Dear PMI Buffalo Members, I hope this message finds you well as we step into February and continue our exciting journey through 2025. It has been truly inspiring to see the enthusiasm and ideas shared by so many of you over the past month. Your engagement and passion for project management remind me why I am so honored to serve as the President of PMI Buffalo. In January, we introduced our four key strategies for 2025: Increasing membership and engagement Promoting PMI offerings beyond the PMP certification Recruiting and retaining volunteers Strengthening cohesion within our board As we begin putting these initiatives into action, I am excited to share some of the progress we’ve made and highlight opportunities for you to get involved. Our VP of Certifications, Pauline McKeown (vp_certifications@pmiBuffalo.org) recently hosted our first Lunch and Learn event, titled “Unlocking the Power of PMI Certifications.” It was a fantastic session with 32 chapter members in attendance. She’s already planning another Lunch and Learn in February on deeper dives into specific certifications, so keep an eye on our calendar for details. Additionally, Melissa Wallace led another engaging Breakfast Table discussion, focusing on automation and project management. Although I couldn’t attend, I’ve heard great feedback about the event and look forward to joining a future session! We also participated in Future Cities, which has been a staple for PMI Buffalo over the years. Our VP of Outreach, Matt Mangas (vp_outreach@pmiBuffalo.org), is looking for volunteers to start coaching students for next year. We’re also thrilled to announce our first evening event of the year, scheduled by our VP of Professional Development, Katie Dieter (vp_professional_development@pmiBuffalo.org). This virtual session, “5 Strategies for Relationship-Centered Leadership,” will explore how to build strong, meaningful connections in your professional life. In February, we’re also hosting a lunchtime event, “Embracing an AI-First Approach for Accelerated Growth in Project Management.” AI is quickly becoming an essential tool for navigating today’s evolving landscape, and this session will help you harness its potential. Whether you’re new to project management or a seasoned professional, these events will provide valuable insights to advance your career and maximize PMI certifications and connections. Visit our website at pmiBuffalo.org for registration details and we’d love to see you there! For those passionate about giving back, we’re excited to launch our PM for Nonprofits initiative. This program pairs our members with local organizations in need of project management expertise, offering an opportunity to make a meaningful impact while showcasing the power of project management in action. If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to our VP of Outreach, Matt Mangas, at vp_outreach@pmiBuffalo.org. Volunteerism remains at the heart of our chapter, and we’re always looking for members to help shape PMI Buffalo’s future. Whether you’d like to contribute as an event organizer, marketing specialist, or in another capacity, we welcome your talents and enthusiasm. Joining one of our committees is not only a way to give back but also an opportunity to grow your skills and network with like-minded professionals. If you’re interested, please contact our VP of Membership, Jay VanMarter, at vp_membership@pmiBuffalo.org. Did you know this year our Chapter turns 30? We are forming a committee to start the planning process and are looking for volunteers to help with this effort. Please reach out to me (president@pmiBuffalo.org) if you would like to help. There are a lot of opportunities to assist! Since the start of the year, we have welcomed 13 new members and celebrated 41 membership renewals, bringing our chapter to 559 members. Thank you to everyone who has shared feedback with us so far. Your insights and suggestions help shape our chapter’s direction, and we want to keep that momentum going. If there’s something you’d like to see from PMI Buffalo this year—whether it’s a specific type of event, training opportunity, or community initiative—please let us know. Together, we are building a stronger, more dynamic PMI Buffalo. Let’s continue to collaborate, innovate, and grow as a community. I’ll leave you with this quote from Helen Keller that perfectly captures the spirit of teamwork we’re embracing this year: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Here’s to achieving great things together in 2025! Warm regards, Vince McKeownPresident, PMI Buffalo Chapter   Dear PMI Buffalo Members, I hope this message finds you well as we step into February and continue our exciting journey through 2025. It has been truly inspiring to see the enthusiasm and ideas shared by so many of you over the past month. Your engagement and passion for project management remind me why I am so honored to serve as the President of PMI Buffalo. In January, we introduced our four key strategies for 2025: Increasing membership and engagement Promoting PMI offerings beyond the PMP certification Recruiting and retaining volunteers Strengthening cohesion within our board As we begin putting these initiatives into action, I am excited to share some of the progress we’ve made and highlight opportunities for you to get involved. Our VP of Certifications, Pauline McKeown (vp_certifications@pmiBuffalo.org) recently hosted our first Lunch and Learn event, titled “Unlocking the Power of PMI Certifications.” It was a fantastic session with 32 chapter members in attendance. She’s already planning another Lunch and Learn in February on deeper dives into specific certifications, so keep an eye on our calendar for details. Additionally, Melissa Wallace led another engaging Breakfast Table discussion, focusing on automation and project management. Although I couldn’t attend, I’ve heard great feedback about the event and look forward to joining a future session! We also participated in Future Cities, which has been a staple for PMI Buffalo over the years. Our VP of Outreach, Matt Mangas (vp_outreach@pmiBuffalo.org), is looking for volunteers to start coaching students for next year. We’re also thrilled to announce our first evening event of the year, scheduled by our VP of Professional Development, Katie Dieter (vp_professional_development@pmiBuffalo.org). This virtual session, “5 Strategies for Relationship-Centered Leadership,” will explore how to build strong, meaningful connections in your professional life. In February, we’re also hosting a lunchtime event, “Embracing an AI-First Approach for Accelerated Growth in Project Management.” AI is quickly becoming an essential tool for navigating today’s evolving landscape, and this session will help you harness its potential. Whether you’re new to project management or a seasoned professional, these events will provide valuable insights to advance your career and maximize PMI certifications and connections. Visit our website at pmiBuffalo.org for registration details and we’d love to see you there! For those passionate about giving back, we’re excited to launch our PM for Nonprofits initiative. This program pairs our members with local organizations in need of project management expertise, offering an opportunity to make a meaningful impact while showcasing the power of project management in action. If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to our VP of Outreach, Matt Mangas, at vp_outreach@pmiBuffalo.org. Volunteerism remains at the heart of our chapter, and we’re always looking for members to help shape PMI Buffalo’s future. Whether you’d like to contribute as an event organizer, marketing specialist, or in another capacity, we welcome your talents and enthusiasm. Joining one of our committees is not only a way to give back but also an opportunity to grow your skills and network with like-minded professionals. If you’re interested, please contact our VP of Membership, Jay VanMarter, at vp_membership@pmiBuffalo.org. Did you know this year our Chapter turns 30? We are forming a committee to start the planning process and are looking for volunteers to help with this effort. Please reach out to me (president@pmiBuffalo.org) if you would like to help. There are a lot of opportunities to assist! Since the start of the year, we have welcomed 13 new members and celebrated 41 membership renewals, bringing our chapter to 559 members. Thank you to everyone who has shared feedback with us so far. Your insights and suggestions help shape our chapter’s direction, and we want to keep that momentum going. If there’s something you’d like to see from PMI Buffalo this year—whether it’s a specific type of event, training opportunity, or community initiative—please let us know. Together, we are building a stronger, more dynamic PMI Buffalo. Let’s continue to collaborate, innovate, and grow as a community. I’ll leave you with this quote from Helen Keller that perfectly captures the spirit of teamwork we’re embracing this year: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Here’s to achieving great things together in 2025! Warm regards, Vince McKeownPresident, PMI Buffalo Chapter   Dear PMI Buffalo Members, It’s an honor to be elected as the 2025/2026 President of PMI Buffalo, and I’m truly excitedabout the year ahead. A little about myself: I’m originally from Hamburg, NY. After high school, Ijoined the Navy as an Electronics Technician and proudly served for over 10 years. Followingmy military service, I remained in the Washington DC Metro area, working as a Project Manageron various government contracts. In 2020, I returned to Western New York and have sinceworked as a Project Manager for Centene Health, DelawareNorth, and currently serve as aPortfolio Manager at Kaleida Health. What excites me most for 2025 with PMI Buffalo is the energy and enthusiasm of our board.Over the past few months, the board has come together and developed four key strategies toguide our work this year: Increasing membership and engagement Marketing PMI offerings beyond the PMP certification Increasing volunteer recruitment and retention Enhancing cohesion within the board of volunteers How does this impact you as a member? Our goal to increase membership and engagementmeans that we want YOU to be actively involved. Whether you’re interested in joining one of ourcommittees, volunteering at events, or sharing your feedback, we believe your participation willhave a meaningful impact on shaping the chapter’s activities and direction. Your involvement isvital to making PMI Buffalo stronger and more connected. We’re also committed to supporting your career development. Have you considered pursuing aPMI certification in the coming year? We’ll be hosting an event to provide you with moreinformation about PMI certifications and the resources we have planned for 2025 to supportyour professional growth. This event will be a great opportunity to discuss your certificationgoals and how PMI Buffalo can guide you on that journey. Additionally, we have some exciting dinner events planned with engaging topics that will helpyou stay informed on the latest trends in project management. But we’re not stoppingthere—we’re also eager to use our project management expertise to support local nonprofitsand give back to our community. We’d love for you to get involved in these initiatives and to hearyour thoughts on how we can better serve you and the community. Together, we can make PMIBuffalo a hub where project management professionals can continue to grow, learn, and thrive. A key part of our strategy is enhancing the cohesion within our board of volunteers. Werecognize that a unified, collaborative board is essential to the success of our chapter, and weare fully committed to strengthening that foundation. We’ll focus on improving communication,ensuring clear roles and responsibilities, and facilitating regular check-ins and team-buildingactivities. By fostering stronger internal relationships, we will be able to better serve your needsand drive the chapter’s initiatives forward. When our leadership team works cohesively, it sets apositive example for the entire chapter, helping us achieve our collective goals. We also encourage you to visit our updated website, where we’ll be adding more contentthroughout the year. You’ll find information on upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and features about our members. It’s all part of bringing our ideas to life and making PMI Buffalo a more dynamic and interactive community. Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude to our outgoing board members for theirdedication and hard work. They have played an instrumental role in helping ensure a smoothtransition, and their contributions have laid a strong foundation for PMI Buffalo’s future. I amexcited to build on that momentum and look forward to working with all of you in the year ahead.Here’s to a successful 2025! I look forward to the journey we’ll take together and to making PMIBuffalo a place where we can all grow and succeed.As we move forward, let’s remember this quote by Peter Drucker:"The best way to predict the future is to create it." Together, we can create the future of PMI Buffalo — one that is full of opportunity, collaboration,and success. Warm regards,Vince McKeownPresident, PMI Buffalo Chapter Dear PMI Buffalo Members, It’s an honor to be elected as the 2025/2026 President of PMI Buffalo, and I’m truly excitedabout the year ahead. A little about myself: I’m originally from Hamburg, NY. After high school, Ijoined the Navy as an Electronics Technician and proudly served for over 10 years. Followingmy military service, I remained in the Washington DC Metro area, working as a Project Manageron various government contracts. In 2020, I returned to Western New York and have sinceworked as a Project Manager for Centene Health, DelawareNorth, and currently serve as aPortfolio Manager at Kaleida Health. What excites me most for 2025 with PMI Buffalo is the energy and enthusiasm of our board.Over the past few months, the board has come together and developed four key strategies toguide our work this year: Increasing membership and engagement Marketing PMI offerings beyond the PMP certification Increasing volunteer recruitment and retention Enhancing cohesion within the board of volunteers How does this impact you as a member? Our goal to increase membership and engagementmeans that we want YOU to be actively involved. Whether you’re interested in joining one of ourcommittees, volunteering at events, or sharing your feedback, we believe your participation willhave a meaningful impact on shaping the chapter’s activities and direction. Your involvement isvital to making PMI Buffalo stronger and more connected. We’re also committed to supporting your career development. Have you considered pursuing aPMI certification in the coming year? We’ll be hosting an event to provide you with moreinformation about PMI certifications and the resources we have planned for 2025 to supportyour professional growth. This event will be a great opportunity to discuss your certificationgoals and how PMI Buffalo can guide you on that journey. Additionally, we have some exciting dinner events planned with engaging topics that will helpyou stay informed on the latest trends in project management. But we’re not stoppingthere—we’re also eager to use our project management expertise to support local nonprofitsand give back to our community. We’d love for you to get involved in these initiatives and to hearyour thoughts on how we can better serve you and the community. Together, we can make PMIBuffalo a hub where project management professionals can continue to grow, learn, and thrive. A key part of our strategy is enhancing the cohesion within our board of volunteers. Werecognize that a unified, collaborative board is essential to the success of our chapter, and weare fully committed to strengthening that foundation. We’ll focus on improving communication,ensuring clear roles and responsibilities, and facilitating regular check-ins and team-buildingactivities. By fostering stronger internal relationships, we will be able to better serve your needsand drive the chapter’s initiatives forward. When our leadership team works cohesively, it sets apositive example for the entire chapter, helping us achieve our collective goals. We also encourage you to visit our updated website, where we’ll be adding more contentthroughout the year. You’ll find information on upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and features about our members. It’s all part of bringing our ideas to life and making PMI Buffalo a more dynamic and interactive community. Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude to our outgoing board members for theirdedication and hard work. They have played an instrumental role in helping ensure a smoothtransition, and their contributions have laid a strong foundation for PMI Buffalo’s future. I amexcited to build on that momentum and look forward to working with all of you in the year ahead.Here’s to a successful 2025! I look forward to the journey we’ll take together and to making PMIBuffalo a place where we can all grow and succeed.As we move forward, let’s remember this quote by Peter Drucker:"The best way to predict the future is to create it." Together, we can create the future of PMI Buffalo — one that is full of opportunity, collaboration,and success. Warm regards,Vince McKeownPresident, PMI Buffalo Chapter Dear PMI Buffalo Members and Subscribers, As the holiday season approaches, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to each and every one of you. This time of year is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our collective achievements and to celebrate the diverse and vibrant community that makes PMI Buffalo so special. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other festive occasion, this season is about coming together, appreciating the moments we share, and looking forward to the possibilities of the new year. In the spirit of unity and goodwill, I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our members. Your commitment to excellence in project management has made 2024 a remarkable year for our chapter. As we prepare for 2025, let us continue to support one another, embrace new challenges, and strive for greater success together. May your holidays be filled with joy, peace, and the warmth of loved ones. Here’s to a prosperous and fulfilling year ahead! Happy Holidays and Go Bills! Sincerely, Dan Augustynek  Dear PMI Buffalo Members and Subscribers, As the holiday season approaches, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to each and every one of you. This time of year is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our collective achievements and to celebrate the diverse and vibrant community that makes PMI Buffalo so special. