Sonora Region Weekly Notes

September 14 to September 20, 2008

 

Upcoming Events

 

Hot News!!

 

Region Resources & Links

 

COR Information

 

Upcoming Events

 

Live Video Web Seminar

Gaining the Competitive Advantage through Building a Strategic Network

On September 18th at 3pm , Kathryn Mayer discusses key strategies in developing a peer network that facilitates career acceleration.  The research on successful leaders demonstrates that your network needs to be comprised of Pacing Partnersâ„¢ or many types of mentors.  Pacing Partnersâ„¢ are defined as colleagues whom you collaborate with to stimulate each of you to your best performance.  The relationship can function on four levels based on varied degrees of trust and expertise:  friendly competitor, challenger, mentor, and role model.  While most programs focus on finding and developing mentors, this seminar provides practical tips and techniques for cultivating strategic peer relationships in order to broaden your network and accelerate your career. Click the link below to register.

https://www.swe.org/msc-swe/registrationtype.aspx?event=WEBSEMINARCOMPETADV9&bhcp=1

 

ABJ Meeting

The ABJ Meeting will be held September 27-28, 2008 in Scottsdale, AZ at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites. In addition to the ABJ Meeting, there will be celebration honoring Virginia Connolly as the recently installed FY09 SWE National President.

 

The traditional purpose of the ABJ meeting is to discuss issues relevant to the upcoming Council of Representatives Meeting at the National Conference, brainstorm mega issues, to discuss the ongoing work of the Society and to network with the other West coast SWE members. Training for new COR Representatives will be provided.  The agenda for the meeting is attached.

 

Rooms are still available at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites. Please register for the meeting at the following link http://www.swe.org/regionb/ABJ_FY09.html by September 17. Registration cost is $40/person, lunch is included in the registration price.  If you have any questions, please email Jenn Harris at jennifer.harris@swe.org.

 

Celebration Party for Virginia Connolly, FY09 SWE National President

Please join with us as we congratulate our very own, long time Phoenix Section member, Virginia Connolly, as she begins her term as SWE’s National President!   A celebration in Virginia’s honor will be on September 27th, 6:30 – 9:30, in Scottsdale.  Please RSVP to Betty Irish at betty.irish@swe.org or 602-292-0594.  Directions and maps provided upon RSVP. For more information, please see the attached flyer.

 

Region B Meeting

The Region Meeting will be held on Sunday September 28th from 8 am to 12 pm at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites. The agenda is for the Region Meeting is attached. If you have any questions, please email Jenn Harris at jennifer.harris@swe.org.

 

Region Meeting at National Conference

Currently the Region Meeting in Baltimore is scheduled on Thursday November 6, 2008 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. To visit the current schedule of events for the conference at http://www.we08.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33

 

FY09 COR Business Meetings Overview
The Council meeting in Baltimore will be a two-part business meeting.  The first part will be on Thursday, from 10 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.  Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. and the meeting will begin promptly at 10.  The agenda for Thursday, November 6th will address consent items and regular motions.  Beginning at 10:45 a.m., there will be a short presentation by the Governance FIG, followed by a town hall style question and answer session facilitated by Colette Trohan. The meeting on Saturday will be from 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.  Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the meeting will begin promptly at noon.  The agenda for Saturday, November 8th will address the remaining bylaws proposal items, as well as reports, recognition, and setting of the next Council meeting, prior to adjournment. Voting will occur at both meetings and attendance is required.  The same people attending and voting on Thursday should also be attending and voting on Saturday.  Therefore, if you as a representative can not make both meetings, an alternate fully educated and engaged on all of the topics and issues should be provided for both meetings on your behalf. 

 

Hot News!!!

 

Region Outreach Program- A SWEeter Future

Today we begin the SWEeter Future Program for Region B!  Throughout FY09, the Sonora Region is tracking the impact we have on the future of engineering. Our goal for the Region is to impact 2000 children in grades K through 12.  With all of the sections throughout Region B participating, it should be easy to meet our goal!

We have set up a SWEeter Future Program Tracker, which can be found by visiting the following link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=i4M41sM6rK_2fLhHZH4IUU3Q_3d_3d

We ask that you visit this survey throughout the year to report all of the outreach activities of your section.  This simple survey simply asks for the name/date of your event, how many professional members attended, and how many K-12 attendees participated.  We've also included a "comments" box in case you'd like to include any lessons learned, best practices to share, etc.  All of the Program data will be collected by Lt. Governor, Kerrie Greenfelder, and a summary will be provided at the end of the fiscal year.

 

Now for the best part….The section(s) having the most outreach impact by the end of the fiscal year will be rewarded with a stipend to provide a scholarship!  It's a win-win for everyone!

