February 2006 PowerPoint Class Scheduled

Our Chapter really tries to focus on professional development, because that is an area our members are especially interested in improving. As a result, we offer computer classes three times a year for free to our members. Our next class has been scheduled for February 25, 2006. The topic will be PowerPoint: Finessing Your Presentations.

Now maybe you think you already know PowerPoint, but you might be surprised at the many fun areas you can explore to enhance your presentations. Come on, take a chance. What have you got to lose???

Sign up early though, because space is limited.

InterChapter Brainstorming Session

The Two Rivers Chapter is proud to be hosting an interchapter brainstorming session via chat on January 24. Each month we will be focusing on a different area that impacts all IAAP chapters. Our first session will be Impact Meeting Ideas - Creating Standing Room Only Crowds! Impact meetings are new member drives within IAAP.

We are so excited to be using technology to better communicate with chapters around the world!

Members Only Area Launching Soon!!!

We are so excited to be putting the finishing touches on our chapter website members only area. It will be live by year end. This special section will include

a. Roster
b. Member news
c. Bylaws
d. Minutes of meetings
e. Results of strategic planning meeting
f. Section for mentoring (that will be a future addition)
g. Member announcements and awards

This section will grow to be a valuable addition to your Two Rivers Chapter membership!

Season's Greetings

Our December speaker, Gwen Onatolu, provided us with some interesting insight to the various holidays that different cultures around the world celebrate at this time of year in our program "Cultural Diversity and the Holidays". She has inspired us to look beyond our own holidays and recognize people from these other cultures and make an effort to learn more about their customs and traditions.

Whether you celebrate a Christian Merry Christmas, a Jewish Happy Chanukah, a Buddist Bodhi Day (Enlightenment Day), a Muslim Eid al-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast) after Ramadan, a Chinese New Year, the Winter Solstice, or some other holiday that hasn't been listed, we wanted to take a moment to wish you all the very best and our hope that you have a happy and safe holiday season.

The Two Rivers Chapter Board

Thoughts on nearing 100 members...

The Two Rivers Chapter is very close to achieving an amazing milestone: 100 members! We are so excited and yet, it also seems like a good time for reflection on all we have accomplished in an incredibly short time. We celebrate our two year anniversary in April 2006.

This rapid growth brings some challenges... How do we make our members feel connected to one another? How do we prevent our members from feeling "like a number"? How do we maintain the closeness of the chapter? What can we do to involve more members in participating in the chapter beyond simply being on the mailing list or attending meetings?

These are serious questions that will require a great deal of thought, but they are critical to the long term success of our chapter.

If you have any thoughts on this, feel free to post your comments here.

Job Search Bootcamp on the Horizon

This week, the Two Rivers Chapter board members are working hard on final details of the (FREE) Job Search Bootcamp being held January 28, 2006 at Edward Hospital. We have posted a beautiful flyer on our website, designed by our very own chapter president. She is so talented at graphic design.

We have learned that one of our speakers is changing jobs and that we may need a substitute. Fortunately the company she worked for is reviewing the possible choices and will let us know within days.

We want to have a really nice display area showcasing exhibitors and resources in the Naperville area, so we have contacted almost a dozen different companies and organizations - everything from the library to the Naperville Career Center to the unemployment office to a computer training company to staffing services. This is the kind of information you hope you never need to know, but if you do, wouldn't you rather know it in advance so you are better prepared to be proactive? Even if you aren't actively looking for a job, this is just too valuable not to learn about it.

We are also in the process of confirming appointments for attendees to get their resumes reviewed. How often do you have a chance to sit down for 15 minutes with an HR rep and get the straight feedback on why your resume didn't make the cut and what changes you can make so it would have caught their eye? This is a great opportunity to hear it all from the inside.

We really appreciate everyone's efforts to publicize this terrific event!

Announcing the Two Rivers Chapter Blog!!!

The Two Rivers Chapter of IAAP is proud to announce the launch of our official blog. We'll be posting notes regularly here on items of interest to our members and administrative professionals, particularly in the western suburbs of Chicago. You'll also get some behind the scenes information about the chapter and our activities.

We welcome your feedback on your site and our chapter.