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other festive occasion, this season is about coming together, appreciating the moments we share, and looking forward to the possibilities of the new year. In the spirit of unity and goodwill, I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our members. Your commitment to excellence in project management has made 2024 a remarkable year for our chapter. As we prepare for 2025, let us continue to support one another, embrace new challenges, and strive for greater success together. May your holidays be filled with joy, peace, and the warmth of loved ones. Here’s to a prosperous and fulfilling year ahead! Happy Holidays and Go Bills! Sincerely, Dan Augustynek   Hi PMI Buffalo Members, As I conclude my term as the Interim President of our esteemed Buffalo Chapter of the Project Management Institute, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each one of you for your support and commitment.  It has been an honor to serve in this capacity, particularly under such dynamic circumstances, and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together during the last two years. I must extend my heartfelt appreciation to our outstanding board members, whose dedication and resilience have been the driving force of our success.  Their collaborative spirit and tireless efforts have led to several proud accomplishments that have strengthened our chapter.  We have witnessed a notable increase in member engagement and volunteerism through a series of highly successful events, both in-person and virtual.  As a chapter, we listened to our members' feedback and proudly delivered two very successful Professional Development Days (PDDs) this year.  Additionally, we hosted a series of events featuring topics and speakers tailored to provide a hyper-Buffalo focus.  Our talented volunteers revamped our web content, enhanced our formidable social media presence, and upgraded the technology we use to deliver value to our membership all year round. Furthermore, we launched new programs aimed at making it easier for our members to attain PDUs and pursue certification training. These achievements are a testament to the board's vision and commitment to our mission, despite any challenges that came our way.  As I pass the baton to our incoming President, Vince McKeown, I am confident that the Buffalo Chapter of PMI will continue to thrive and set new standards of excellence in project management.   Thank you once again for your trust and support.   Sincerely, Dan Augustynek Interim President, Buffalo Chapter of PMI Hi PMI Buffalo Members, As I conclude my term as the Interim President of our esteemed Buffalo Chapter of the Project Management Institute, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each one of you for your support and commitment.  It has been an honor to serve in this capacity, particularly under such dynamic circumstances, and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together during the last two years. I must extend my heartfelt appreciation to our outstanding board members, whose dedication and resilience have been the driving force of our success.  Their collaborative spirit and tireless efforts have led to several proud accomplishments that have strengthened our chapter.  We have witnessed a notable increase in member engagement and volunteerism through a series of highly successful events, both in-person and virtual.  As a chapter, we listened to our members' feedback and proudly delivered two very successful Professional Development Days (PDDs) this year.  Additionally, we hosted a series of events featuring topics and speakers tailored to provide a hyper-Buffalo focus.  Our talented volunteers revamped our web content, enhanced our formidable social media presence, and upgraded the technology we use to deliver value to our membership all year round. Furthermore, we launched new programs aimed at making it easier for our members to attain PDUs and pursue certification training. These achievements are a testament to the board's vision and commitment to our mission, despite any challenges that came our way.  As I pass the baton to our incoming President, Vince McKeown, I am confident that the Buffalo Chapter of PMI will continue to thrive and set new standards of excellence in project management.   Thank you once again for your trust and support.   Sincerely, Dan Augustynek Interim President, Buffalo Chapter of PMI Dear PMI Buffalo Members, On this Veteran's Day, we pause to honor and express our deepest gratitude to the brave men and women who have selflessly served our country. Their sacrifices and unwavering commitment to protecting our freedoms and way of life are truly commendable. At PMI Buffalo, we are especially proud to recognize the veterans within our own community who bring their exceptional skills, leadership, and resilience to the field of project management. Their experiences and dedication enrich our chapter and serve as an inspiration to us all. Let us take a moment to reflect on the courage and dedication of our veterans, and extend our heartfelt thanks for their service and contributions, both in uniform and in our professional endeavors. Sincerely, Dan AugustynekDear PMI Buffalo Members, On this Veteran's Day, we pause to honor and express our deepest gratitude to the brave men and women who have selflessly served our country. Their sacrifices and unwavering commitment to protecting our freedoms and way of life are truly commendable. At PMI Buffalo, we are especially proud to recognize the veterans within our own community who bring their exceptional skills, leadership, and resilience to the field of project management. Their experiences and dedication enrich our chapter and serve as an inspiration to us all. Let us take a moment to reflect on the courage and dedication of our veterans, and extend our heartfelt thanks for their service and contributions, both in uniform and in our professional endeavors. Sincerely, Dan Augustynek Hi PMI Buffalo members, volunteers, and subscribers! I hope you have all been enjoying this amazing fall weather and soaking up as much outdoor time as possible before we all bundle up for the winter.   This month has been action packed, and I can’t believe that Halloween is right around the corner! I am feeling energized after attending the North American Leadership Institute Meeting (NA LIM) in sunny Los Angeles, CA last month and wanted to share some of the exciting takeaways with you all.  It was amazing to meet so many passionate chapter volunteers and get the opportunity to share ideas and learn about what other chapters are up to.  One of the highlights for me was getting the chance to meet the President of PMI Global Pierre Le Manh during an interactive townhall with all the other chapter presidents that attended.  I took the opportunity to ask him a question about how PMI planned to expand upon our Agile certification trainings to further establish PMI within the Agile community of practitioners.  His response delved into one of PMI’s three 2025 regional priorities, which is to grow their core certifications along with leveraging us all as PMI ambassadors to ensure that companies understand the Agile focus in the PMP and ACP, and what makes these certifications stand apart from scrum and kanban training offerings.  The panel also discussed the recent addition of the new construction certification (PMI-CP) as an example of how they have been responsive to the needs of the PM community. Here are the 2025 PMI Regional Priorities for reference: Increase Brand Awareness  Grow Core Certifications (PMP, CAPM, ACP) Strengthen the Community Another exciting reveal during the conference was the launch of PMI’s new Marketing portal and branding refresh.  The long overdue upgrade of the Marketing portal is fantastic and much more intuitive to use.  The “light the way” themes and templates really add a layer of dimension to the existing color schema, logos, and characters.  Keep an eye out for these updated elements in our marketing and communications and let us know what you think.  Finally, I want to share the links for the 2 amazing keynote speakers that helped energize the conference, and at times evoked an emotional response from the audience (including myself).  We were inspired by US Air Force Thunderbird pilot Nicole Malachowski, who shared her story about harnessing headwinds and overcoming self-doubt and impostor syndrome that she experienced on her journey finding success in a male dominated culture. Check her out here to learn more: https://nicolemalachowski.com/   Then, we were challenged to take action and use our collective strengths and skillsets to make a positive difference in the world. Mick Ebeling shared his personal stories about rallying all his resources and doing whatever he could to help people in need, while along the way (unintentionally) becoming the world’s only 3x recipient of Time magazine’s Best Invention of the Year award, along with many other recognitions!  Check out Mick and the amazing work that Not Impossible Labs has done here: https://www.notimpossible.com/   Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events! Regards, Dan Augustynek Hi PMI Buffalo members, volunteers, and subscribers! I hope you have all been enjoying this amazing fall weather and soaking up as much outdoor time as possible before we all bundle up for the winter.   This month has been action packed, and I can’t believe that Halloween is right around the corner! I am feeling energized after attending the North American Leadership Institute Meeting (NA LIM) in sunny Los Angeles, CA last month and wanted to share some of the exciting takeaways with you all.  It was amazing to meet so many passionate chapter volunteers and get the opportunity to share ideas and learn about what other chapters are up to.  One of the highlights for me was getting the chance to meet the President of PMI Global Pierre Le Manh during an interactive townhall with all the other chapter presidents that attended.  I took the opportunity to ask him a question about how PMI planned to expand upon our Agile certification trainings to further establish PMI within the Agile community of practitioners.  His response delved into one of PMI’s three 2025 regional priorities, which is to grow their core certifications along with leveraging us all as PMI ambassadors to ensure that companies understand the Agile focus in the PMP and ACP, and what makes these certifications stand apart from scrum and kanban training offerings.  The panel also discussed the recent addition of the new construction certification (PMI-CP) as an example of how they have been responsive to the needs of the PM community. Here are the 2025 PMI Regional Priorities for reference: Increase Brand Awareness  Grow Core Certifications (PMP, CAPM, ACP) Strengthen the Community Another exciting reveal during the conference was the launch of PMI’s new Marketing portal and branding refresh.  The long overdue upgrade of the Marketing portal is fantastic and much more intuitive to use.  The “light the way” themes and templates really add a layer of dimension to the existing color schema, logos, and characters.  Keep an eye out for these updated elements in our marketing and communications and let us know what you think.  Finally, I want to share the links for the 2 amazing keynote speakers that helped energize the conference, and at times evoked an emotional response from the audience (including myself).  We were inspired by US Air Force Thunderbird pilot Nicole Malachowski, who shared her story about harnessing headwinds and overcoming self-doubt and impostor syndrome that she experienced on her journey finding success in a male dominated culture. Check her out here to learn more: https://nicolemalachowski.com/   Then, we were challenged to take action and use our collective strengths and skillsets to make a positive difference in the world. Mick Ebeling shared his personal stories about rallying all his resources and doing whatever he could to help people in need, while along the way (unintentionally) becoming the world’s only 3x recipient of Time magazine’s Best Invention of the Year award, along with many other recognitions!  Check out Mick and the amazing work that Not Impossible Labs has done here: https://www.notimpossible.com/   Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events! Regards, Dan Augustynek What an eventful week for PMI Buffalo!  On Saturday the Board of Directors held our annual strategic planning meeting which included our incoming board members that will start their terms on January 1st, 2025.  During the full day session, we reviewed progress against our 2024 milestones, discussed membership feedback, conducted a SWOC (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & challenges) exercise, and initiated operational planning for 2025.  This year’s session was particularly exciting with so many new voices bringing great ideas to the table, experiencing their first time being a part of the leadership team!   I am very enthusiastic about this team and what they will be able to accomplish over the coming years. Furthermore, we held our September dinner event on Tuesday night at Big Ditch brewery in downtown Buffalo, featuring speakers from PCA Technology Group who educated us on Cybersecurity and their sophisticated process for conducting risk assessments.  I think we all took something valuable away from the session. For me it was that I will never be joining public WiFi again due the relative ease of replicating false networks that hackers can deploy in an effort to gain access to your devices and data.  To cap of this exciting week of activity, I am writing this month’s message on my flight as I travel to the 2024 North American Leadership Institute Meeting (NA LIM) in Los Angeles, California (not on the WiFi 😊).  I’m excited to meet some of my peers in person for the first time and participate in a host of different educational breakout sessions.  If you’re reading this and will be there, let’s connect!  I’ll be sure to include some key takeaways from the LIM in my next message.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!   Regards, Dan Augustynek  What an eventful week for PMI Buffalo!  On Saturday the Board of Directors held our annual strategic planning meeting which included our incoming board members that will start their terms on January 1st, 2025.  During the full day session, we reviewed progress against our 2024 milestones, discussed membership feedback, conducted a SWOC (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & challenges) exercise, and initiated operational planning for 2025.  This year’s session was particularly exciting with so many new voices bringing great ideas to the table, experiencing their first time being a part of the leadership team!   I am very enthusiastic about this team and what they will be able to accomplish over the coming years. Furthermore, we held our September dinner event on Tuesday night at Big Ditch brewery in downtown Buffalo, featuring speakers from PCA Technology Group who educated us on Cybersecurity and their sophisticated process for conducting risk assessments.  I think we all took something valuable away from the session. For me it was that I will never be joining public WiFi again due the relative ease of replicating false networks that hackers can deploy in an effort to gain access to your devices and data.  To cap of this exciting week of activity, I am writing this month’s message on my flight as I travel to the 2024 North American Leadership Institute Meeting (NA LIM) in Los Angeles, California (not on the WiFi 😊).  I’m excited to meet some of my peers in person for the first time and participate in a host of different educational breakout sessions.  If you’re reading this and will be there, let’s connect!  I’ll be sure to include some key takeaways from the LIM in my next message.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!   Regards, Dan Augustynek  Hello PMI Buffalo Members,   What an amazing summer we have had so far and I hope that you have all been able to enjoy some quality time with your friends and families!  With Fall right around the corner the weather will start to change, our schools will be back in session and our minds will shift into learning mode.  PMI Buffalo has been busy planning a full line-up of events to help you achieve your personal and professional development goals.  Keep your eyes on your inbox each month for our informative Newsletters and spend 5-10 minutes to find out more about learning opportunities, PDU options, new tools, and membership benefits/discounts to help you plan your next steps.    Regards, Dan AugustynekHello PMI Buffalo Members,   What an amazing summer we have had so far and I hope that you have all been able to enjoy some quality time with your friends and families!  With Fall right around the corner the weather will start to change, our schools will be back in session and our minds will shift into learning mode.  PMI Buffalo has been busy planning a full line-up of events to help you achieve your personal and professional development goals.  Keep your eyes on your inbox each month for our informative Newsletters and spend 5-10 minutes to find out more about learning opportunities, PDU options, new tools, and membership benefits/discounts to help you plan your next steps.    Regards, Dan AugustynekHappy Independence Day from PMI Buffalo! 248 years ago the Declaration of Independence was adopted, proclaiming loudly to the world that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  I hope you all take time to reflect on what those indelible words mean to you on this day of patriotic celebration. Have a safe and Happy 4th of July! For fun, here's a quick quiz to test your knowledge of this holiday.  Independence Day Quiz   Sincerely,  Dan AugustynekHappy Independence Day from PMI Buffalo! 248 years ago the Declaration of Independence was adopted, proclaiming loudly to the world that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  I hope you all take time to reflect on what those indelible words mean to you on this day of patriotic celebration. Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!  For fun, here's a quick quiz to test your knowledge of this holiday. Independence Day Quiz   Sincerely,  Dan AugustynekCelebrating YOU!  Today, November 2nd 2023 is International Project Management Day.  In celebration of project professionals across the world let's all take a moment to reflect on the impact project management has made across so many industries.  From building infrastructure, developing new products & new technologies, enhancing healthcare outcomes and everything in between, project managers contribute to the progress of humanity. Show appreciation to a Project Manager near you today!Today, November 2nd 2023 is International Project Management Day.   International Project Management Day is a global occasion that honors the dedicated professionals who play a pivotal role in bringing complex projects to successful outcomes. On this special day, we celebrate the diligent project managers who steer teams, resources, and timelines to achieve goals and deliver tangible results. Their expertise, leadership, and ability to adapt to dynamic challenges are commendable. International Project Management Day serves as a reminder of the critical role these individuals play in advancing innovation, driving organizational success, and ensuring projects are executed with efficiency and precision. It's a day to recognize their unwavering commitment to turning visions into reality and making the world a more organized and productive place.   