ARMA 2012 Mid-Atlantic Conference: Charlotte, NC

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Note from Chapter Representative

Dear Fellow Chapter Members,

This year, I had the wonderful opportunity to again serve as the Pittsburgh Chapter Representative for the Regional Conference. Out of respect for our Mid-Atlantic colleagues who don’t have as much “bling” on their fingers, I refrained from wearing my Steelers gear to Bank of America stadium – but rest assured, the Black and Gold were in my heart! It was a wonderful time – and kudos should be extended to the Charlotte-Piedmont Chapter for their hard work and efforts in making this year’s conference a success.

And so now the million dollar question: What the heck was that photo? During the conference, we were asked to form teams and work on “The Marshmallow Challenge,” which provided us 30 minutes to create the tallest, free-standing structure we could with 20 pieces of spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and of course, a marshmallow – which had to be the top of the structure. I would love to tell you my team won – we didn’t. I’d love to tell you our structure held up – it didn’t. So what I CAN tell you is this - I learned very quickly that, win or lose, a strong team dynamic is vital for the success of any organization…on or off the field.

As the ARMA chapter for the “City of Champions,” all of us recognize the value and benefit of having a solid team. I strongly encourage each of you to make the most of your ARMA membership, from an international to local level. In your grasp is not just a wealth of information, but also networking opportunities to help you in your respective career paths.

Thanks again…and I’m sure I speak for the Board when I tell you – we’re glad to have you part of our team.

Best regards,Brianne Aul

Vice-President, Pittsburgh Chapter

Welcome to the Queen City!

As a kick-off to the conference, we were invited to a reception on the roof of our hotel. In addition to drinks, food, and camaraderie, we enjoyed a view of the city from the top!

Meeting Topics

As a region, we discussed several topics impacting our chapters across the board:

• Membership Recruitment• Engaging Membership

• Officers Responsibilities• Website Management

• New Member Welcome Plan• Speaker Recruitment

Leadership

In addition to “The Marshmallow Challenge,” Trevor Mitchell, Director of Member Services, provided some excellent guidance on “Building a Highly Effective, Engaged, and Productive Board.” Such topics discussed were:

• Board Responsibilities• Meaningful Board Meetings

• Board Member Responsibilities• Engaging Volunteers

Bank of America TourWhile the conference was incredibly informative, we still had the opportunity to have some fun as well! As mentioned, we had a very interesting tour of Bank of America Stadium.

Taste of CharlotteSome of the best times are the ones you don’t even plan for! Directly outside of our hotel was the “Taste of Charlotte,” which afforded us out-of-towners a chance to sample some of the finest local cuisine!

Thank you!

Again, special thanks to the ARMA – Charlotte-Piedmont Chapter for a fantastic time! Thanks also to the sponsors of the conference who helped make such a wonderful event affordable to our chapters.