If you have any questions about the Program, please do not hesitate to contact Kerrie.  We're looking forward to meeting our outreach goals for FY09!

 

2010 Region Conference Host- Still need a Host Section

We are still looking for a section to host the 2010 Region Conference. If your section is interested or would like more details, please contact Kerrie Greenfelder.

 

Celebrate SWE Guidelines

Celebrate SWE is a fun event to connect with friends from across each region.  SWE leaders want to ensure that the spirit and enthusiasm of the celebration does not detract from the event.  This year in addition to awarding the Fellow, collegiate member and advisor awards, the Distinguished New Engineer (DNE) recipients will receive their award at Celebrate SWE.  Please follow the attached guidelines during the evening to make this a fun evening for all. Please share these guidelines with your sections. They will also be reviewed at the Region Meeting on September 28th.

Region Resources & Link

 

FY09 Calendar

The FY09 Calendar has been posted on the Region Websites. The calendar includes all of the Section Report due dates (September 5, 2008, January 30, 2009, and May 20, 2009) and the dates of the four region meetings. Any new events will be added to the website, so be sure to visit weekly. http://www.swe.org/regionB/events.html

 

Changing your SWE User ID

It is very helpful to people managing communities to be able to identify contributors.  Having users names 938863 and 773940 make it difficult for community leaders in the course of managing membership to a given community.  Therefore, here are instructions on how to change your SWE user id. Please go to the database at https://www.swe.org/MSC-SWE/directory.aspx

 

After you sign in, update your information and then scroll down.  In the lower left hand corner there is a link entitled Edit My Profile!  The second major heading below your preferred address is Member Service Center Login.  This is where you can change your User ID.

 

Please choose something so people will be able to identify you like your first and last name.  I changed mine from 751439 to Patricia Eng  -  and yes I could enter the space.  The kicker is that once you change your user ID, that is how you will have to sign in from now on.  Funny how that works, but then when you enter a discussion, people will know who you are . . . . .

 

You may also want to take this opportunity to create a SWE alias for your e-mail.  I have one and when I decide I want to change network providers, I just change the pointer for my SWE alias.  I like the extra spam filter that SWE has….

 

Report from BOD #1

The FY 09 Board of Directors #1 meeting was held August 1 and 2 in Minneapolis , Minnesota .  Minneapolis is the home of Medtronic, Inc., FY 09 President Virginia Connolly's employer.  Other groups meeting before and concurrently with BOD 1 included the Conference Programming Board, the Corporate Partnership Council, the Board of Trustees, the Region Governors for their annual Summit , and the Collegiate Leadership Forum for their annual meeting.  The installation of the FY 09 Board of Directors and Board of Trustees took place during one of the evenings.  Region H and the Minnesota Section hosted a party at a local member's home on the other evening.  SWE extends their thanks to Medtronic, Inc. for their very generous support of the preceding activities.

 

BOD 1 was a two day meeting.  Day one consisted of sessions on the FY 09 Operating Plan including the scorecard; the Leadership Pipeline including Leadership Positions, Charters for Leadership Pipeline, and Out of Cycle Calls for Leaders; a Diversity and Inclusion Training Update; a Headquarters Update; lunch with the Region Governors including briefings on Section Charters and Bylaws requirements and a COR Governance overview; and a Mega Issue session with the Region Governors on how SWE can insure a consistent and quality experience across the organization.  Day two consisted of a joint session with the Board of Trustees, the Region Governors, and the Collegiate Leadership Forum attendees starting with a breakfast where everyone briefly introduced themselves and moving into briefings on FY 09 Goals and Objectives, Financial Best Practices, Scholarship FAQ's, Leadership Pipeline Initiative Update, SWE Communities, COR Training, and a networking lunch.  The BOD then held a formal meeting and closed session followed by a working session with the COR Governance Focused Interest Group.

Minutes of BOD 1 including the approved agenda and motions will be available on BOD Shared after approval during the next telecon tentatively scheduled for September 8. Minutes of the July 7 telecon including the approved agenda and motions have been posted to the BOD Shared Community.

 

COR Information

 

COR Governance Issues

Attached is a three page summary of the proposed changes in governance that the Bylaws Committee is working on. Please ensure that all Region Council Members have read these documents before coming to Conference for the COR meeting.  Expect to see a draft of the National Bylaws changes in the next week.

 

The SWE Senate, which would replace the existing Council of Representatives, is a high functioning deliberative body focused on the long-term strategic position of the Society.  The Senate also retains legislative duties such as changing bylaws and setting individual dues.  Senators would conduct the business as is currently outlined in the bylaws, focusing on national Society concerns.