Happy Labor Day from PMI Buffalo! I hope we all are able to take a break from our labors and enjoy some time with family and friends on what is shaping up to be some beautiful weather this weekend!  Get those last hot dogs in for the summer :)   Here are some fun facts about the holiday in case you were curious about the origins and meaning of this holiday. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-labor-day-holiday   And here is a labor day quiz that will test your knowledge of Labor Day.  I hope you scored better than I did… https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/labor-day-quiz-how-well-know-facts-about-national-holiday   Have a safe and enjoyable holiday! Happy Labor Day from PMI Buffalo! I hope we all are able to take a break from our labors and enjoy some time with family and friends on what is shaping up to be some beautiful weather this weekend!  Get those last hot dogs in for the summer :)   Here are some fun facts about the holiday in case you were curious about the origins and meaning of this holiday. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-labor-day-holiday   And here is a labor day quiz that will test your knowledge of Labor Day.  I hope you scored better than I did… https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/labor-day-quiz-how-well-know-facts-about-national-holiday   Have a safe and enjoyable holiday! Check out the below message from our Chapter President from July 2023 at PMI Buffalo! Message from Dan Augustynek - Interim Chapter President: PMI Buffalo's leaders met for the chapter's annual Strategic Planning session and can't wait to share some of the exciting discussions with all of you!  The team wrapped up the day feeling energized and ready to get back to serving our membership.   We take member satisfaction very seriously, so during our planning session we reviewed our 2022 Member Survey results.  Your valuable feedback is appreciated, and we hear you.  We are committed to providing a Professional Development Day (PDD) this Fall, and 2 PDDs in 2024.   In addition to that, we will be bringing on new vendors to help you earn PDUs throughout the year, both virtually and in person.  We will also be expanding our certification training offerings to include Agile and Business Analysis courses, in addition to CAPM and PMP training.   Look out for more fun events beginning in September. We will be sending a "Save the Date" email with our Fall schedule of events in the near future.Below are a few pictures from our planning session. PMI Buffalo's Board & Directors hope that you are enjoying your summer!   Happy Independence Day from PMI Buffalo!  As we reflect on the 247 year-old grand experiment called America, I thought it would be fun to encourage you all to test out how well you know your history.   But before the test, here are some fun facts to prime you: Did you know that even though the Declaration of Independence was announced on July 4th, 1776, the colonies actually voted to accept it on July 2nd and it was not actually signed until August 2nd? On this day, the Declaration of Independence is officially signed | Constitution Center   George Washington did not sign the declaration of Independence.  He was leading his forces in New York City defending Manhattan in July of 1776.  Declaration of Independence · George Washington's Mount Vernon   Here's a fun quiz about Independence Day: CNN’s Independence Day Quiz: How well do you know your American History?   Celebrate Safely and Happy 4th!!Happy Independence Day from PMI Buffalo!  As we reflect on the 247 year-old grand experiment called America, I thought it would be fun to encourage you all to test out how well you know your history.   But before the test, here are some fun facts to prime you: Did you know that even though the Declaration of Independence was announced on July 4th, 1776, the colonies actually voted to accept it on July 2nd and it was not actually signed until August 2nd? On this day, the Declaration of Independence is officially signed | Constitution Center   George Washington did not sign the declaration of Independence.  He was leading his forces in New York City defending Manhattan in July of 1776.  Declaration of Independence · George Washington's Mount Vernon   Here's a fun quiz about Independence Day: CNN’s Independence Day Quiz: How well do you know your American History?   Celebrate Safely and Happy 4th!!Today is a day of remembrance to honor the sacrifice made by the brave servicemen and servicewomen who have died during their service in the United States military.  To help remind us of this holiday's history and traditions here are some interesting facts about this holiday. PMI Buffalo wishes you a meaningful Memorial day. Memorial Day Facts Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day: The holiday began as a way to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War, but the day now honors all U.S. veterans who have sacrificed their lives. In 1971, Memorial Day was established as a federal holiday taking place on the last Monday in May. New York was the first state to recognize Memorial Day as an official holiday. There’s a specific way to display the American flag on Memorial Day, according to the U.S. Flag Code: hoist the flag quickly up to full staff at sunrise, then lower to half-staff until noon, and then return to the top of the staff. Poppies have become a symbol of Memorial Day because they are mentioned in a 1915 poem by Canadian soldier John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields.” Many Americans mark Memorial Day with an official moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. local time. The first Indianapolis 500 race took place on Memorial Day in 1911. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated by then-Chief Justice William Taft on Memorial Day in 1922. Today is a day of remembrance to honor the sacrifice made by the brave servicemen and servicewomen who have died during their service in the United States military.  To help remind us of this holiday's history and traditions here are some interesting facts about this holiday. PMI Buffalo wishes you a meaningful Memorial day. Memorial Day Facts Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day: The holiday began as a way to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War, but the day now honors all U.S. veterans who have sacrificed their lives. In 1971, Memorial Day was established as a federal holiday taking place on the last Monday in May. New York was the first state to recognize Memorial Day as an official holiday. There’s a specific way to display the American flag on Memorial Day, according to the U.S. Flag Code: hoist the flag quickly up to full staff at sunrise, then lower to half-staff until noon, and then return to the top of the staff. Poppies have become a symbol of Memorial Day because they are mentioned in a 1915 poem by Canadian soldier John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields.” Many Americans mark Memorial Day with an official moment of remembrance at 3 p.m. local time. The first Indianapolis 500 race took place on Memorial Day in 1911. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated by then-Chief Justice William Taft on Memorial Day in 1922. Hello PMI Buffalo!  During our April dinner event we learned some great tips and best practices from Markley Ward with Clarity Consulting group, and actually had a lot of fun discussing … contracts?!  This was a joint event with our friends over at ISM Buffalo and we look forward to continuing this annual tradition again next year in April 2024, so stay tuned for more details about that toward the end of this year.  This week we are excited to finally hear from our guest speaker Bridge Rauch about the blizzard cleanup efforts from the snowstorm that rocked Buffalo at the end of December, disrupting many folks holiday plans.  This event was originally scheduled as our February dinner event, but had to be canceled due to an ice storm … oh the irony!  Gotta love these Buffalo winters :)  So far the forecast looks like it will cooperate for Tuesday night, so I am looking forward to seeing a lot of you at Chef's restaurant for a good time! Additionally, we are kicking off our election cycle this month for the positions listed below.  If anyone is interested in getting more involved please feel free to reach out to me directly to discuss!   Open positions for the 2024-2025 term VP, Finance VP, Membership VP, Outreach President-elect Trustee  Hello PMI Buffalo!  During our April dinner event we learned some great tips and best practices from Markley Ward with Clarity Consulting group, and actually had a lot of fun discussing … contracts?!  This was a joint event with our friends over at ISM Buffalo and we look forward to continuing this annual tradition again next year in April 2024, so stay tuned for more details about that toward the end of this year.  This week we are excited to finally hear from our guest speaker Bridge Rauch about the blizzard cleanup efforts from the snowstorm that rocked Buffalo at the end of December, disrupting many folks holiday plans.  This event was originally scheduled as our February dinner event, but had to be canceled due to an ice storm … oh the irony!  Gotta love these Buffalo winters :)  So far the forecast looks like it will cooperate for Tuesday night, so I am looking forward to seeing a lot of you at Chef's restaurant for a good time! Additionally, we are kicking off our election cycle this month for the positions listed below.  If anyone is interested in getting more involved please feel free to reach out to me directly to discuss!   Open positions for the 2024-2025 term VP, Finance VP, Membership VP, Outreach President-elect Trustee  Hello PMI Buffalo Members! I am thrilled to be able to address you all as the interim-President of PMI Buffalo this year! We are so excited to bring you more fantastic in-person events, building off our momentum from last year. Our volunteer recognition dinner event on March 14th was one of the best-attended events we've had since pre-Covid days, and it felt so great to see you in person again. At the event we dined at the Tewksbury Lodge in downtown Buffalo, had some laughs courtesy of speaker Dan Viola and recognized some exceptional volunteers for their service in 2022. Our very talented VP of Membership Kelli Wilson was awarded Volunteer of the Year for 2022 thanks to her steadfast commitment to the chapter. I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead, and hope to see more of you at our upcoming events and PDDs.   Dan Augustynek | PMPPresident, PMI Buffalo Chapter president@pmibuffalo.org Hello PMI Buffalo Members! I am thrilled to be able to address you all as the interim-President of PMI Buffalo this year! We are so excited to bring you more fantastic in-person events, building off our momentum from last year. Our volunteer recognition dinner event on March 14th was one of the best-attended events we've had since pre-Covid days, and it felt so great to see you in person again. At the event we dined at the Tewksbury Lodge in downtown Buffalo, had some laughs courtesy of speaker Dan Viola and recognized some exceptional volunteers for their service in 2022. Our very talented VP of Membership Kelli Wilson was awarded Volunteer of the Year for 2022 thanks to her steadfast commitment to the chapter. I am looking forward to an exciting year ahead, and hope to see more of you at our upcoming events and PDDs.   Dan Augustynek | PMPPresident, PMI Buffalo Chapter president@pmibuffalo.org Welcome to our FeedMore WNY Food Raiser! PMI Buffalo invites all our members and friends to participate in a VIRTUAL "Foodraiser" for FeedMore WNY. To donate simply click HERE, select food to donate & make *payment.  *All prices include shipping, handling and service fee  A VIRTUAL food drive will allow our chapter to help the local community and still keep everyone safe!   Won’t you help us help the members of our community? Your PMI Buffalo, NY Chapter & Social Good Volunteer Clean-up Along the Niagara River Thank you to the PMI Buffalo Chapter members who donated time to cleaning up trash along the Niagara river on the evening of Thursday, June 17th. The group gathered at Gratwick-Riverside Park in North Tonawanda, and armed with gloves, pickers, buckets and black bags, they scoured the river’s edge for garbage that either was left behind by park visitors or washed up along the shore. Thanks to our chapter President Jeff and his wife Joeleene, our VP of Outreach Sue, and members Jill, Kelli, Paula and yours truly, JoAnn. A special thank you to Jase – our youngest volunteer – who managed to have some fun hanging out with his mom Jill and the rest of us!   Sharing Project Management Basics with Local Nonprofits Despite the impact that Covid-19 had on our work environment this past 15 months, the PMI Buffalo Chapter managed to offer PM Basics education sessions virtually to interested non-profits associated with the United Way – Buffalo & Erie County (UWBEC).  Two teams of trainers delivered content to 104 people from 38 unique non-profits, including a private class for 1 organization. We also held follow-up Q&A sessions with a few attendees. The classes consisted of two 4 hour sessions held on consecutive weekdays. If you would like to get involved in our Fall non-profit education program by becoming a trainer, please send an email to pm4np@pmibuffalo.org. Note: Preference will be given to members who have experience in providing education/training.   We will begin planning our next social good projects soon and will keep you updated on all of the volunteer opportunities that become available. We hope to engage you in a variety of projects that will improve our community. Thank you for your support! For more information on our Social Good program, please contact: Susan Czyrny - vp_outreach@pmibuffalo.org JoAnn Boehm - trustee@pmibuffalo.org   I hope everyone is doing well, staying safe, and staying healthy.At PMI Buffalo, we are constantly monitoring the Coronavirus/COVID-19pandemic with the safety and well-being of our volunteers and members inmind. During these uncertain times, I want to assure you that PMI Buffalo ishere to support you. As we adjust to a new norm, we remain laser-focusedon being a resource for you - our members, certification holders, and keystakeholders in our Western New York community.Click her to see full messageAs COVID-19 evolves into a global pandemic, we learned this weekend of confirmed cases in Erie County. As your PMI Buffalo Board officers, we are reaching out to you, our members and friends to summarize actions being taken in response. Our highest priority is to protect the health & safety of our volunteers, members and the people close to them.Click here to see full messageClickGreetings Link to MessageWelcome members, prospective members and followers! We start 2020, our 25th anniversary, with a fresh new branding and more intuitive website!    Welcome members, prospective members and followers! We start 2020, our 25th anniversary, with a fresh new branding and more intuitive website! Branding The way we work has changed. Organizations and people are centered around a portfolio of projects, creating “The Project Economy”. We power “The Project Economy”, strengthening society by enabling organizations and empowering individuals to make makes a reality. We are fearless, unafraid to try new approaches; we are bright, we enlighten and energize people to make a difference and we are nurturing because we understand our community needs, help people get where they want to go and celebrate them along their journey! New Website The way we interact has changed. Static websites have been replaced with responsive, mobile friendly websites with dynamic content ready to be consumed and interacted with on any device. It is ADA compliant, intuitive and easy to use for you (and our volunteers)! Exciting Events Design Thinking, membership appreciation and celebration, construction project management, Joint Event with Rochester at the Batavia Downs, PMO Delivery, PDDs, breakfasts and more! This will be our most exciting year yet! Join us or better yet, be one of us and volunteer! Jeff Manhardt | PMP President PMI Buffalo Chapter president@pmibuffalo.org Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  Mamma always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on. - Forrest Gump This past year we celebrated and honored our past with stories from nearly every past president who shared why the joined PMI Buffalo, their experiences & their memories.  I am so proud and honored to be standing on the shoulders of those who have come before me.  Below is that list with the number of members during their terms.      Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  Mamma always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on. - Forrest Gump This past year we celebrated and honored our past with stories from nearly every past president who shared why the joined PMI Buffalo, their experiences & their memories.  I am so proud and honored to be standing on the shoulders of those who have come before me.  Below is that list with the number of members during their terms.     Tom Attridge - Term 1995-97 - Members 50, 1 Gary Dahlstrom - Term 1997-98 - Members 1, 7 Prof Bill Hayden - Term 1998-99 Members 7, 206 Connie Figley-Feuz - Term 1999-2001 Members 206,257 Brian Lang - Term 2001-2004 Members 257,278,260,302 Brian Griffin - Term 2004-06 Members 302,366, 379 Jackie May - Term 2006-10 Members 379, 404, 440, 458, 508 Mark Kwandrans - Term 2010-13 Members 508, 580, 612, 580 JoAnn Boehm - Term 2014-16 Members 580, 555, 577, 644Jeff Manhardt - Term 2017-current 644, 681, 681, 731 Now it is my turn to share.  I joined PMI initially to get a discount on the PMP Prep class.  That class and the subsequent studying, fretting and testing produced a certification that opened career opportunities and promotions.  I recognized this organization provided me real value and I wanted to give back.  Jackie May was the President at the time and said maybe I could review the bylaws and see if it needed to be updated. That offer sparked a 12 year volunteer relationship with this fantastic organization.  Along the way I had the opportunity to run certification training, professional development, create a new VP, Technology & Business Services position, serve as our VP of Finance and my current role as President.  I have learned from countless professionals who do what we do and have made life-long friends from all over the world.  So - In this season of giving thanks and taking stock in the year, I am thankful to Jackie May, every past president and all our past & present volunteers.  Without you, this chapter would not exist and I would not be where I am today. NOW - the future is bright!  As PMI transforms, so does this chapter!  In January we will be unveiling our new branding and refreshed website.  We are also celebrating our 25th anniversary!  We have so much planned I cannot wait to tell you about it.  Do you want a sneak peak?  Email me at president@pmibuffalo.org.   