this eNewsletter - a synopsis of the happenings and upcoming events for the chapter. We also update the website frequently with recently scheduled events, recordings of previous programming, and ASTD news- both local and national.
You can help us serve you better by making sure we're talking to you about the things you care about.
To do this I need to ask you a favor. Please log-in to the ASTD website in the coming week and be sure that two areas (in particular) are up-to-date:
1. Update your areas of interest. In your profile, there are a number of topics in which members have indicated interest. Please check those that are meaningful to you and uncheck those that aren't. We can then be a bit more selective when we have a message about a particular topic and not bother you with information you don't want or need.
2. Ensure your contact information is current. As a member, we do require a phone number and valid email address. We won't spam you - and we will only call you if it is important!
If it has been so long since you logged-in that you don't remember your password, simply click on the forgotten password link on the home page (top right corner) and we will send it to you. If you can't get in at all, click here and send us a note. We will help you get it resolved.
We are here to serve you. We want to have every opportunity to align your interests and make high-value connections. As is always the case, please let me know what we can do better.
Steve Maul
Community Involvement 2012:
Last year our chapter goal was to collect and donate over 1000 items of food to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. We exceeded that goal, donating 1273 food items to combat hunger in Metro Atlanta and the North Georgia area. The ACFB has a formula to convert items to pounds and 1.2 pounds equals a single meal!
Our chapter goal for 2012 is to donate 1260 pounds of food. 1260 pounds of food will feed a family of 4 for 3 months (90 days at 12 meals a day =1,260 pounds).
In the second quarter of 2012, we have an opportunity to be involved in the Community Gardens Project through the ACFB. With more than 150 gardens in the Atlanta area, the Community Gardens Project brings neighbors together and empowers people to supplement their food supply by growing it themselves. The Atlanta Community Food Bank provides gardening expertise, volunteer help, tools, seeds and more.
In the third quarter of 2012, we will be sponsoring a school supply drive to support the Kids In Need program. With the firm belief that every child deserves the tools they need for academic achievement, the Atlanta Community Food Bank developed Kids In Need, a year-round free store for educators. The Kids In Need mission is to provide learning supplies for students whose academic success is threatened by poverty. Teachers are presented with brand new classroom and school supplies in the Kids In need store, all free of charge.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, those that would like to volunteer will have the opportunity to work at the ACFB Product Rescue Center. This is the area of the Food Bank where all food drive and salvaged food items are brought to be inspected and packaged by volunteers for distribution to more than 700 nonprofit partner agencies.
Throughout the year, the volunteer committee will be educating the chapter on hunger and gently reminding you to please be generous and donate supplies and your time to these worthy causes. For questions or suggestions, please contact Christie Young. Read the full Community Involvement article here.
Kudos:
Kudos to Eileen Mera, Eleanor Craig, Sheri Matt, and Steve Cadley for volunteering to put life back into the Sales Performance Improvement SIG. Expect big things from this group. They've already scheduled their second leadership team meeting.
Late January 2012
President's Message:
Bridging the Talent Gap
Now that we’re actually accustomed to writing “2012” when we date something, it’s probably a good idea to spend a few minutes to focus on this year’s theme for the Greater Atlanta Chapter of ASTD.
As I announced at the December Chapter Meeting – and mentioned briefly in my last column, your Executive Board is keenly aware that, despite some good news on the economic front, jobs are still hard to come by for many people. When we look at the changes that are facing our own profession, we believe that it’s important Workplace Learning Professionals be proactive in ensuring we stay current in the techniques and skills needed to help our companies up-skill the current workforce and to ensure that we remain a key element of every organization’s plan for maintaining high levels of worker performance.
It doesn’t matter what your specific focus is in the world of workplace learning, the message is clear that unless you’re helping your organization create a competitive advantage through a highly skilled workforce, you will be seen as “overhead”. As a profession, the fact that our area is often the first item cut when budget trimming comes around is not “news”. If we want to change that, we have to have more than a “seat at the table”, we need to help “set the table” by creating value in ways that our organizations are not necessarily accustomed to.
A highly skilled workforce makes a difference to every company’s ability and agility in a competitive marketplace. We’re the people that make that a possibility.
