SMPS Research Triangle Members,

Warm weather is finally here & our program year is winding down.  Your board has been working hard to achieve some great things and are on our way to executing a few more on behalf of the chapter.

A recap since September:

• We have had 18 new members since September & are very close to meeting our new member goal of 20 new members for the year!
• Members Connect has grown to 35 active participants
• We sent out a Member Satisfaction Survey to strategize on how to better meet our members’ needs next year
• Our programs committee has put together five programs so far, including a site tour of the NCSU Hunt Library and a half day boot camp on Adobe Creative Suite.
• We have put on three free (for members) coordinator’s club events covering a range of topics relevant to the marketing coordinator position
• Our programs committee has been collecting feedback in the form of surveys to make your voices count in our planning for future events
• We hosted an interest meeting for members who want to get more involved, covering both board leadership positions and committee group participation
• We had a rockin’ Holiday Social
• We’ve learned how to promote our firms through social media, best practices in growing client relationships, the power of storytelling in networking, and tips and tricks to make us photoshop and illustrator power users
• We’ve started our annual Certified Professional Services Marketer study group with 10 participants
• We have a wonderful list of companies that support us and the work we’re doing through sponsorship

Here’s what is on the horizon for the remainder of the year:

• Members Connect will continue to meet throughout the region to give you more networking opportunities
• We’ve got a dynamic presentation by Michael Harwood on the future of NCSU’s Centennial Campus planned for May
• Our call for leadership nominees is open and we will be slating our board for next year soon
• Our CPSM hopefuls will be sitting for the exam in the next few months
• Many of our members are volunteering double-time to help plan the South Eastern Regional Conference (SERC), hosted by Research Triangle in March of 2014
• National Conference “Build Business – Dream Big!” is in Orlando, FL July 31 – August 2, 2013 – several members will be going, including your President Elect, Tracy Russell
• We’re planning Members Talk Back in May to get your feedback for planning next year’s events & will be handing out membership milestone awards

Keep up the amazing work you all do for your firms, the industry, the chapter, and SMPS as an organization!  If you ever have any questions or suggestions regarding the chapter and how we as a board can support you, please let any of your board members know!

All the best,

Meg Odom, CPSM

RDK Engineers

SMPS Research Triangle President, 2012-2013