From our family to yours - Have a happy holiday season! Jeff Manhardt | PMP President PMI Buffalo Chapter president@pmibuffalo.org Our mission is simple - to provide a forum to promote PMI standards and to strengthen stakeholders’ knowledge, awareness and understanding of Project Management principles, tools and techniques.  I hope you make our mission - your mission. Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  This has been a year of tremendous highs and heartbreaking lows.  We have had fantastic attendance at our exciting dinner events, breakfasts and our PDDs. Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  This has been a year of tremendous highs and heartbreaking lows.  We have had fantastic attendance at our exciting dinner events, breakfasts and our PDDs.  We continue to educate our project management population through the PMP, PMI-ACP and CSM prep classes and ourselves as board leaders through regional and national leadership conferences.  We also said goodbye to Steve Tunmore, our beloved VP, Marketing & President-Elect.  I had the honor of recognizing Steve’s contributions to the PMI Buffalo chapter by naming our annual scholarship - the Steve Tunmore Scholarship and presenting his son Mitchell with the honorary PMI Buffalo statue.  We will miss you Steve - RIP. October has been a busy month!  9 board members and directors attended a 4 day conference for board leaders (we came back with crazy amounts of energy and new PMI branding!), we held breakfast meetings and a dinner meeting (and threw a fantastic party to celebrate PMI’s 50th anniversary and have the project of the year awards scheduled for the end of the month!  Did you register for the Oct 30th event?  If not, do it now!  By my count, volunteers logged over 600 hours this month alone to support you, our members! Now it is your turn.  PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board needs you!  Will you answer the call?  I will show you two quick ways you can make a difference: #1 way to make a difference - Learn PMI’s new visual language to describe our project economy - Our visual language begins with Leadership, is activated by the community, fueled by passion and realizes outcomes.  Learn the language here. #2 way to make a difference - Volunteer! We need your unique skill-set, experience and effort.  What better to shape the future of the chapter than from within!  Talk to Christa, our Director, Volunteers.  As I have shared, Steve was intended to be our next President.  With his passing, the position is open.  If you are interested - send me a note today!  Our mission is simple - to provide a forum to promote PMI standards and to strengthen stakeholders’ knowledge, awareness and understanding of Project Management principles, tools and techniques.  I hope you make our mission - your mission. As always - I am here for you - Now - Go be Fantastic!   Jeff Manhardt | PMPPresidentPMI Buffalo Chapterpresident@pmibuffalo.org Buffalo, NY Oct 29th 2019 Infotech WNY & PMI Buffalo have entered into a strategic partnership, both leading organizations in the WNY region, to provide our organizations members access a much broader selection of educational, networking and opportunity in the WNY area. This strategic partnership between Infotech WNY and PMI Buffalo will allow our organizations to leverage our synergies to help deliver the best content and opportunity to our members. Buffalo, NY Oct 29th 2019 Infotech WNY & PMI Buffalo have entered into a strategic partnership, both leading organizations in the WNY region, to provide our organizations members access a much broader selection of educational, networking and opportunity in the WNY area. This strategic partnership between Infotech WNY and PMI Buffalo will allow our organizations to leverage our synergies to help deliver the best content and opportunity to our members. Collectively, we will provide the WNY tech community greater access to the latest in seminars, conferences and hands-on training. "This strategic partnership should help support our mission to our member's continuous need to discover the very latest in technology trends and raise the bar for information workers in the WNY region." - Sam Marrazzo, Chairman of Infotech. "As PMI Buffalo celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2020, we are excited to partner with InfoTech WNY to support our project economy.  Our shared vision begins with Leadership, is activated by the community, fueled by passion and realizes outcomes."  - Jeff Manhardt, President PMI Buffalo. Jeff Manhardt PMP, CSM, SAFe  SA4PresidentPMI Buffalo ChapterHello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  What a year! PDUs, awards, certification classes, collaborations and hackathons!  2018 was truly a year to remember and 2019 starts our kickoff to our 25th anniversary!  Want to learn more?  Read on!                                                          Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  What a year! PDUs, awards, certification classes, collaborations and hackathons!  2018 was truly a year to remember and 2019 starts our kickoff to our 25th anniversary!  Want to learn more?  Read on! What did we accomplish this year? In 2018 we had some amazing speakers share with us their experience and knowledge.  From Ann Tardy to Shawn Zadeh to you! 30 PDUs by my count!  You only need 60 over 3 years to maintain your PMP certification.  Dinner events and professional development days are valuable, timely and local.  What a great way to learn about the latest project management and agile tips and techniques while networking with people who do what you do?  The 2019 calendar is all set - take a look and mark your calendar! Did you realize that in 2018, in addition to the PMP Prep certification classes, we hosted the PMI-ACP and CSM?  Over 50 people prepared themselves for the next step in their career through these classes.  2019 starts today!  PMP Prep classes start Feb 2nd so register now!  Are you interested in CSM, SAFe or PMI-ACP?  So are we!  All 3 with be offered in 2019! Our vision is be recognized as a dynamic organization promoting the Project Management Institute (PMI) and professional project management practices in the Buffalo Niagara Regional area.  Community involvement is a fantastic way to promote project management.  This year we were involved with Future City, University of Buffalo, Buffalo Niagara Payroll association, ASWE, ASME, ASEE, ASQ and Infotech WNY.  Do you have an idea of a community organization we should be involved in?  Let me know. And the beat goes on. While the drum beats with the member-focused initiatives above, another side of the Board’s work is internal and largely unseen.  This work ensures we continue as a viable, operational organization and includes marketing, chapter analytics, records management, financial management and technology management.  While the details are too numerous to mention, I can say this - the PMI Buffalo chapter was in the running for chapter of the year because we have a strong balance sheet with necessary reserves, the right technology to meet our needs, a focus on social media second to none in the region and a commitment to succession and transition planning through uniform record keeping. Our lifeblood! Volunteers are the lifeblood of the PMI Buffalo chapter and this year was a great year for our volunteers.  Tammy Ashraf graduated from the PMI Leadership Institute Master Class.  A year long learning and growth opportunity only a handful of volunteers from around the world get selected for.  On top of that, Tammy was awarded the Young Professional Award this fall!  We are so happy for her and we are looking forward to her bright future! Speaking of future, Teresa Lawrence - our VP of Certification was selected to join PMI’s R.E.P. Advisory Group.  This is a recognition of Teresa’s tremendous contributions in the certification environment and her commitment to educating project managers here in Western NY.  Now she will share her talents and expertise with Registered Education Providers around the world!  We wish Teresa all the best in her future endeavors!   As we say goodbye to Teresa, we say hello to Jackie Niro.  Jackie joins us as our new VP, Certification.  She has already hit the ground running through the transition period and is primed to build on her predecessor’s success and a fabulous team of volunteers.  Look for announcements soon on a new vendor for CSM and a new offering for SAFe!  Changeover is constant in any organization.  We say hello and welcome to Sal, Naveed, Dave &, Christa and thank and say goodbye to Amit, Carlos, Lydia & Cheryl.  Finally, it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Mary Harris as our Board trustee.  Mary joined us as a director of our newsletter in 2007 and has held positions as director of content management, VP, Marketing and as Trustee.  In addition to her board roles, Mary has been a consistently valuable member of our PDD team, our resident historian as new folks join the Board and a personal friend.  While Mary is stepping down from the board, she has agreed to continue volunteering with our PDD team and we are truly appreciative of her continued volunteerism! Let the countdown begin! Today starts the countdown to our 25th anniversary in 2020.  We have some big things planned in the run up to our anniversary year including stories from our presidents - Past, Present & Future.  In 2020 we are planning collaborative events, prizes and tchotchkes! Jeff Manhardt | PMPPresidentPMI Buffalo Chapterpresident@pmibuffalo.org Hello to all our members, prospective members and followers!  Summer is fading fast! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board needs you!  Will you answer the call? I will show you two quick ways right now on how you can help and give you an update what’s been going on. Hello to all our members, prospective members and followers!  Summer is fading fast! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board needs you!  Will you answer the call? I will show you two quick ways right now on how you can help and give you an update what’s been going on. #1 way to help - Volunteer! We need your unique skill-set, experience and effort.  What better to shape the future of the chapter than from within! Talk to our Director, Volunteers or Send me a note.  #2 way to help - Participate!  Attend a dinner, a breakfast or our certification training.  This is a great way to hone your skills, learn about the new trends or network with your peers.  Check out our event calendar today. Planned for the Future - This spring your Board members attended meetings in Ohio to learn from other chapters, to share our experiences and knowledge and to plan for the future.  And in July we reviewed our measurable goals and vision of the future. Want to learn more? Send me a note.     Can you find your company in this picture?  Send me a note. Jeff Manhardt | PMPPresidentPMI Buffalo Chapterpresident@pmibuffalo.org In March, PMI Buffalo held its Annual Meeting at The Barrel Factory.  It was a wonderful event and everyone’s participation was greatly appreciated.  In March, PMI Buffalo held its Annual Meeting at The Barrel Factory.  It was a wonderful event and everyone’s participation was greatly appreciated.  Jeff Manhardt, PMI Buffalo Chapter President, reviewed our 2017 Annual Report.  Jeff highlighted what benefits our chapter offers our members.  He also spoke about the Professional Development opportunities that were provided by the Chapter in 2017, our member demographics, social media statistics, and gave an overview of the Chapter’s other operational areas.  In addition, he spoke about the Chapter’s current financial status and plans moving forward into 2018.  The full document can be accessed and reviewed in the link below.  From Jeff and all the Board Members, we thank you for your participation in the Chapter and look forward to closing out 2018 on a strong note! Download Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers! Fall is upon us! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board continues to fire on all cylinders as we near the end of the summer season and we have some fantastic news to share! Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers! Fall is upon us! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board continues to fire on all cylinders as we near the end of the summer season and we have some fantastic news to share! Planning for the Future - This summer your Board members attended meetings in Rochester and Niagara on the Lake to learn from other chapters, to share our experiences and knowledge and to plan for the future. I continue to be impressed by the commitment, drive and passion of our volunteers! What was the outcome? We have measurable goals, tremendous ideas and vision of the future. Want to learn more? Send me a note. New Leaders - You voted and we have new Board members! Starting Jan 1, Ellen, Tammy, Carrie and Pat are joining or rejoining the board as VP’s of Finance, Outreach, Membership & Trustee respectively. Please join me in congratulating them where-ever you see them; Facebook, Twitter or even in person at the Sep 19th dinner event at the SPCA! What? You didn’t register? Next time register sooner, it is sold out!! Current Events - Finally, I have been watching the news of the natural disasters affecting so many folks. I personally have friends and family who were in the path or who evacuated. All are safe today, though many lost much or all of what they had. On behalf of the PMI Buffalo Chapter I would like to send our thoughts and hopes for recovery to all those impacted. If you are interested in helping, I ask you to consider donating to the Red Cross. As always - Your feedback drives what we do. I am available at president@pmibuffalo.org    Jeff Manhardt | PMPPresidentPMI Buffalo Chapterpresident@pmibuffalo.org Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  Summer is here! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board continues to fire on all cylinders as we enter the summer season and we have some fantastic news t Hello to all of our members, prospective members and followers!  Summer is here! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board continues to fire on all cylinders as we enter the summer season and we have some fantastic news to share. In April & May we held great dinner events and breakfast meetings.  We had an opportunity learn the project leadership it took to climb Mount Everest, renovate the Darwin Martin House and build the National Synchrontron Light Source.  Amazing!  If you attended, thank-you!  Send me an email and let me know what you thought.  If you didn’t, tell me why - We are always looking to make events work for you. As you know, PMI Buffalo is an award-winning chapter because of your engagement and willingness to volunteer.  Well, PMI just notified us we are a finalist again this year!  While we have no illusions of winning twice in a row, I can personally say, this is a fantastic organization and I am proud to be a part of it! I would also like to take a moment to congratulate Lydia Parent - Our Volunteer of the year!  Oh - and our technology team was selected as a finalist for the InfoTech WNY BETAS - a great honor and opportunity to network with the vibrant technology community in Western New York. And so we march on - June is a busy month!  Your board members and some directors will be in Rochester for our annual regional leadership meeting.  We will be sharing the good things we do and will learn from others, ways we can better serve you.  June 6th is a special day - the founder of PMI will be speaking at a member-only event.  He will talk about the past, present and future of project management - a must-attend event.   We are also asking you to vote on the nominees for the board.  Ellen, Tammy, Carrie and Pat are on the slate and voting ends June 12th.  Our mission is simple - to provide a forum to promote PMI standards and to strengthen stakeholders’ knowledge, awareness and understanding of Project Management principles, tools and techniques.  I hope you make our mission - your mission. As always - Your feedback drives what we do. I am available at president@pmibuffalo.org   Jeff Manhardt | PMPPresidentPMI Buffalo Chapterpresident@pmibuffalo.org   Hello  to all of our members, prospective members and followers! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board shared some fantastic some news and events this quarter and if you haven’t heard, I will take this opportunity to provide an update. Hello  to all of our members, prospective members and followers! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board shared some fantastic some news and events this quarter and if you haven’t heard, I will take this opportunity to provide an update. In January & February we held great dinner events and breakfast meetings.  We had an opportunity learn about the project work behind putting on the Erie County Fair each year and we celebrated 2016 - an award-winning year YOU made happen! In March, we intended to have a dinner meeting on the project work it takes to run a political campaign, however, after three committed non-partisan speakers had to back-out we reluctantly canceled our meeting.  Something we do not take lightly and will not make a habit of.  We were able to hold an exciting session at the University of Buffalo for ~40 graduate students and a few professors.  We gained new members and a new volunteer with some exciting ideas!  More on that in a future message. As I congratulated our UB students for winning a one year membership to PMI and our local chapter, I found myself giving some advice I would share with all of you.  Take a moment to recognize the value YOUR membership provides.  It unlocks a treasure trove of project management content on pmi.org,pmibuffalo.org  and projectmanagement.com.  Webinars, white papers and research papers, templates and in person local events.  If ever there was an opportunity for you to grow your knowledge and skill-set it is now!  Seize it.  Perhaps even more importantly is that you have access to hundreds of local professionals and hundreds of thousands of world-wide professionals.  This network is strong, active, engaging and inviting.  I encourage to you to network for your next job, your next mentor or your next opportunity to volunteer! Our mission is simple - to provide a forum to promote PMI standards and to strengthen stakeholders’ knowledge, awareness and understanding of Project Management principles, tools and techniques.  I hope you make our mission - you mission. As always - Your feedback drives what we do. I am available at president@pmibuffalo.org   Jeff Manhardt | PMPPresidentPMI Buffalo Chapterpresident@pmibuffalo.org   Hello  to all of our members, prospective members and followers! The PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board and all of our volunteers wish you and yours a very Happy New Year and look forward to serving you this year - through our dinner and breakfast events, professional days, educational sessions, outreach and volunteer opportunities, and all of our member services. Hello  to all of our members, prospective members and followers! The PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board and all of our volunteers wish you and yours a very Happy New Year and look forward to serving you this year - through our dinner and breakfast events, professional days, educational sessions, outreach and volunteer opportunities, and all of our member services. We will be sharing the list of great events with you shortly, but today I wanted to take a moment to recognize the past and share with you our plan for the future. First - a look back - I want to thank all our past volunteers for their exceptional efforts.  