President's Message | Baltimore Chapter | Project Management Institute

Memo from the Desk of the President

December 2009

This is a bittersweet time of the year. The Holiday season is in front of us, affording all the opportunity to enjoy the companionship of family and friends, followed shortly by the end of another year, and my tenure as President of the Chapter. As I look back over the past two years, I am proud of what we have accomplished. Five accomplishments come to mind. The first is the improvement in the financial health of the Chapter. With the support of Bob Wallace, VP of Finance, as well as of the Board, we moved from a passive financial strategy, which was appropriate for its time, to a more aggressive strategy, by changing the banking institution, earning interest on our checking account, however small, and moving the reserve into a higher interest-bearing Certificate of Deposit. The financial health of the Chapter is excellent, under the watchful eye of Mr. Robert J. Wallace.

The second is that we expanded the PMP Certification Training Program from a chapter member program to include corporate training, and Risk Management Professional training. In 2010, we will have an EVP certification boot camp. The quantity and quality of the seminars exceeded all our expectations, under the leadership of Mr. Eric Perlstein, VP of Programs, who is also the current President-elect.

The third is the change in the Chapter by-laws that now insures that we have an orderly process in the transition of Board members. We will maintain a core group that can mentor new Board members, as well as expanding the Board to support the growth in the Chapter, and focusing on the key value areas identified by the membership. We now only elect half of the Board each year, each Board member serves two years, and we have a President-Elect position. Programs responsibility has been split into VP of Programs, focusing on the needs of meetings for the Chapter, and VP of Education, who will support the educational, seminar, and mentoring programs. We will also have a VP of Special Projects to coordinate golf, volunteer, and other unique projects for the Chapter and its membership.

The fourth is winning the Distinguished Project of the Year (2009) Award for our PMI Region 5 Symposium in 2008, and also the award for Volunteer of the Year: Ms. Loretta Letke, VP of Membership. In the 14 year history of the Chapter, these are the first awards we have won and the first recognition received by PMI Global Operations Center (GOC).

The final accomplishment is the implementation of a Mechanization Program, which will enable us to register 1 and 2 PDU’s for all PMI Baltimore PMP members with PMI GOC. The program and the concept have been approved by the Board. The code and processes have been completed, and the new PMI Baltimore Chapter membership card has been designed and approved. The only phase left is the rollout, and that will be completed in early 2010, under the leadership of Mr. Eric Perlstein and Mr. Robert Wallace.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the planned improvements of the website, and membership involvement program, by Ms. Leslie Premo, VP of Communication, and Ms. Loretta Letke, VP of Membership, respectively.

It is amazing what can be accomplished when you have a very supportive, innovative, and cooperative Board. This does not mean that we do not have active debates, but this insures that we have vetted the issue or opportunity completely.

To the Membership and Board, it has been my pleasure to serve as President of PMI Baltimore Chapter, one of the leaders in Project Management and Membership focus.

Happy Holidays, and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you and yours, and I know our paths will cross again as I take on the new challenge to serve you as VP of Education.

John T. Kos, PMP
President
PMI Baltimore Chapter
2008–2009