PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
Dear Chapter Members , Guests and Vendors ,
Can you believe it ?
In two more months we will be at the end of another chapter season . This year we have had some really engaging speakers educate us about various issues that influence us and the decisions we make in our professions daily .
Beginning in September we launched our chapter season with an informal kick-off meeting on how members can maximize their ARMA membership and highlighted the chapter ’ s newly designed website . We also covered ARMA International ’ s new INDepth training tool and free webinars for paid members as well as a host of other topics that the chapter planned to touch upon this season .
Looking back , in October , we had Carrie Giovannone- Jordan and Eric Brooks from the Arizona Department
of Education , present to our chapter on how she used educational philosophies to create a dynamic RIM programs in her work place . This was a well-received meeting and training and we all had fun being able to get out of our seats and participate in the exercises led by our presenters .
Laura Keller , the Arizona State Electronic Records Archivist , presented for our chapter about the importance and challenges of long-term digital recordkeeping . We all know that records are moving more and more towards electronic . But as records managers we must know how to manage those records from an electronic perspective ; not just their retention . We must understand their metadata , their formats , their long term preservation and migration from system to system .
Alas came December . Finally the cooler weather arrived and the holidays were upon us . We generally don ’ t have a large meeting turn out because people are normally on vacation during this time of the year . However , we hosted a brown bag lunch social and surprisingly had a good turnout . Most of the attendees were members who were eager to learn about MCDOTs in-house built Records Retention tracking system . Cynthia Robinson gave a demonstration of the system to our members and showed step-by-step how she and her employees receive , track and respond to public records requests . This is another job-relevant area for government employees who must respond to public records requests and provide government transparency on a daily basis . Not only are
records management professionals accountable for following the Arizona Revised Statutes and providing records to the public , they are often seen as the keepers of government openness ; because they follow the state ’ s statutes when it comes to recordkeeping and best practices .
( For any ‘ county ’ records employees , MCDOT is willing to provide the software and training free of charge , so if you are interested , please contact me )
So by now you have probably guessed , we made it to a brand new year which brought our chapter good fortune . We were fortunate to have the renowned speaker and subject matter expert , Andrew Ysasi , speak to us on “ Privacy , Security , RIM and the Board ”. We all know our data is at risk . But how do we affect change within our organization , with our management , and the board ? How do we engage them so that they listen so that effective data protection and information strategies can be implemented ? These are the topics Andrew discussed with attendees in great detail .
Finally , this leads us to our February chapter meeting where Linda Sharp of ZL Technologies presented on Information Governance , Data Analytics , and the Records Managers Role . Linda was a highly charged and passionate speaker who constantly reminded us not to worry about the little r ’ s in records management . She said we must go after the big R ’ s if we are going to affect change in our professions ; if we are going to move forward and up the corporate ladder . She is very knowledgeable and if you ever get to meet her , or her speak , I highly encourage you not to miss the opportunity .
I know I have watered down the content and value of what we have all gained from this year ’ s meetings . However , I wanted to provide an outline of them for those members who are not always fortunate enough to make the drive to our meetings or get away from work due to other circumstances . The point is we must become agents of change in order to stay knowledgeable in our everchanging professions . In order to have a seat at the table we must know what we are talking about and be passionate about what we do . That means knowing about the latest trends in technologies and how they affect records and impact our roles in managing information . 2