YOUR PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Greetings, my fellow
ARMAZONANs!
I am grateful for so many
things as we enter the
New Year – one being the
fortune of getting together
with family and friends in
amazing Arizona weather.
What a great State to live
in this time of year. I’m
sure we all look at the
year and ask ourselves,
What happened to
January? Me too! January
is History; it’s been archived, and now we look forward to
the rest of the year.
Reflecting on the ARMA year so far, I am very pleased to
hear positive feedback on our Chapter events and
programs. Since our kick-off meeting in September, we
have learned so much – from one another as members
and, from our presenters, information we can take back to
the workplace. It gets better! Upcoming events include
February’s presentation on Managing a Hybrid
Electronic/Paper Environment and in March a
presentation on Digital Defense Best Practices.
I am particularly excited about our annual Chapter Spring
Seminar. Our Board members have been working
diligently to find relevant topics with specific learning
outcomes that you can take with you to begin discussions
in your workplace or simply to broaden your knowledge
in preparation for an industry certification. We have
confirmed speakers speaking on the topic of Information
Governance (IG) and best practices for social, mobile,
and cloud environments. You will also have an
opportunity to learn from a seasoned RIM practitioner,
just like us, on how to guarantee compliance with your
RIM program. You can see the learning takeaways later in
this newsletter.
Mark MacFarlane, Executive Vice President of the
Arizona Chapter, mentioned at our January meeting (held
at the State Archives) that we can use your help in
marketing this year’s Spring Seminar event. The more
colleagues and groups we can invite, the better
opportunity we all have to connect with people who do
the same work we do. You will be amazed to see what
happens to that learning curve when you can speak with
other IG/RIM practitioners.
As I have mentioned in a couple of meetings, I have
reached my term limits as Chapter President. And as I
step away (slightly, not completely), I want everyone to
know why the direction of our Chapter is incredibly
important to me. ARMA has helped me in many facets of
my life. I have made lifelong friends, established
professional relationships around the world, and found
some great mentors through my involvement in ARMA.
There are countless ways that serving our chapter has
helped me grow both personally and professionally. I
truly feel that my professional development and
knowledge in RIM and IG would not be at the level it is
now if it were not for my engagement at the Chapter
Board level of ARMA.
With that said it is time to allow others this wonderful
growth opportunity. One of the privileges of being a
Professional member is the ability to elect who you want
to lead our Chapter. Please look amongst your fellow
members and consider them and yourself for a volunteer
Board position of our Chapter. Nominations will be
introduced soon for all Board level positions. If you have
an interest in volunteering for any position or would like
additional information about the positions, please reach
out to me or any one of our current Board members. We
can provide some details on the positions and time
commitments to ensure the Chapter remains strong and
provides the learning opportunities we all seek. If you are
interested in volunteering, but not at a Board level, we
have plenty of areas with which you can help, such as
newsletter development, communications and marketing,
and even helping with setup for our meetings.
I sincerely hope you have taken advantage of the
opportunity to make new friends, expand your network,
and lear