You make this chapter what it is - an award-winning model that invests in our members, gives back to our community and consistently strives to promote the Project Management Institute (PMI) and professional project management practices in the Buffalo Niagara Regional area. Now - a look ahead - The Board is focused on investing in our members and this year we have some exciting events planned and for the first time we will share with our members the financial health of the organization.  This step provides transparency for how this Board works every day for you - our members.  Interested in learning more - Look for our annual meeting scheduled for Feb! Until then, buckle up!  2017 is all about you and how this chapter can help you succeed!   As the incoming President - my door is open to you. Please write me at president@pmibuffalo.org Jeff ManhardtAs I end my term as President of the PMI Buffalo, NY chapter, we are in what some people consider the most wonderful time of the year. The holidays are upon us, and I wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season! As I end my term as President of the PMI Buffalo, NY chapter, we are in what some people consider the most wonderful time of the year. The holidays are upon us, and I wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season! I would like to say thank you to all of the volunteers who I have worked alongside these past few years. Because of you, we have been able to provide a variety of quality programs and services to our members and associates. The tremendous effort you have put forth was recently recognized by the global PMI organization when we were presented the 2016 Chapter of the Year award for mid-sized chapters. Congratulations to all of you on this success! To all of our chapter’s members – thank you for your loyalty to the chapter, demonstrated by your attendance at our Professional Development Days, Breakfast Roundtables, Dinner Meetings and Networking Events, as well as your high satisfaction scores on our annual surveys, and our high member retention rate. For all of you who are studying for your PMP or other PMI certifications, I wish you the best of luck in passing your exams, and encourage you to reach out to other chapter members and volunteers for pointers and assistance. There is strength in numbers, and our chapter is 600+ members strong. As I reflect upon the last three years, we have had many achievements – some large, some small - but all delivered with improving the chapter in mind. Below are just some of the many areas we worked on as your “all-volunteer” team: Educated our membership on the new PMI Talent Triangle and its impact on their PDU requirements, as well as adapted our programming to support the Talent Triangle. Enhanced our weekly communications through more creative and appealing formatting. Offered Exam Prep classes for the PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Professional) certification, and training for the Scrum Alliance’s Scrum Master and Scrum Product Owner certifications. Improved our PMP Exam Prep training by introducing Velociteach materials, and trained all instructors on these materials. Partnered with the International Institute for Learning (IIL) to provide discounts to our members for events such as International Project Management Days and Agile days. Established a CAPM education program at UB with their Engineering department through our Outreach team. Supported Future Cities, Wounded Warrior and Enactus community programs Introduced an annual Scholarship program to support worthy students in curriculums related to Project Management. Recognized new members, member certifications and anniversaries. Recognized our volunteers’ achievements through Volunteer of the Quarter and Year awards, and Annual Volunteer Recognition events. Continued to implement our Technology Roadmap to better support our internal and external stakeholders, including a website upgrade and new data analytics tool. Celebrated our 20th anniversary with several past presidents at our 2015 Fall Professional Day. Hosted a Strategic Planning session with 3 other chapters in 2015. Made improvements in many internal practices: Aligned our Board and Director leadership teams through joint, quarterly meetings to focus on chapter operations. Executed annual orientation sessions for both Board members and Directors. Defined and gave focus to 3 key strategies, and measured progress via a Balanced Scorecard. Moved to a calendar year start for our Board member terms, to permit a 6-month orientation period for incoming Board members, which allows them to participate in the development of their first year’s operations plan and budget. Introduced formal transition planning for Board member roles. Updated our Operations Manual and began development of SOPs for all functional areas. Spun off Certification Training from the Professional Development function in order to ensure sufficient focus is given to both areas. Moved to electronic expense reimbursements. Strengthened our financial sustainability to meet PMI Global’s requirements for chapters. Delivered multiple presentations at PMI’s annual Leadership Institute Meetings. Introduced an Annual Report that highlights not only our achievements, but also the many PDU earning opportunities and benefits provided by the chapter. In addition to serving as Past President next year, I will be taking on the volunteer role of Region Mentor for the North Central Region. So, I will be working with 24 chapters across 6 states – sharing what I have learned while working with the Buffalo, NY chapter for close to 13 years. This is an exciting undertaking for me, and one that I am better prepared for due to the amazing people and work I’ve been involved with right here in Buffalo. It has truly been an honour to serve all of you as President of this wonderful chapter! I wish you all the best of luck in your professional and personal lives. JoAnnWhen the leaves are falling, the PMI Buffalo Chapter is headed into its final events for the calendar year. Our last dinner meeting is being held Werdnesday, November 9th and will cover both “Marketing your Project” and “Understanding Business Metrics”. When the leaves are falling, the PMI Buffalo Chapter is headed into its final events for the calendar year. Our last dinner meeting is being held Werdnesday, November 9th and will cover both “Marketing your Project” and “Understanding Business Metrics”. This event will award 1.5 PDUs for the Strategic and Business Management side of the Talent Triangle. This event is being held in the Southtowns. We also have two breakfast meetings remaining on November 10th (topic: Resource Management) and December 15th . Have you been to a breakfast meeting? These sessions are peer-to-peer learning opportunities and allow attendees to share their experiences and learn from one another in an informal, small group setting early in the AM on a weekday. As we wrap up 2016, our planning for 2017 is well underway. We are on target to complete our Annual Planning activities on schedule. Your Board will be meeting mid-November to review the 2017 Operations Plan’s budget and resource requirements. We will then meet mid-December to approve the final budget. I will be passing the President “baton” to Jeff Manhardt at the end of this year, and then serving as Past President for a year. A number of other people are also transitioning out / in to Board roles:  Jeff Manhardt – passing the VP, Finance role to Ellen Hagerty.  Mary Harris – passing the VP, Marketing & Communications role to Steve Tunmore. Mary will then be taking on a Trustee role.  Kevin Galvin – passing the VP, Technology & Business Services role to Tony Pappagallo.  Mark Gaynor – passing the VP, Professional Development role to two individuals: Erin Keding will serve as VP, Professional Development, and Teresa Lawrence will serve in the newly created VP, Certification Training role. (Note: This role split was passed in a ByLaws vote earlier this year)  Mark Kwandrans – leaving Trustee role due to commitments to PMI Global's Ethics Review committee.  Julie McGuire – leaving Trustee role. Please join me in thanking those who are stepping down for all of their hard work, and welcoming those who are stepping up to Board roles! As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at one of these events, JoAnn Boehm PMI Buffalo – We bring Project Management to life! Well….I hope you heard the great news about our chapter’s big win at last month’s PMI North America Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM)! Yes… that’s right… the PMI Buffalo, NY chapter won 2016 Chapter of the Year in Category 2  (medium sized chapters of 300 to 1500 members). We felt very honored to have been nominated along with Mumbai, India, Southern Germany and Minas Gerais, Brazil for this prestigious award, but to actually win was icing on the cake! Well….I hope you heard the great news about our chapter’s big win at last month’s PMI North America Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM)! Yes… that’s right… the PMI Buffalo, NY chapter won 2016 Chapter of the Year in Category 2  (medium sized chapters of 300 to 1500 members). We felt very honored to have been nominated along with Mumbai, India, Southern Germany and Minas Gerais, Brazil for this prestigious award, but to actually win was icing on the cake! Several members of the Board and our team of Directors attended this leadership meeting along with me in San Diego. We spent 3 full days attending sessions in which we could learn from association management experts and fellow chapter leaders on best practices for running chapters, marketing the value proposition of membership, recruiting and engaging volunteers, outreach programs to local communities and educational institutions, etc. Over 1100 chapter leaders from across the globe and PMI staff members attended this LIM, so you can imagine the networking opportunities we were fortunate enough to experience! Meanwhile, back to the reality of what’s going on in our chapter! Your Board and Directors (~30 of us) will be meeting this week to review the functional plans they are developing for 2017, to support our key strategies: Attract and Engage Members & Volunteers Deliver and Promote Stakeholder Value Ensure the Sustainability of our Chapter As I mentioned in my September message, our plan for 2017 is to put more focus on local employers to ensure they understand the value we bring today and can bring in the future – i.e. put focus on the employer stakeholder in our 2nd strategy above. We would love to hear from you if you have any ideas you would like to share on how we can best achieve this goal, so feel free to email me at president@pmibuffalo.org with your thoughts. I hope that those of you who enjoyed our Fall Professional Day on September 20th enjoyed the keynote and various topics presented. We have a couple of events lined up for this week and next – the 20th and 27th - that may interest you. Please see our website for our October – December events at www.pmibuffalo.org. As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at our Fall events, JoAnn PMI Buffalo – We bring Project Management to life!   Welcome back from the PMI Buffalo Chapter’s summer break in programs. We have a full line-up for September – December. This Fall’s events will provide you with the opportunity to earn PDUs on all 3 sides of the Talent Triangle:  Welcome back from the PMI Buffalo Chapter’s summer break in programs. We have a full line-up for September – December. This Fall’s events will provide you with the opportunity to earn PDUs on all 3 sides of the Talent Triangle: Technical, Leadership, Strategy & Business Management. We also have a fun networking event planned for October 27th that will focus on how to better leverage LinkedIn and develop your personal brand. Take a look at our Fall Program of Events and sign up now for any or all! Click here to download the Fall Program of Events As a follow-up to my last message, your PMI Buffalo Chapter Board spent the day together on a Saturday last month to perform Annual Planning. We discussed our stakeholders, the results from both our Chapter and PMI Global’s annual surveys, SWOC (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges), strategic issues and key strategies. We also reaffirmed our three key strategies:  Attract and Engage Members & Volunteers Deliver and Promote Stakeholder Value Ensure the Sustainabaility of our Chapter Each functional area of your Board will now work on developing its 2017 Operations Plan and Budget, to support these key strategies. Our plan for 2017 is to put more focus on local employers to ensure they understand the value we (and you!) bring today and can bring in the future. Several members of the Board will be attending the PMI North America Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM) in San Diego this month. As mentioned in prior years, this is our opportunity to network with and learn from other chapter leaders from around the world. We always pick up new ideas for our programs and services as we attend 3 days of educational sessions.Also at this North America LIM, we will be attending an awards ceremony because we were selected as a finalist for “Chapter of the Year” in our size chapter category. We are very honored to have been nominated. We did win this award back in 2011, and are ready to accept it again, if we should be so fortunate!  Wish us luck! As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at our Fall events, JoAnn PMI Buffalo – We bring Project Management to life!   I hope that everyone has been enjoying their summer thus far. It is hard to believe that we are half way through it already! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter Board will be convening on Saturday, August 20th for a full day of Annual Planning. We will be discussing the following aspects of our chapter: mission and vision, stakeholders, SWOC (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges), strategic issues and key strategies. I hope that everyone has been enjoying their summer thus far. It is hard to believe that we are half way through it already! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter Board will be convening on Saturday, August 20th for a full day of Annual Planning. We will be discussing the following aspects of our chapter: mission and vision, stakeholders, SWOC (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges), strategic issues and key strategies. The primary output of this session will be alignment of our functional areas around what matters most to our membership and other stakeholders, so that they can prepare comprehensive 2017 Operational Plans. These operational plans are what we put into place to support our various programs and services. Below is a summary of our functional areas, including information on those individuals who have begun a 6-month orientation period before they take over their new roles effective 1/1/17. Functional Area Current VP 2017 VP (currently in orientation)  Membership (and Volunteerism)  Carrie Myers  ---  Professional Development  Mark Gaynor  Erin Keding  Certification Training  Mark Gaynor  Teresa Lawrence  Outreach  Adam Almeter  ---  Marketing & Communcations  Mary Harris  Steve Tunmore  Technology & Business Services  Kevin Galvin  Tony Pappagallo  Finance  Jeff Manhardt  Ellen Hagerty (appointed)   We also have two Trustees that we rely on for their historical knowledge of our chapter. Mark Kwandrans will continue through 2017 as a Trustee. Julie McGuire will be wrapping up her 2-year commitment, and Mary Harris will be stepping into our second Trustee position. I will also be transitioning into the role of Past President and turning over the role of President to Jeff Manhardt effective 1/1/17. Our Fall Program of Events will be published soon, and will highlight all events planned for September through November. Our first event will be a panel discussion on September 13th, followed by our Fall Professional Development Day on September 20th. (Please see our website for more details on the above events and to register) As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at our September events, JoAnn PMI Buffalo – We bring Project Management to life! Before we come to the close of our 2nd Quarter, and head into our summer break, we are offering 2 events in June that you might be interested in attending. We received very positive feedback from our May 17th double-header session, so please consider signing up for our June 21st event !Before we come to the close of our 2nd Quarter, and head into our summer break, we are offering 2 events in June that you might be interested in attending. We received very positive feedback from our May 17th double-header session, so please consider signing up for our June 21st event !  6/21: 2 education sessions for 1.5 hours each (3 PDUs)  This event will not begin until 3:30pm - allowing you to work almost a full day – and still participate in 1 or 2 different education sessions  Early bird pricing runs up to midnight on 6/6/16 !  