Greater Detroit ASTD - Relaunched!
Dear Greater Detroit ASTD past, present and future members and all Southeastern Michigan Training Professionals,
A time of renewal has begun for the Greater Detroit ASTD Chapter! We realize that you haven't heard much from us in the past six months, but many things have been going on behind the scenes. We are back, and we will be stronger than ever!
Due to the late start and renewal, the chapter is offering a special rate for reactivating your membership. Individual memberships this year will be $99 and will be active through the end of 2009. Corporate memberships (up to five employees) will be $299 and will be active through the end of 2009. To join, please call Meeting Coordinators at 248-643-6590.
Our fall kick-off meeting "National and Local ASTD: Strengthening the Partnership" is scheduled for Wednesday, September 10, 2008. Please read the flyer for more information and to register for the event. (The full calendar of all 2008 meetings is listed below.)
This year brought significant change to the Detroit chapter and board. With all new board members it was quite a time of transition, but the transition is complete and your new board is now seated. We've been meeting regularly since the first of March and have accomplished several initiatives:
- Re-organized and filled all Board positions
- Met with our regional representative from the national organization for guidance and support
- Updated the contact list of all past and present members
- Re-contracted our administrative support agency to provide us with effective communication vehicles, data management and website maintenance and enhancement
Your Board has made another commitment. With the late launch of this calendar year, each member has committed to a 2-year term. This will ensure that we have enough time to position the right resources as the chapter re-vitalizes. This also will allow each of the board members to re-start existing programs and implement new programs.
We will soon launch a "single-point of contact" link through our website (www.detroitastd.org) to make it easy to contact us, ask questions, and get quick responses. Here are a few other "coming soon" items:
- Re-design and expand our website to make it more valuable to you as a member
- Finalize and publish our full membership database to registered members
- Develop and implement a regular newsletter
- Conduct a membership survey to determine what you most value and how the chapter can best serve you
- Re-launch our membership participation in a way that is easy and cost effective for you and your organization to use as a resource, not just a "trade association."
Here is our calendar of events through December 2008:
October 7th: L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County Executive. Speaking on "Economic Development in Oakland County."
November 12th: Mike Beier, Contxt Corporation and client organization, American Electric Power (AEP), will involve us in a simulation that helped AEP change their traditional HR department from Transactional to Critical Thinkers.
December 10th: Our Annual Holiday Banquet. This will include the President's "State of the Chapter" address and tentatively a keynote speaker from an organization that is a nationally recognized economic powerhouse right here in southeastern Michigan.
We hope that you are looking forward to the next 18 months of growth and re-vitalization with the Greater Detroit Chapter of ASTD. Our reputation has always been that we represent one of the strongest chapters in the nation. The Board appreciates and welcomes your feedback and suggestions for the upcoming year. You can communicate with us by calling Meeting Coordinators at 248-643-6590. We look forward to serving you and meeting your training and development needs!
All the best for a prosperous year of great learning!
Your Greater Detroit ASTD Board of Directors