Dear Members,

Snow has fallen, temperatures have dropped and the shopping season is in full swing. Here we are, at the end of another year! It is also the end of my term as your Chapter President. To some that will come as a relief ☺, while others (including me) will be somewhat saddened. I really appreciate all the trust, opportunity and support that I received from you. Yet in the end we all move on to new challenges and opportunities!

I believe it has been a good and productive year, with many achievements. Not the least of which is a stronger organization (retention of 73.8%), more members (over 3,500 this year, a 4.5% gain), more volunteers (over 200 between “regular” and “project” designations), and more sponsors and partners. I can’t thank our volunteers enough, as they put in their time and effort selflessly, all to your organization’s benefit. For most volunteers it was a sacrifice of time, effort and usually at some cost. Thanks to everyone who provided their time, talent and membership to make 2017 a great year!

So what did we accomplish? Here is a “short” list, sung to the tune of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” (of course it is non-linear and you will need to add a few stanzas):

• 1 President’s Volunteer Gala (courtesy of Terri Kimball, 2016’s President)
• 1 Career Fair
• 1 Member Survey
• 1 Paint-a-thon Community Service
• 1 Chapter Business session, which included ratification of changes to the ByLaws
• 1 Election (3 new Board members and President Elect)
• 1 Volunteer Leadership Training Session
• 1 Luncheon session (and more planned in 2018)
• 1 Student Symposium
• 2 Volunteer Recruitment Fairs
• 2 Strategic Planning Sessions
• 2 Market based strategic initiatives: a major marketing study by an independent firm and adoption of a PMI-MN “app” for mobile devices first used during Professional Development Days (PDD)
• 2 Region Volunteer Leadership conferences (R2) and semi-concurrent Leadership Institute sessions (LIM) for volunteers
• 2 Summer get-togethers for members and volunteers
• 2+ Scholarships (Ana Alverez-Holmberg, Robert J Yourzak, plus funding in 2017 for a new perpetual PMI EF Scholarship named for the Minnesota Chapter beginning in 2018)
• 4 PMI Certification Exam Prep Classes
• 4 PMI Education Foundation certification programs for kids K-12
• 5 Seminars
• 9 Dinner Meetings (which include sessions for New Member Orientation, Career Networking, Communities of Practice for Manufacturing, Heathcare and IT, and special events)
• 11 Breakfast Meetings
• 11 Webinars
• 14 Outreach Events (including 1 St Paul “pop-up” session with an Irish Chapter colleague)
• 28 classes during PDD
• 24 PDD Symposium Sessions

While 2017 is coming to a close, plans are underway to celebrate the volunteers of 2017 at the President’s Volunteer Gala in January 2018. Mohamed Diab (our President and my successor in 2018) and Janice Pyka (our new President-Elect and COO for 2018), along with all our “elves” (our tireless volunteers), have been planning and preparing for another fabulous year! Stay tuned to pmi-mn.org for all the latest!

- Chris Doyle
PMI-MN President / CEO