3:30-5:00pm Session #1 – Quiet Leadership (Tips for Project Success)  Networking, dinner  6:45-8:15pm Session #2 – Great Project Managers (How They Do It)  Speaker: Michael O’Brochta has written and presented papers at every PMI North American Global Congress during the past decade-and-a-half as well as at many international, and regional conferences. While a senior project manager at the Central Intelligence Agency, he led the project management and systems engineering training and certification program to mature practices agency-wide.  6/23: Corporate Challenge  This is the first year we have sponsored a team…. won’t you join us for an evening of exercise and fun ? Please see our website for more details on the above events and to sign up. After these June events, we do not have any certification trainings, professional development or networking events scheduled for July and August. Over this 2-month period, your Board and Directors will be hard at work finalizing the Chapter’s Fall program of events, and will also begin its 2017 operational planning. We will also be releasing our Election results and Annual Membership Survey shortly. Please take a few minutes to complete our annual survey, so that we may take your feedback into consideration when performing our operational planning for 2017. As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at our June events, JoAnn PMI Buffalo – We bring Project Management to life!Our 2nd Quarter is well underway and this week’s dinner and Professional Day by Susanne Madsen on project leadership should be very interesting! Our 2nd Quarter is well underway and this week’s dinner and Professional Day by Susanne Madsen on project leadership should be very interesting! Our next events in May and June include:  5/17: 2 education sessions for 1.5 hours each (3 pdus)  3:30-5:00pm Session #1 – Program & Portfolio Mgmt (Application and Practices)  Networking, dinner  6:45-8:15pm Session #2 – Managing Organizational Change (Creating a Change Ready Organization)  5/19: Breakfast Roundtable  Technology frontiers: what's now, what's next, what's going to fade away?  6/21: 2 education sessions for 1.5 hours each (3 pdus)  3:30-5:00pm Session #1 – Quiet Leadership (Tips for Project Success)  Networking, dinner  6:45-8:15pm Session #2 – Great Project Managers (How They Do It)  6/23: Corporate Challenge  Want to join our team? Please see our website for more details on the above events. We are taking a different approach for the May and June education sessions, in an attempt to meet the needs of those who cannot afford to spend a full day, or even half a day for that matter, to attend our Professional Days. So, these events will not begin until 3:30pm - allowing you to work almost a full day – and get in 1 or 2 different education sessions to earn up to 3 pdus. We are bringing in 2 very experienced speakers for the May and June education sessions: May: Frank Saladis is former President of the PMI NYC Chapter, received the distinguished award of PMI Fellow in October 2013, and was the recipient of the PMI Distinguished Contribution Award in October 2015. He is a Project Management Professional and has been a featured presenter at the Project Management Institute ® Annual Symposia and World Congresses and many other project management events. June: Michael O’Brochta has written and presented papers at every PMI North American Global Congress during the past decade-and-a-half as well as at many international, and regional conferences. While a senior project manager at the Central Intelligence Agency, he led the project management and systems engineering training and certification program to mature practices agency-wide. As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at an upcoming event, JoAnn PMI Buffalo – we bring Project Management to life! We are 3 months into 2016 and this coming week we have another great dinner meeting scheduled at the Niagara Culinary Institute in Niagara Falls, NY. Please join us for an interesting evening in which we will learn how this former shopping complex was completely overhauled to become both a training and retail facility… and a “living classroom” for its 350 students. We are 3 months into 2016 and this coming week we have another great dinner meeting scheduled at the Niagara Culinary Institute in Niagara Falls, NY. Please join us for an interesting evening in which we will learn how this former shopping complex was completely overhauled to become both a training and retail facility… and a “living classroom” for its 350 students. Our next events in April include: 4/14: Our annual Volunteer Recognition dinner at which we will present the Volunteer of the Quarter for 1st Qtr 2016, and our 2015 Annual Achievement award. *All volunteers attend this event free* If you are not a volunteer and are interested in getting started with us, then please come and learn more about volunteering for our chapter. 4/21: Breakfast roundtable focused on Non-profit project management and volunteering -- when demonstrating value is even more challenging than usual. 4/26: Dinner meeting with Susanne Madsen, at which she will give us a sneak preview of her Professional Development Day workshop topic being held on the next day. 4/27: Professional Development Day featuring Susanne Madsen. Susanne will be presenting “The Secret to Authentic Leadership in Projects”. Thank you to everyone who participated in our ByLaw change approval process. We received overwhelming support for the new VP position to focus on Certification Training. Therefore, in early April we will be calling for candidates interested in serving in the following positions on our Board effective 1/1/2017: VP Professional Development VP Certification Training (*Recently approved by membership) VP Marketing & Communications VP Technology & Business Services Trustee We hope that many of you will consider applying for these positions. We look forward to having people with diverse skillsets and experiences join our leadership team! Stay tuned for more information on how you can apply. As always, if you should have any questions, concerns or issues related to your PMI membership or the PMI Buffalo Chapter, please see our “Contact Us” page on our website, or feel free to reach out directly to me at president@pmibuffalo.org. I hope to see you at an upcoming event, JoAnn PMI Buffalo – we bring Project Management to life!At our Annual Meeting at Riverworks this week, in addition to taking an interesting tour of the facility, we took a few minutes to highlight the chapter’s 2015 accomplishments.    At our Annual Meeting at Riverworks this week, in addition to taking an interesting tour of the facility, we took a few minutes to highlight the chapter’s 2015 accomplishments. Here is a link to our 2015 Annual Report – please download it and take a look at all of the programs and services we provided last year for both members and associates.   When you consider that all of these activities were organized and executed by volunteers, it is really an amazing achievement! I am so proud to be a part of this all-volunteer organization and work side by side with so many amazing Project Management professionals.   So take a look at our annual report and pick an area in which you would like to make a difference. Then contact our VP Membership, Carrie Myers, or Director Volunteers, Barb Cosgrove and let them know where you want to help.   Our next events are a breakfast roundtable on February 25th – the topic is Projects and Project Management in non-traditional industries, a breakfast roundtable on March 17th - Budgeting & Chargebacks, and a dinner meeting on March 22nd at the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute.   Our April events include a Volunteer Recognition dinner, a breakfast roundtable, and a dinner and Professional Development Day featuring Susane Madsen. Susanne will be presenting “The Secret to Authentic Leadership in Projects”. We continue to build out our 2nd Quarter 2016 Events program, and will issue an update to it shortly. Meanwhile see the right side of our website’s Home page for more information on upcoming events.   We hope to see you soon!   JoAnn   PMI Buffalo – we bring Project Management to life! On behalf of the PMI Buffalo Chapter’s Board and Directors, I wish you all a safe and happy new year!   On behalf of the PMI Buffalo Chapter’s Board and Directors, I wish you all a safe and happy new year! We’ve just published our 1st & 2nd Quarter 2016 Events program, so please take a look at this summary and reserve the dates. We will be providing an overview of the new Continuing Certification Requirements changes in January, touring Riverworks for our annual meeting in February, and rounding out our 1st Qtr with a visit to the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute. In between the above events, we also have 3 breakfast roundtables for you early birds! Our 2nd Qtr events in April will include a Volunteer Recognition dinner, a breakfast roundtable, and a dinner and Professional Development Day featuring Susane Madsen. Susanne will be presenting “The Secret to Authentic Leadership in Projects”. Details on our May and June events will be published in the near future. We hope that you will join us for multiple events during the winter and spring seasons. Also – please consider volunteering to round out your resume and to earn PDUs. (See our website – About Us\Volunteer Postings. Remember - 1 hour of volunteer work = 1 PDU.) JoAnn PMI Buffalo – we bring Project Management to life!    Our Fall Program line-up is well underway thanks to a very successful Professional Day, a breakfast roundtable focused on Procurement, CSM and CSPO training classes, and a controversial disussion about the value of estimating at this past week’s dinner meeting presented by Dhaval Panchal of Agile42. We also are midway through our PMP Prep class sessions.   Our Fall Program line-up is well underway thanks to a very successful Professional Day, a breakfast roundtable focused on Procurement, CSM and CSPO training classes, and a controversial disussion about the value of estimating at this past week’s dinner meeting presented by Dhaval Panchal of Agile42. We also are midway through our PMP Prep class sessions. Phew! Hold onto your hats folks because there is a lot more to come this next 2 months!  Next up is our Networking event at Big Ditch Brewery on November 4th, then a Program/Portfolio topic at our dinner meeting at Chef’s on November 17th. In between these events on the 12th is another breakfast roundtable to discuss the “Power of Acknowledgement” – your thoughts and experience with it.  And to end our season we’re providing a PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Professional) Prep class on December 4th-5th and our last breakfast roundtable on the 17th will discuss retirement and other work alternatives. Like many organizations, PMI Buffalo is in the midst of its Operational Planning. Your Board and Directors are developing their tactical plans to support the following: Our 3 Strategic objectives: Engage and Recruit Members & Volunteers, Deliver and Promote Stakeholder Value, Ensure the Chapter’s Sustainabiity Core activities such as providing our various programs and services Discretionary activities such as Outreach to our local universities and other professional organizations There are always plenty of opportunities for you to volunteer and earn a few PDUs. Please check out our website – About Us\Volunteer Postings. 1 hour of volunteer work = 1 PDU! Once again, we continue to highlight PMI’s changes to its Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program in our emails. We also have an article on our website’s home page. Please familiarize yourselves with this new categorization of knowledge, and PDUs, so that you are ready for the upcoming changes. As of December 1st, we will be designating our events as aligning to one of the three Talent Triangle skill sets: Technical, Leadership, or Strategic & Business expertise. We hope to see you at some of the events mentioned above. JoAnnAs the kids head back to school, the PMI Buffalo Chapter is gearing up for its Fall events. We have dinner and breakfast meetings, a professional day, and certification education sessions lined up for the September – December time period. The link to the full Fall Program Line-up has appeared in the last two weekly emails and is available to download from our website. As the kids head back to school, the PMI Buffalo Chapter is gearing up for its Fall events. We have dinner and breakfast meetings, a professional day, and certification education sessions lined up for the September – December time period. The link to the full Fall Program Line-up has appeared in the last two weekly emails and is available to download from our website. Although we took our usual break from programming during the summer, your Board was occupied with its annual Orientation session for Board and Directors in July, and its annual Strategic Planning in August. Please see the upcoming article in our newsletter describing the Strategic Planning activity. We have included several communications in our weekly emails this summer which provided details on the reasons for PMI's changes to its Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program. We also have an article on our website's home page. Please familiarize yourselves with this new categorization of knowledge, and PDUs, so that you are ready for the upcoming changes. As of December 1st, we will be designating our events as one of the three Talent Triangle skill sets: Technical, Leadership, or Strategic & Business expertise. We hope to see you at our events this Fall!JoAnn P.S. Remember ... 1 hour of volunteer work = 1 PDUYour PMI Buffalo Chapter Board wishes you a safe and fun summer! Your PMI Buffalo Chapter Board wishes you a safe and fun summer! While we take a break from our regular programming of dinner and breakfast meetings, professional days and education sessions, your Board will be performing its Strategic Planning for the 2016-2018 timeframe. Every other year, for the past 6 years, we have been collaborating with other PMI chapters as we go through our strategic planning. This year we will actually be meeting with three other chapters: Rochester, Erie PA and Southwest Ontario. This year we will be meeting at the Hyatt in downtown Buffalo for a full day and a half on August 8th-9th. We have already met with our Directors to brainstorm such topics as our Mission and Vision; our Stakeholders; our SWOC – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges; and our key Strategic Issues and key Strategies. If you would like to provide feedback on any of these areas, please feel free to email me at president@pmibuffalo.org to share your thoughts and insights. We will be publishing our Fall line-up later this month and believe you will be pleased with the variety of events and education opportunities we will be offering. We will be designating the events as one of the three Talent Triangle skill sets: Technical, Leadership, Strategic & Business expertise. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with this new categorization of knowledge by reading PMI’s and PMI Buffalo’s emails on the changes being made to the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program. Once again, we wish you a wonderful summer, JoAnn P.S. Remember … 1 hour of volunteer work = 1 PDU We hope that everyone enjoyed our March Harbor Center event. What a great venue and tour!  We also just celebrated all of our volunteers on April 14th at The Foundry in North Buffalo - another very interesting location that many attendees had heard about but never visited. Congratulations to our 2014 Annual Achievement award winner Carrie Myers. HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE! We hope that everyone enjoyed our March Harbor Center event. What a great venue and tour!  We also just celebrated all of our volunteers on April 14th at The Foundry in North Buffalo - another very interesting location that many attendees had heard about but never visited. Congratulations to our 2014 Annual Achievement award winner Carrie Myers. Back in January I asked everyone to take a few minutes to email me their wish list for 2015. I received a number of responses and wanted to report back to you some of the main themes and our progress in delivering them: Raise awareness of the value of Project Management with our employers. One of our key strategies this year is to promote the value proposition of project management, so the Board is working on ways to achieve this. More to come on this subject! Mentoring program for new PMs. More networking opportunities.  We are discussing holding a combination networking/mentoring event in Fall to allow newer PMs to meet more experienced PMs and informally establish mentoring relationships. Agile, CSM training.  We have CSM and CSPO training scheduled this month, and will be scheduling another PMI-ACP prep class in Fall. More events in the Southtowns.  Our May dinner event will be in Hamburg, as well as the agile CSM training. We will ensure we use venues across our geogaphical area in the future. Highlighting teams and the people involved in projects. Highlighting projects that demonstrate how Buffalo is rising to its challenges.>> Thank you for the suggestions - we will use the above 2 ideas in our planning. So, based on the above, I believe we are making good headway in responding to your wishes! Coming up, we’ll be holding our Annual meeting on June 9th at the Frank Lloyd Wright Boathouse and our special guest will be the PM who managed its construction, David Crowe. I look forward to seeing many of you there. JoAnn P.S. Remember … 1 hour of volunteer work = 1 PDUWell it is the start of another year, and we’re loading up our 2015 calendar with a variety of events to meet the interests of our 550+ members and over 2,000 followers. We will be visiting some new and exciting venues and hope that you will join us!   WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR Well it is the start of another year, and we’re loading up our 2015 calendar with a variety of events to meet the interests of our 550+ members and over 2,000 followers. We will be visiting some new and exciting venues and hope that you will join us! Did you know that 2015 is the Buffalo Chapter’s 20th anniversary? What an amazing milestone! We plan to celebrate our 20 years throughout the year, so we hope you will join us at our breakfast rountables, dinners and professional days. Here is a question for everyone to think about as we begin this new year:At the end of 2015, what one thing do you wish the PMI Buffalo Chapter would help you achieve? Is it earning pdus? Networking? Increasing the appreciation of project management within your company? Providing leads for new jobs? More training on Agile? Please take 5 minutes to email me at president@pmibuffalo.org with a quick note about what’s at the top of your wish list for 2015. Please put 2015 Wish in the subject! I’ll share all of your feedback with the Chapter’s Board so that we can incorporate the most requested ideas into our planning for 2015 - 2016. I hope to see you all at our upcoming events, JoAnn P.S. Attending our breakfast rountables, dinners and professional days will satisfy many of your PDU certification renewal requirements. Remember any hour spent – whether attending an event or volunteering - earns you a PDU.The PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board and all of our volunteers look forward to serving you this year - through our dinner and breakfast events, professional days, educational sessions, outreach and volunteer opportunities, and all of our member services. A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President JoAnn Boehm Hello  to all of our members, prospective members and followers! The PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board and all of our volunteers look forward to serving you this year - through our dinner and breakfast events, professional days, educational sessions, outreach and volunteer opportunities, and all of our member services. We have an exciting list of informational and educational dinners lined up for you - Project of the Year "runner up" presentations, Economic development in WNY, Communication power and Ride for Roswell. We'll have professional days in both Spring and Fall. And let's not forget our monthly breakfast meetings - which are a great way for you to share your knowledge as well as learn from fellow project managers. Lastly, we will be celebrating all of our accomplishments at our Volunteer Recognition and Annual Meeting events. The PMI Buffalo chapter offers over 100 volunteer (aka PDU) opportunities to you - whether you are a member or not.  