December 2011 President's Letter

I cannot believe the year has gone by so fast. Yet here we are at the end of another year and wondering what the next will hold for us. During the month of December, I always like to reflect over the previous year and look at my successes and failures over the past year. Successes help buoy my confidence, but the failures provide the best opportunities to learn. The successes help set the stage for the coming year and the failures help me to look at things in a different way, to improve myself, and to improve my relationships.

Learning from our mistakes it what helps us grow, and we can all use some growth.December also brings with it a number of challenges and a number of opportunities. Traditionally people think that little can be accomplished during December because so many people take vacation over the holidays and it is hard to have a full team working for more than two, maybe three, weeks. As individuals we have so many demands on our time with holiday shopping, holiday parties, and many end of year events. These demands and limitations can be frustrating, but they also provide us with opportunities to approach the requirements from a different perspective. 

We have the opportunity to truly show our worth to our employers and our teams. Accomplishing work with limited staff is always a good thing. But doing so and having the staff willing to do more is something to talk about. Keep you team energized and upbeat by minimizing the barriers to their work. By removing the distractions and limiting factors, the team can complete their work and feel good about themselves.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you for making this past year a memorable one. We accomplished so much as a chapter. It has been my pleasure to serve as your president.

This year we celebrated our 15-year anniversary, and what a wonderful dinner it was. There were approximately 200 people in attendance, including a representative from the PMI Board of Directors. We started the evening with a group of talented students from Atlee High School’s orchestra, who provided music during the networking time and the beginning of dinner. Our speaker for the evening inspired everyone, and everyone I have spoken to thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Thanks to all who attended.

I would like to close with two requests. First, continue to show support for the chapter and the events sponsored by the chapter. Second, consider volunteering in some capacity for the chapter. There is always a need for volunteers and the more of you who can help the less work required by each volunteer.

Finally, I would like to wish you and your families the happiest of holidays. Please keep others in your thoughts and enjoy each others company.

Sincerely,
John…

John Lombardi
President 2011
PMI Central Virginia Chapter