President's Message January 2010

Gary Lyon, 2010 President

WOW! What a year! Goodbye 2009....Hello 2010!

First, thank you for the opportunity to serve as Chapter President this year. But, to be honest, 2009 exhausted me. Not only did we have the personal and organizational challenges of the economy, but I know we all ran our backsides off looking for better, faster, cheaper ways to help our organizations and colleagues improve performance....and with less money to do it with!

Well, 2010 is new year and your board has heard you, come together, rolled up their sleeves and refocused the chapter on fundamentals....helping you get better so you can help others be their best at work, which will make you INVALUABLE. So, here's what we're focusing on this year:

Goal 1 - Development -Focused Programs

No fluff this year for sure....back to basics for our programs. Throughout the the year each program will focus on improving your skills in one of the core competency areas of the ASTD Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) program. The reason for that is having a CPLP means you're more likely to be and stay employed...period! Here's what what that will look like:

February - Designing Learning
March - Delivering Training
April - Improving Human Performance
May - Measuring and Evaluating
June - Facilitating Organizational Change
July - Managing the Learning Function
August - Coaching
September - Managing Organizational Knowledge
October - Career Planning and Talent Management
November - Wine Tasting and Celebration!

And, as a part of each program there will be opportunities for you learn from each other, whether you are new to learning and development or seasoned pro....but I can't say more because you'll hear the details January 28 at our first meeting of the year.

Goal 2 - CPLP Study Group

To compliment this year's programs, the board has committed to purchasing the CPLP study materials and our own CPLP-certified member Shelly MacDonald, will begin leading a study group in May. The Shelley is committed to helping all participants get ready to take the exam before the end of 2010! Again, I can't steal the thunder of our program for January 28, so be there to hear the details yourself and SIGN UP EARLY....there will be limited seats.

Goal 3 – Clean out the closets!

We also looked at the condition of the chapter and found some things we needed to fix. As is understandable with a volunteer board, over time organizational records become, let's say, less than organized. So every board member is doing house cleaning to make sure the chapter has thoroughly documented processes, and excellent documentation of our actions so you can have confidence and know that we are focused and serving YOU! .Count on receiving see regularly posted board minutes, financial and membership reports to start.

Our communication is also going to get much more aggressive with members and the community (did you know we already have a Linkedin group......FB and Twitter to come shortly). I am personally serving on the Workforce and Education Committee of the Northern Nevada Development Authority (www.nnda.org) - a perfect place to learn how employers are doing and what we can do to help them. If you know of another organization where the chapter should be involved. please email or call me so we can get the work out....”We're about improving workplace performance!”

The 2010 Board of Directors

Here are the people who are serving your interests this year. If you have a question, problem or suggestion, please email me at galyon123@sbcglobal.net, or call me at (775)841-1971. I will ensure that your concerns are directed to the appropriate board member, and follow up to ensure your input is acknowledged, and if possible and appropriate, acted on.

President - Gary Lyon
President-elect - Open
VP Administration - Barbara Dieringer
VP Treasurer and Membership Administration - Marie Gibson
VP Programs, Marketing - Susan Herr
VP Communications - Carol Cizauskas
Director At Large/VP Special Events - Ileana Vassiliou
Past-president - Susan Herr

Opportunities for You

Professional associations are only successful when membership participates....and that mean's getting involved. The big needs right now are in Marketing and Programs. Do you have expertise in any of the CPLP competency areas (see list above)? Well, you can help by sharing your expertise with the members as a program presenter. Do you have marketing expertise, or even just a willingness to help ....well, we need extra hands to help build and communicate the message of our chapter in the community. The only requirement.....be willing to work and produce what you commit to.

Lastly, membership has decreased across all ASTD chapters and ours is no exception. If you find that your membership is giving you good ROI (Return on Investment), please tell others who are looking for a group that can help them get better and get connected. Each year you receive "guest passes" for a reason....to invite guests to experience our group. Let's make an effort to get the word out and let people know just how good a group of people we have....remember, we're the ones who empower employees to perform at the highest levels.....and that's a value any business can appreciate. They only need to know we're here to help. Come to the January 28 meeting learn about a membership growth award for members who help us grow this year!!!

On behalf of the 2010 Board of Directors, thanks for the opportunity to serve you in 2010.

Gary Lyon, 2010 President