Volunteer contributions can begin with just a couple of hours a month of your time. Working side by side with fellow project managers in your volunteer role also brings opportunities for new learnings, peer-to-peer mentoring, and giving back to your profession. So please consider joining us as a volunteer this year! We also hope you will consider joining our chapter because you will receive discounts on event costs that far outweigh our chapter membership fee.  Engage with us and you will experience even more benefits. So buckle up, and settle in for the ride! We look forward to being your guides through this upcoming year!As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.org Hello  to all of our members, prospective members and followers! The PMI Buffalo Chapter's Board and all of our volunteers look forward to serving you this year - through our dinner and breakfast events, professional days, educational sessions, outreach and volunteer opportunities, and all of our member services. We have an exciting list of informational and educational dinners lined up for you - Project of the Year "runner up" presentations, Economic development in WNY, Communication power and Ride for Roswell. We'll have professional days in both Spring and Fall. And let's not forget our monthly breakfast meetings - which are a great way for you to share your knowledge as well as learn from fellow project managers. Lastly, we will be celebrating all of our accomplishments at our Volunteer Recognition and Annual Meeting events. The PMI Buffalo chapter offers over 100 volunteer (aka PDU) opportunities to you - whether you are a member or not.  Volunteer contributions can begin with just a couple of hours a month of your time. Working side by side with fellow project managers in your volunteer role also brings opportunities for new learnings, peer-to-peer mentoring, and giving back to your profession. So please consider joining us as a volunteer this year! We also hope you will consider joining our chapter because you will receive discounts on event costs that far outweigh our chapter membership fee.  Engage with us and you will experience even more benefits. So buckle up, and settle in for the ride! We look forward to being your guides through this upcoming year!I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that although my term as President of the Chapter is scheduled to end on 6/30/14, I will be completing my term early at the end of December, 2013. Beginning 1/1/14, JoAnn Boehm will transition from President-Elect to Chapter President. PRESIDENT MARK KWANDRANS DECEMBER 2013  I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that although my term as President of the Chapter is scheduled to end on 6/30/14, I will be completing my term early at the end of December, 2013. Beginning 1/1/14, JoAnn Boehm will transition from President-Elect to Chapter President. I recently applied for a new PMI volunteer role, and at the Leadership Meeting in October, the PMI Board of Directors approved my application. Beginning January 1, 2014, I will join the PMI Ethics Review Committee. This seven-person committee investigates and resolves all ethics complaints against PMI members and credential holders. PMI’s ethics procedures are designed to ensure full compliance with generally accepted standards of integrity and fair dealing. At the same time, they protect covered individuals from malicious or groundless accusations. The Ethics Review Committee reports directly to the PMI Board of Directors, and I am excited to begin this new phase of my volunteer activities. In the past 3.5 years, the leadership team has grown the chapter, introduced exciting new programs, and created strong relationships with community organizations. Since I took office in 2010, the Chapter has accomplished quite a bit: We won the 2011 Chapter of the YearOur PM4NP program won the 2011 Community Advancement through Project Management AwardWe delivered presentations at three national Leadership Institute MeetingsWe conducted a Professional Development Day with Stephen Covey as Keynote SpeakerWe grew from 400 members to nearly 600 membersWe developed and executed a 3-year Technology RoadmapWe implemented a robust program of member communicationWe introduced an Agile Certification review classWe held two strategic planning sessions with the Boards of other ChaptersWe strengthened our financial standingWe implemented new software packages for email, document management, event registration, photo storage, and financial administration (and we upgraded our website)We revised the structure of the Board to better serve the membership All of these accomplishments were the result of the work done by your volunteer leaders, and I am proud to have been among them. I have enjoyed my tenure but am looking forward to a new role. I have been a volunteer for the Chapter since 2003 and once I become acclimated to my new responsibilities, I hope to resume volunteering for PMI Buffalo in some other capacity (additionally, I will continue as the Chapter’s Past-President throughout 2014). Thank you to my fellow Board members for working together to make ours an award-winning chapter. Thank you to all our Directors and volunteers for giving up their time and talent to improve our chapter and serve our members. Lastly, thank you to all our members for supporting your chapter in its mission. I hope you’re enjoying your summer. I guess it’s over, given the number of back to school sales that I’ve seen. Before we settle into our autumn routines, there are a number of things to be accomplished.    Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans I hope you’re enjoying your summer. I guess it’s over, given the number of back to school sales that I’ve seen. Before we settle into our autumn routines, there are a number of things to be accomplished. The Board will be heading offsite shortly to develop a strategic plan for the next 1-3 years. We will look at the results of our annual survey, analyze the needs of our various stakeholders, and conduct everyone’s favorite analytical tool, a SWOT analysis. We’ll list the strategic issues that we think are impacting the chapter and develop a vision of the Chapter of the Future. Later in the fall, the various VP’s and their volunteers will use both our strategy and the vision of the Chapter of the Future to develop their operational plans. These plans describe what we plan to get done over the next year. We carefully plan all of our meetings, training, classes, outreach, member services, communications, marketing, and back office enhancements. If you’d like to help us plan or execute any of our plans, please let me know. If you’d like to make a suggestion, or have a comment, it’s never too late to speak your mind. What we propose is only as good as the ideas we (and you) generate. There’s not much summer left, so please stay safe.As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.org   A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans I hope you’re enjoying your summer. I guess it’s over, given the number of back to school sales that I’ve seen. Before we settle into our autumn routines, there are a number of things to be accomplished.    Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans I hope you’re enjoying your summer. I guess it’s over, given the number of back to school sales that I’ve seen. Before we settle into our autumn routines, there are a number of things to be accomplished. The Board will be heading offsite shortly to develop a strategic plan for the next 1-3 years. We will look at the results of our annual survey, analyze the needs of our various stakeholders, and conduct everyone’s favorite analytical tool, a SWOT analysis. We’ll list the strategic issues that we think are impacting the chapter and develop a vision of the Chapter of the Future. Later in the fall, the various VP’s and their volunteers will use both our strategy and the vision of the Chapter of the Future to develop their operational plans. These plans describe what we plan to get done over the next year. We carefully plan all of our meetings, training, classes, outreach, member services, communications, marketing, and back office enhancements. If you’d like to help us plan or execute any of our plans, please let me know. If you’d like to make a suggestion, or have a comment, it’s never too late to speak your mind. What we propose is only as good as the ideas we (and you) generate. There’s not much summer left, so please stay safe.As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.org   A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark KwandransIt’s the beginning of July and summer is in full swing. You might think that things would slow down during the summer, but your chapter’s leadership continues to work through the heat, humidity, and rain. PRESIDENT MARK KWANDRANS It’s the beginning of July and summer is in full swing. You might think that things would slow down during the summer, but your chapter’s leadership continues to work through the heat, humidity, and rain. In a couple weeks, representatives will be traveling to a meeting of chapter leaders from across Region 4. Our region is the largest in PMI, with 24 chapters. 80 leaders will gather to exchange ideas and hear presentations from both industry experts and PMI staff. We look forward to incorporating new ideas into our plans. In the beginning of August, the Board will be meeting with the Boards from two other chapters to begin our strategic planning. A major input to our strategic plan is the results of our annual survey. You’ll be receiving an invitation to respond to that survey in the coming weeks. Please take a few moments to respond. The only way we can be sure that we’re doing what you want is if you tell us! Many of our past events and programs were the direct result of member suggestions. As you’ve read and heard elsewhere, the recent elections have resulted in a new Board. Karen Rybak and David Lynch have left their Board positions after many years of service. Starting today (7/1), Adam Almeter begins his term as VP of Outreach and Liz Englert re-joins us as Trustee. JoAnn Boehm is now our President-Elect and Mary Bagley succeeds her as VP of Membership. The composition of the Board has changed every year that I have been involved, and every year brings new and exciting opportunities to improve the chapter. That’s about it for now. As always, if you have any ideas, questions, or comments, feel free to write me.president@pmibuffalo.org   It’s May and we’re getting ready for summer. Just because school lets out doesn’t mean the Chapter goes dark. This month, we had a monthly dinner meeting with the Buffalo Bisons. A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans It’s May and we’re getting ready for summer. Just because school lets out doesn’t mean the Chapter goes dark. This month, we had a monthly dinner meeting with the Buffalo Bisons. In June, we’ve got our required Annual Business Meeting, this time being offered at the Darwin Martin House. We’ve also got our Basic and Advanced Toolbelt classes (have I said what a great deal this is?).  In July, some Board members will be attending the Region 4 Leadership Meeting in Traverse City, MI. The Board will also be preparing for our Strategic Planning weekend, to be held in early August, again in conjunction with the Board of the South Western Ontario Chapter, but this year with the Rochester Chapter as well. In August, we’ll also hold another Basic and Advanced Toolbelt classes. Before you know it, it’s September, and it all starts all over again!In addition to all these summer activities, we’ll be laying plans for the fall. We’ll also be soliciting volunteers to help us execute, and we encourage everyone to get involved to the extent they can. Many hands make light work, as my grandma said (actually, she didn’t say that at all, but it’s still good advice).Before I go, let me say congratulations to those of you who graduated from our PMP Prep class and passed the PMP exam. I’d also like to congratulate anyone who passed the PMI-ACP exam recently.Watch out for kids and motorcycles when you’re driving.As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.org   A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark KwandransI’m watching the Superbowl, enjoying the commercials, and I hope you’re enjoying the power outages at the Superdome and the sound outage on CBS. It just goes to show you that despite the best planning, some things can’t be controlled. It makes me wonder if they considered these things during their risk assessment. A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans I’m watching the Superbowl, enjoying the commercials, and I hope you’re enjoying the power outages at the Superdome and the sound outage on CBS. It just goes to show you that despite the best planning, some things can’t be controlled. It makes me wonder if they considered these things during their risk assessment.2013 has gotten off to a good start in the Chapter. Responses to past surveys said we needed to hold events in the Southern Tier, so we arranged for dinner and a tour at Holiday Valley. Attendees at our January dinner said it was a great outing and was very enjoyable as well as informative. We also started two sessions of our PMP Prep training in January, provided that needed training for many new attendees.The events keep coming in February. Our Toolbelt series has kicked off with a basic and an advanced class. Our February dinner saw finalists from our Project of the Year Award telling us what it takes to plan and execute high-quality projects. The tempo doesn’t let up as March brings our Spring PDD and a dinner meeting.The year will continue to bring high-quality training sessions and we hope you’ll be able to join us for some.As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.org   A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark KwandransIt’s December 29th, and I’m staring out the window, watching the snow fall. The parties are over (until Monday night!), the house is clean (until Monday night!), and I just finished shoveling my driveway. Having a week off from work gives a person time to think. Maybe it’s time for a New Year’s Resolution. A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans It’s December 29th, and I’m staring out the window, watching the snow fall. The parties are over (until Monday night!), the house is clean (until Monday night!), and I just finished shoveling my driveway. Having a week off from work gives a person time to think. Maybe it’s time for a New Year’s Resolution.   2012 is going to go down in the books as a crazy, volatile year. A lot has happened, some good, some bad, and none of it inconsequential. Despite all the ups and downs, and all the things happening out there, you can impact only your sphere of influence – your family and friends, your colleagues, your neighbors. You probably can’t influence events on the world stage (if you can, congratulations!). But you can make your world, however small, a better place.   Do what we do. Try to deliver “value” to the people you know. How many times have you heard this at work – we need to “add value.” Your PMI Chapter has a mission (it’s on our website) – to provide a forum to promote PMI standards and to strengthen stakeholders’ knowledge, awareness, and understanding of Project Management principles, tools, and techniques. In other words, to leave everyone that we encounter a little better for having met us. Don’t you wish everyone acted the same way? Try to make your “world” a better place, and leave everyone who meets you a little better off for having done so.   We have a lot of exciting plans for 2013 (don’t we always?) and we hope you’ll join us for at least some of our events. Give us the chance to add value to your life (at least your work life) and please do the same for the people you meet.   As always, if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or comments, please do not hesitate to write me. My email address is on the website and in the newsletter.   Happy New Year, and see you soon.   As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.orgEveryone’s mind is currently on the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and the coming winter in Buffalo, but I thought I’d write to let you know what’s happening in the Chapter. It’s a much nicer topic to write about.   A Message from PMI Buffalo Chapter President Mark Kwandrans Everyone’s mind is currently on the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and the coming winter in Buffalo, but I thought I’d write to let you know what’s happening in the Chapter. It’s a much nicer topic to write about. After a successful strategic planning session this summer, the Board members went off to work with their volunteers to come up with operational plans for 2013. They looked at the status of our programs – what’s working, what’s not working, what do we want to try next year. They came back to present those plans to the Board earlier this week. That was an exciting Board meeting – we have plenty of ideas for 2013, and I, for one, can’t wait to see them implemented. The rest of the calendar year will be spent developing the budget to support those plans. We’re a lot timelier than the Federal Government, and we should have a balanced budget by the end of the year. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements. Another topic I wanted to touch on briefly is that of attrition. The Chapter continues to see a fair number of members leave after just one year. People seem to join to get the discount on the PMP Prep class, and then leave when that year is up. If you are on the fence about whether to renew your membership, think about all the value we provide. Dinner meetings, breakfast roundtables, networking opportunities, half-day training, online programs, full-day workshops – you won’t find a variety of programming like that anywhere else. Try to attend more events – there’s nothing like being in a room of your colleagues, realizing that everyone has the same issues at work, to make a project manager feel welcome (and how often does that happen at work or home?). I’m constantly surprised by the number of people who wait 6 to 9 months to redeem the free dinner certificate they get when they join! Don’t put it off – mark it on your calendar and come join us. If there’s some reason that you’re thinking about not renewing your membership, please write me. Let me know what’s up – we may already have a plan in place to address your concerns! As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to write me at president@pmibuffalo.orgIf you believe any schoolkid (or the latest Target ad), summer’s already over, and they are dreading the looming beginning of the school year. There’s so much left to cram into the remaining summer days! Summer's Over! If you believe any schoolkid (or the latest Target ad), summer’s already over, and they are dreading the looming beginning of the school year. There’s so much left to cram into the remaining summer days! Similarly, your Board has a lot of work to do this summer. On August 4th, the Board met to review the results of our member survey and to review the mid-year results of our operating plans. With that information as input, we’ll devote the next couple board meetings to updating our offerings and operations for next year to ensure we continue to provide our members with valuable offerings that clearly demonstrate the value of membership. We’ve also got some internal work to do. With the addition of a new Board position (Marketing & Communication), we want to ensure that we coordinate all interactions of board members, so our agenda includes time to work out all the touchpoints between functional areas. The result will be a smooth-running Board focused on the future. In October we’ll be traveling to the Leadership Institute Meeting, but I’ll save the results of that for my next message.  