To that end, our theme this year is “Align – Connect – Engage” and it is focused on bridging the talent gap. Whether it be the gap that prevents a job from being filled from a lack of qualified applicants to the gap that will result if we as learning professionals don’t stay current on our craft, the Greater Atlanta Chapter wants to bridge it for our individual members, member companies and our communities as a whole.
Align – find the area of our chapter that speaks to you… perhaps it’s a SIG or GIG, volunteering on a committee or with one of our community partners, or a leadership position to bolster your resume. Pick an area that will serve you best.
Connect – given the multitude of events planned for 2012, you’ll have no problem finding a place and time to make the connections you need. There are more than 700 members of the Greater Atlanta Chapter – and no shortage of great professionals willing to share and network with you.
Engage – actively participate in the area of your choice. As I mentioned, there is no shortage of things to do and people to meet. In this field, we realize that knowing what to do is one thing – doing it takes it to the next level.
Your Executive Board is working hard to ensure you have a rich opportunity to do all three. If you’re unsure where to connect, or how to engage… reach out to me or any member of the board. You can find out how to contact us by clicking here.
I’m anxious to connect with you soon and hope to see you at an upcoming event, including our next Chapter Meeting on March 1!
Steve Maul
Kudos:
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Many thanks to Tom Crawford for helping us make updates and send the first 2012 e-News!
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Thank you to Nancy Sutherland for volunteering to help maintain the Greater Atlanta ASTD website.
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Kudos to Charlotte Hughes for continuing her fantastic management of the Greater Atlanta ASTD Linkedin Group.
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Thanks to the talented Karen Sieczka for volunteering to manage 2012 bi-monthly e-News.
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Laura Stolfa and Jessica Peterick, Co-chairs, OD SIG, for handling a speaker no -how in a professional manner and rescheduling the presentation quickly so that 30+ people are already signed-up.
January 2012
President's Message:
New Year's Resolutions
For our chapter, 2011 was a great year! We had phenomenal growth in membership, incredible programs and events, the ACE Conference, outstanding community involvement and many other activities too numerous to mention in the space I have here today.
I’m writing this on December 30, and as one year passes into the next, I find myself in that time of year we all face – considering my New Year’s resolutions. It’s that time of year to pause and take stock of the things that went well and things we’d like to change. As the years have gone by, I’ve learned to make more realistic resolutions, because I’ve found that while resolutions are always made with the best of intent and desire, those alone won’t usually carry the resolution all the way to reality.
Knowing this, I’d like to share my New Year’s Resolutions for the Chapter, but I want to admit right up front that I won’t be able to keep them unless I can get your help.
I resolve to:
- Maintain the momentum in our membership growth;
- Provide the very best of programming for our membership;
- Enhance the communities of practice available through our SIGs and GIGs;
- Help workplace learning practitioners stay on the leading edge of our profession;
- Provide value to workplace learning leaders through programming and networking;
- Help those who need work to be better equipped to find it
After all the success we achieved in 2011, these will prove challenging. The bar has been set high, but I have every confidence in our boards, our members and our community. But as I said, I can’t do it alone.
In order for these resolutions to become reality – I need you! It is your participation – at meetings, as a volunteer, as a leader that makes this Chapter work. If you were a member last year, you’ll remember our theme was "WIIFY – What’s In It For You?". We wanted to understand the value you seek and do everything possible to deliver it to you. That hasn’t changed. However, what many of us realized from the WIIFY conversations we had throughout 2011 was that the amount of value received was directly correlated to your level of participation in the chapter. In other words, the value doesn’t get "delivered" to you. You have to be there to receive it!
So, whether your interests point you in the direction of leadership, volunteerism, donating to the food drive, or simply participation in our abundant program events, the truth remains, the more you participate, the more value you’ll receive.
I’ll use my next column to describe this year’s theme: Align – Connect – Engage. But in the meantime, please remember, without you, and your involvement, the chapter doesn’t have a purpose. You ARE the chapter.
I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event and working with you throughout the new year. Best wishes for 2012!
Steve Maul
Kudos:
- Thank you to the 2011 EB for their great work in getting us ready for 2012!
- Gary Hockwater, Nora Laughton and Michael Torres for their work at the December chapter meeting registration desk.
- Kim Ziprik for such a great meeting in December!
- Chris Rodgers and the entire team from The Home Depot for hosting the December meeting.
- All those organizations and Learning Leaders recognized for Employee Learning Week.
