President’s Message – September 2010
Hello Southern California Section, fellow members and friends of AACE! As I write my first presidents message I have to let you know that I feel very honored to be chosen to serve as this year’s section president. There have been so many gifted people that have come before me and set such great examples of leaders in this organization, this is the benchmark that I will follow as we journey together into this New Year full of endless opportunities. Since I have joined AACE I have enjoyed attending enriching conferences; dinner meetings full of great presentations; networking; meeting new friends and reuniting with old friends; sharing with colleagues and leaders of the people that I work with; increasing my knowledge; and furthering my professional development. All this simply by getting involved and being committed to what our organization is all about as stated in the AACEI Mission Statement:
“The members of AACEI enable organizations around the world to achieve their investment expectations by managing and controlling projects, programs and portfolios; we create value by advancing technical knowledge and professional development.”
As part of my mandate as President I would like to challenge you all this year to set some time aside, and take step towards furthering your career goals, as an investment in your future. There are many ways to do this such as becoming a member, joining one of the many AACEI technical committees, getting certified, writing a certification paper, being a regular attendee at our monthly dinner meetings and events, etc. Yes, these all take time and effort but I can assure you the benefits will be truly rewarding. Let me highlight below some of the many opportunities that our section is offering for you this year.
We will continue to have our dinner meetings which are typically held at The Holiday Inn in La Mirada on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Our September dinner meeting will be A Panel Discussion: “Towards a New Computer Based Scheduling Paradigm Factors to Consider when implementing Primavera P6”. This is sure to be a spirited debate between the Contractor’s position of using Primavera P6 versus the Owner’s position for maintaining absolute database control in an enterprise environment. We plan to continue this Panel Discussion further and present at the AACEI 2011 Annual Conference which will be held in Anaheim, California. I would also like to remind you that last year we offered as incentive to gain new members into our section a discount price if you bring a first time guest, you get in at half price, we hope that you will take advantage of this and help to increase our membership and participation in our events. We also plan to have several joint dinner meetings with NAWIC (National Association of Women In Construction) ASPE LA (American Society of Professional Estimators) and RICS (The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
We also are proud sponsors of the AACEI Leadership Retreat which will be held at the Magnolia Hotel in Houston Texas on October 2nd, this is a joint effort of the Diversity Task Force, Women in Project Controls Committee, and Young Professionals Task Force. This will be a great opportunity to Learn about the “Heart of Leadership”, find out about “Creating a Great Workplace One Person at a Time”, and participate in the Leadership or Technical Tracks, network with your peers, another great opportunity for you to partake in.
Our fall certification workshops are just around the corner, we will be offering both the PSP (Planning & Scheduling Professional) and CCC/CCE (Certified Cost Consultant/Engineer) these classes will kick off starting on the last Saturday in September and continue each Saturday in October and will complete one week in advance of the Nov 6th Certified Exam which will be held at the Jacobs, Cypress facility.
We are also well into the planning phases of our 2011 Spring Symposium which will be held in Oxnard, CA. at the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel and Resort March 18, 19 and 20th, Friday afternoon we will be offering certification classes, Friday night reception around the pool with live band, Saturday will include key-note speaker and we will offer two technical tracks, one will include Cost Engineering, Estimating and Risk and the other Scheduling, Earned Value and Claims. We will also have Technological Innovations and Client Solutions Showcase as well as sponsorship opportunities. Another fabulous event!
On behalf of the Southern California Section Board we hope that you will join us at these events we look forward to meeting and speaking with you. Please see detail flyers within this newsletter for specifics on the events mentioned. Please check out our website for calendar of events and other information www.aace-scs.com; and drop us a line with any questions or suggestions that you may. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Respectfully,
Erin Dunavant
President 2010-2011
President 2010-2011