Presidents Blog
Where does time go?
On the 26th November 2009, I stand down after two years of been President of the Ireland Chapter of PMI. Most people remark that I shall be delighted to step down after my tenure but the reality is that it will be with a bit a sadness. The success of any voluntary committee / organisation is based off the volunteers. We are extremely lucky within the chapter to have some top-notch professionals taking up the mantle of directing the various aspect of the Chapter and hence it is time for new ideas, enhanced drive and, in fairness, new direction. So why sadness you may ask? Well, as I mentioned in previous blogs, when you see something grow and develop it is hard to step away. Let me give an example:
When I joined the committee back in 2004, my first task was to organize an event. I corralled a good friend from United Drug and I was the second speaker. Vincent was to talk on Program Offices and I was going to speak on Project Management Tools and Techniques. It was put together and scheduled and we arrived to a gathering of 6 people (including ourselves)! Roll the clock forward: during a November week we have had an event in Cork attended by 60+, an event in Limerick with 50+ and a Dublin event...
Summer at the Ireland Chapter of PMI
Traditionally, the summer is an off time for the Irish Chapter of PMI but not so this year! With a number of super initiatives moving forward, it was time to put event management to the back seat at look at building the Chapter. As a side note, I joined the Committee seven years ago and, would like to think anyhow, that I have seen the chapter at every stage imaginable. This year, the focus is on getting the base right and launching from there and with that, three of our most prominent initiatives are underway:
- Website Development: At the last AGM, I mentioned that the re-development of the www.pmi-ireland.org was to commence during 2009 and it has done so. It is really going to make a big difference for those on the committee as it allows us to do the business we are elected to do rather than find we need to master of ‘html programming’. Due thanks goes to the guys on the IT Support Team.
- Outreach Activities: We continue to build out networks in the industrial, voluntary and education communities with staggering success and a real testament to this is average 3 – 4 company visits each quarter. Coupled with this...