GNW Region Message for September

Hello Great Northwest Region Members! Welcome to another ARMA year!
Last June the GNW Region and Chapter leaders met in Portland for the annual GNW Leadership Conference. Based on the ideas, sharing and planning from that meeting, I’d have to say this year is sure to be one of our best.
The first great idea that came up was a region-wide mentorship program. A number of members have voiced a desire for such a program. It’s making the connection to the right mentor that can be difficult. Sometimes the right mentor for you may be a member of a different chapter. So a region wide program makes sense. With the plates of the members of the Region Team already overflowing, the question was who would oversee the program. Then Jenny and I remembered that the position of Director of Marketing and Membership was still vacant. What a perfect place for this program. After a last call for interested parties and a consultation with the Region Team, we found the right person for the job.
Members of the Great Northwest Region, it is with pleasure that I announce to you that Peggy Striefel of the Columbia Basin Chapter has been appointed as Director of Marketing and Membership for the Great Northwest Region of ARMA. Peggy has been a member of ARMA for eight years. She has served in the Columbia Basin Chapter in several capacities including Director of the Board, Vice-President, and President. She is currently the Immediate Past President of the chapter. During her service, Peggy was honored by Columbia Basin members as their 2010 Leader of the Year. She has already hit the ground running in her new region duties and is certain to be as successful on the region level as she has been in her chapter. Welcome to the Region Team Peggy!
The second great idea that came out of Leadership was something called “The ARMA Ball of Goodness”. A concept of Oregon Chapter President Tyrene Bada, the Ball of Goodness refers to the feeling of respect, camaraderie, and cohesiveness of the leadership of the region. Truthfully, it is a feeling I have found among all of our members in visiting every one of our chapters. ARMA is a family and nowhere is that exemplified more than here in the GNW Region. The name, “the ARMA Ball of Goodness” just sounded too good not to use. So after a discussion with members of the Region Team, we came up with the following:
This year, the region would like to highlight some of the outstanding accomplishments of our chapters. The GNW ARMA Ball of Goodness will be a monthly award to one chapter. The chapter may have had an exceptional turnout to a monthly meeting, had a member or members receive their CRM designation, completed a special project, received a speaker grant, etc. All chapters need to do is submit their entries to me no later than the first of each month. The Region Team will announce the monthly winner in our region messages each month and a prize, i.e. a GNW Region Ball of Goodness will be sent to the winning chapter.
In thinking through the Ball of Goodness idea, we found our theme for the year. “Who Done It?” We want to know. There will be more on that in coming months. So send your entries in and a Ball of Goodness may be coming your way.
Mark a couple of special events on your calendars now! The 56th ARMA International Conference and Expo will be in Washington DC October 17-19. Check out the Conference details at www.arma.org .
And save this date for sure! The GNW Region Conference will be March 12-13, 2012 in Boise, Idaho. Plans are well underway to make this a tremendous educational event. Some of the best speakers in our profession are scheduled to be there. Following the conference, there will be a one day seminar for those who are working towards their CRM designation taught by Deb Gearhart, current President of the ICRM and Juanita Skillman! It just doesn’t get any better than that. And pre-con, there is talk of a skiing adventure. So mark you calendars and watch the Region website and your newsletters, webs and blogs for coming details.
There was another great highlight that followed the Leadership Conference. The Oregon Chapter organized and entered the Portland Rose Festival’s Starlight Parade. Members from the Oregon Chapter teamed with members from the ARMA International Board of Directors, ARMA HQ, the GNW Region, the Bellevue/Eastside and Columbia Basin Chapters, Iron Mountain, and the NW Archivists, We were pirates and records protectors to bring awareness to everyone to protect their personal information from pirates. It was a great promotion for ARMA and one of our great, supportive vendors. We had a ball! Want to see a short clip? Go to You Tube and search for arma 2011 Starlight Parade to see us. Hopefully, we will do it again next year!
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for your generous support of our fundraiser for Breast Cancer in support of one of own. Puget Sound won the bragging rights for the most money raised. Having my head shaved was a new experience for me, but well worth it. We raised over $1300. Thanks also to Dave McDermott, Bruce Walters, and Matt Rice for joining in. You’re great sports. But the next time you guys say barbershop quartet, we’d better be singing!
Here’s to a great year everyone!
Marc

Marc J. Simpson, Manager
Great Northwest Region
ARMA International