Enjoy the rest of your summer!It’s late June and from the outside, it appears that PMI Buffalo’s program year has come to a close. Don’t be fooled; there’s a lot of activity going on over the summer, and I thought I’d let you know what we’ll be doing while you’re at the beach. It’s late June and from the outside, it appears that PMI Buffalo’s program year has come to a close. Don’t be fooled; there’s a lot of activity going on over the summer, and I thought I’d let you know what we’ll be doing while you’re at the beach. We recently held our PMI-required Annual Business Meeting, during which we presented the highlights of the last year. I won’t go into much detail except to say that the Burchfield-Penney Art Gallery was a great place to discuss all of our successes. Some of your Board members just returned from Columbus, Ohio, where they attended a meeting of Chapter leaders from across Region 4 (the Buffalo Chapter is part of the largest region in PMI, with 24 Chapters and nearly 25,000 members). We came away with fresh ideas for the coming year (we have no problem stealing ideas from other Chapters and improving on them).  Over the summer, we'll be starting our strategic planning for 2013, starting with looking at the results of our member survey, and trying to come up with offerings that add value to your membership (I know from our Board meeting last night that your Board members are already forming interesting ideas for next year). Operationally, there are a couple things going on over the summer. The team responsible for the Professional Development Day will be meeting regularly to ensure that that event is of the high quality that you've come to expect. Remember, the PDD is scheduled for September 20th, and will include the 10th awarding of our Project of the Year (please consider nominating a project!). The PM4NP team just held an information session with 40 attendees, so it looks like this year's program will be as successful as those in the past. In early August, we'll be holding another session of our basic and advanced Toolbelt classes. Check out our website for more information. In the coming weeks, you'll be receiving an email invitation to respond to our annual member survey. Please give this your attention. The only way we know what you want is for you to tell us. We take your feedback very seriously, but can only respond if you tell us what you like and what you don't. I think that's it for now. There are lots of things in the works, but it's a little early to discuss them. I've got to have material for next time! If you need to reach me with an idea, suggestion, complaint, or compliment, please feel free to email me at president@pmibuffalo.org. Enjoy your summer, and stay safe.Your Chapter just held its Volunteer Recognition event at the Botanical Gardens. If you haven’t been there since you were a kid, I suggest you take a drive out – it’s really an incredible place with a rich history. Anyway, we recognized the 96 people who perform 136 jobs for the Chapter.   Your Chapter just held its Volunteer Recognition event at the Botanical Gardens. If you haven’t been there since you were a kid, I suggest you take a drive out – it’s really an incredible place with a rich history. Anyway, we recognized the 96 people who perform 136 jobs for the Chapter. What struck me were two things. First, 96 people are volunteering to help the Chapter. That’s incredible. That’s about 15% of our membership in a time where most Chapters only have 10% of the membership volunteering. So I should be thankful that so many people are volunteering (and I am!). But the other thing that struck me is that 96 people are filling 136 different roles. That means that many of our volunteers are doing double-duty. That may be okay if the volunteer roles are seasonal and they don’t overlap, but that’s not always the case. We have one volunteer that does five different jobs! We need volunteers. Not just to take some of the burden off of our current volunteers, but because we actually have more than 136 volunteer jobs. Those 136 jobs are just the jobs the volunteers are currently performing. There are also about 20 other open positions that will allow us to expand our programs and operational services.  We have openings in Professional Development, in Outreach, in Finance, in Membership, in Communications, and in Technology & Business Services. We could take it easy and not try to improve the Chapter, and be happy with what we are doing, but we’ve never been a Chapter like that. We are always looking for improve what we do, and to be the best Chapter we can for our members. We think that you expect us to add more value to your membership, and to be more efficient with your membership dollars, and that’s we try to do. But our programs take volunteers to execute. We could really use your help filling some of these openings. Some of the jobs that we have take just an hour a month. If you want that feeling that comes with helping out or if you are just in it for the PDUs, if you have any time at all (even if it’s just at a certain time of the year), please contact Lynn Maher and let her know your availability and area of interest. She’ll find an opening that is perfect for you. Next year, I’d love to honor 150 volunteers performing 150 different jobs. We just completed the Agile Certification Review class and coming up, the June Toolbelt classes. The Board will be starting to work on plans for next year and traveling to our regional meeting to hear what other chapters are doing. As always, if you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, feel free to contact me. Enjoy your summer!Well, I for one was fooled by the warm weather. I was all ready to praise global warming and what it has done for the Buffalo climate, when we quickly returned to our regular scheduled rain and wind. Since we’re all indoors, waiting for the sun to return, I thought I’d update you on your Chapter. Well, I for one was fooled by the warm weather. I was all ready to praise global warming and what it has done for the Buffalo climate, when we quickly returned to our regular scheduled rain and wind. Since we’re all indoors, waiting for the sun to return, I thought I’d update you on your Chapter. PMI Buffalo has continued its string of successful events. Since the beginning of the year, our dinners have been very well attended. January’s topic was Creative Leadership and we were thrilled to see our old friend Dr. Puccio again!      He was also kind enough to present a full-day session on creative leadership skills, which attendees thoroughly enjoyed. In February, we learned from Drew Cerza about managing major social events like the National Buffalo Wing Festival and the Powderkeg Festival. In March, Tres Roeder talked about intuition and project management. The following day, Tres presented Dynamic Leadership Skills for our Spring PDD. Tres is a nationally known consultant and speaker, and we’re glad he was able to make time for us again. In February we also launched our Toolbelt Training. These are a series of classes meant to give project managers additional skills (“tools”) to help provide value to their employers. The classes are only a half-day long, so you can still put in a half-day of work, and they’re priced at $99 for members to keep them affordable. Morning classes always focus on basic topics and afternoon topics focus on advanced topics. Both sets of classes are eligible for PDUs. Check out the upcoming topics and see if you can add that skill that will set you apart. Both classes on the same day are separate events, so if you’re interested in both, you’ll have to register for both. Also note that we’re selling discounted packages, allowing you to buy a bundle of registrations that you can use any way you need. In January, we started another iteration of our PMP Prep class, and we’re excited that so many people find value in this offering. We’ve added another new offering, an Agile Certification Review training program, to be offered in May. We’re the first in our area to offer training that is specifically designed to meet the PMI requirement for formal review training. It looks like this will be another winner for us. Of course, we can’t forget our Breakfast Roundtables, focusing on such valuable topics as Metrics, the Triple Constraint, and Leadership Skills. Roundtables are a great chance to learn from your peers in a small setting. Remember, the coffee and danish is always on us! So it’s been a busy 2012 so far (see what nice weather can do?), and the coming months will be just as exciting (I didn’t even talk about the Volunteer Recognition event, the upcoming dinners, or the Fall PDD). I’ve mentioned a couple things we have planned, but I encourage you to check out our website and newsletter for more information. In addition to events, you can also learn about volunteer opportunities, because we could always use more help to plan and execute these exciting programs. Take care and talk to you soon. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, be sure to let me know.Since summer appears to be here to stay, I thought I’d describe the process that your Board uses for our annual strategic planning, which starts in summer and extends into the fall. By following this process, we help ensure that our strategic and operating plans are the best that we can make them. Mark Kwandrans, PMP March 2012 Since summer appears to be here to stay, I thought I’d describe the process that your Board uses for our annual strategic planning, which starts in summer and extends into the fall. By following this process, we help ensure that our strategic and operating plans are the best that we can make them.  We start by examining our mandates. What are we required to do, either by PMI or by governmental bodies? Then we identify our stakeholders. There are a lot of different groups that are interested in us (members, PMPs, employers, PMI, the general public, non-member project managers, etc). We need to consider as many as possible when creating a strategy. Next we look at our mission and vision (you can find these on our website). Do they make sense, given our mandates and our stakeholders? Then we conduct a SWOC analysis, looking at our internal strengths and weaknesses and our external opportunities and challenges. These help identify and constrain what we’ll be able to do. This is done in conjunction with an examination of our distinctive core competencies.  These are the things that are not only central to the success of the organization but also help the Chapter add more public value than alternative providers do. Following that, we determine our strategic issues. These are the fundamental policy choices that affect our mandates, missions, services, users, structure, and processes. Once we’ve identified our issues, we formulate our strategies. These strategies address our issues, and help us achieve our mission. Next we create a vision of the chapter of the future. How do we think the chapter will look in 3-5 years? Based on that vision, and on our strategies, we develop annual operating plans. These plans describe the yearly programs and monthly milestones that will, taken as a whole, help us to become the Chapter we envision. The operating plans, with their corresponding budget, tell us the resources (volunteers) that we’ll need to execute our plans. It is this determination to do more than last year that drives our continual desire for more volunteers! Throughout the year, we review our actual results against our plans and determine whether anything needs to be fine-tuned. We try to stay on track, and never let anything get too far from plan.And here you probably thought we just played it by ear!Since summer appears to be here to stay, I thought I’d describe the process that your Board uses for our annual strategic planning, which starts in summer and extends into the fall. By following this process, we help ensure that our strategic and operating plans are the best that we can make them. Mark Kwandrans, PMP March 2012 Since summer appears to be here to stay, I thought I’d describe the process that your Board uses for our annual strategic planning, which starts in summer and extends into the fall. By following this process, we help ensure that our strategic and operating plans are the best that we can make them.  We start by examining our mandates. What are we required to do, either by PMI or by governmental bodies? Then we identify our stakeholders. There are a lot of different groups that are interested in us (members, PMPs, employers, PMI, the general public, non-member project managers, etc). We need to consider as many as possible when creating a strategy. Next we look at our mission and vision (you can find these on our website). Do they make sense, given our mandates and our stakeholders? Then we conduct a SWOC analysis, looking at our internal strengths and weaknesses and our external opportunities and challenges. These help identify and constrain what we’ll be able to do. This is done in conjunction with an examination of our distinctive core competencies.  These are the things that are not only central to the success of the organization but also help the Chapter add more public value than alternative providers do. Following that, we determine our strategic issues. These are the fundamental policy choices that affect our mandates, missions, services, users, structure, and processes. Once we’ve identified our issues, we formulate our strategies. These strategies address our issues, and help us achieve our mission. Next we create a vision of the chapter of the future. How do we think the chapter will look in 3-5 years? Based on that vision, and on our strategies, we develop annual operating plans. These plans describe the yearly programs and monthly milestones that will, taken as a whole, help us to become the Chapter we envision. The operating plans, with their corresponding budget, tell us the resources (volunteers) that we’ll need to execute our plans. It is this determination to do more than last year that drives our continual desire for more volunteers! Throughout the year, we review our actual results against our plans and determine whether anything needs to be fine-tuned. We try to stay on track, and never let anything get too far from plan.And here you probably thought we just played it by ear!After an awesome Buffalo summer, full of sunny weekends, autumn started with an outstanding Professional Development Day. Then, the whole world saw us accept two awards, and now everyone knows what a great Chapter we have. Mark Kwandrans, PMP November 2011 2011 has turned out to be a great year! After an awesome Buffalo summer, full of sunny weekends, autumn started with an outstanding Professional Development Day. Then, the whole world saw us accept two awards, and now everyone knows what a great Chapter we have. The Board has returned from that meeting of Chapter leaders and, while we came back with many good ideas that we’re going to try to incorporate into our future plans, I personally came back with a slightly different perspective. I was impressed with how many times people asked for our opinions or experiences. We told other Chapters what we are doing and they took copious notes. We delivered two presentations that were extremely well-attended. It seems that everyone wants to copy the success that we’re experiencing, and who can blame them?We heard that one Chapter has a four year plan to receive the Chapter of the Year Award – we did it on our second try! I think you have a lot to be proud of, and I hope that you feel the same way. We’re in the middle of planning for next year, and I know we’ve got some good ideas in the works. If you have an idea, let me know. If you want to volunteer and help us to reach the next level, let me know. Be sure to support your Chapter by attending our remaining events and, until 2012, take care. Since summer appears to be here to stay, I thought I’d describe the process that your Board uses for our annual strategic planning, which starts in summer and extends into the fall. By following this process, we help ensure that our strategic and operating plans are the best that we can make them. Since summer appears to be here to stay, I thought I’d describe the process that your Board uses for our annual strategic planning, which starts in summer and extends into the fall. By following this process, we help ensure that our strategic and operating plans are the best that we can make them.   We start by examining our mandates. What are we required to do, either by PMI or by governmental bodies? Then we identify our stakeholders. There are a lot of different groups that are interested in us (members, PMPs, employers, PMI, the general public, non-member project managers, etc). We need to consider as many as possible when creating a strategy. Next we look at our mission and vision (you can find these on our website). Do they make sense, given our mandates and our stakeholders? Then we conduct a SWOC analysis, looking at our internal strengths and weaknesses and our external opportunities and challenges. These help identify and constrain what we’ll be able to do. This is done in conjunction with an examination of our distinctive core competencies.  These are the things that are not only central to the success of the organization but also help the Chapter add more public value than alternative providers do. Following that, we determine our strategic issues. These are the fundamental policy choices that affect our mandates, missions, services, users, structure, and processes. Once we’ve identified our issues, we formulate our strategies. These strategies address our issues, and help us achieve our mission. Next we create a vision of the chapter of the future. How do we think the chapter will look in 3-5 years? Based on that vision, and on our strategies, we develop annual operating plans. These plans describe the yearly programs and monthly milestones that will, taken as a whole, help us to become the Chapter we envision. The operating plans, with their corresponding budget, tell us the resources (volunteers) that we’ll need to execute our plans. It is this determination to do more than last year that drives our continual desire for more volunteers! Throughout the year, we review our actual results against our plans and determine whether anything needs to be fine-tuned. We try to stay on track, and never let anything get too far from plan.And here you probably thought we just played it by ear!