IFMA Boston presidents message: Upcoming events

I hope you all had a wonderful summer both professionally and personally. The theme of my letter this issue is a view of things to come. I am at the halfway marker in my presidency and have been overwhelmed at how many great things we have already achieved in the previous 12 months and proud of the individuals and project teams who inspire us to strive to do our best work. It's been an exciting year at IFMA Boston. Together,we have: * Increased membership by over 11%; * Improved and expanded our educational programs, including those aimed at helping our members obtain certification; * Focused on our sponsors, increasing sponsor support and improving sponsor benefits and visibility; * Created more opportunities at the board level to train and develop future chapter leaders; * Increased our community support through volunteerism with by expanding our efforts to cover a wider range of charitable organizations; * Offered more than 30 programs, seminars, special events, and networking opportunities to address a wide range of interests and accomplishments; * Enjoyed sold out special events such as the Holiday Gala, Golf, Awards Banquet and the cruise, all of them exceptional opportunities to network and be entertained; * Increased participation at the Northeast Building and Facilities Management conference. So what do we have on tap for our coming year? More of the same and then some! Our membership committee will continue to outreach and inform professionals of the opportunities for professional and personal development. Our leadership is to meet with the New York and DC Chapters to explore synergies that may be available to all our members and share best practices. We also intend to coordinate and collaborate with other local professional organizations on jointly presenting programs that would have interest to all members. We continually are searching for ways to make your membership more valuable than it already is. We too as an organization have been swept up by the 'green' tidal wave and have formed a steering committee that is to release a position paper for our chapter; having had a sneak peek I believe it will garner a lot of interest throughout our membership. This is a movement you cannot ignore any longer and the sooner you educate yourself, the better positioned you will be for your own and your organization's future. I am excited about our local networks growth and the quality of people we are now attracting, the 'networks' are a great way for people to get involved in a specific sector and ease your way into the IFMA Boston experience. There are opportunities available in academic, banking, health care, manufacturing, R&D, young professionals, and corporate networks. We have another great year of programs planned, beginning in September with a tour of the Children's Museum. Other programs include the Macallen residential complex in South Boston, a gold certified LEED project, the new offices of WGBH, Vista-print in Lexington, a tour of the new architectural and design offices of companies that have relocated to the Fort Point Channel, and Boston Beer Works. We will be updating our calendar on our website on a regular basis. Our website is one area we are focusing on improving this year to make more interactive and user friendly. Check it out at www.ifmaboston.org to check on our progress. The most obvious thing to be excited about in the coming year is the people working on all these activities. They are dedicated, diligent, fun, and tuned-in professionals who have made our chapter the most vibrant and active in the region. Be a part of it, invest in yourself. For information on the upcoming Holiday Gala, or for sponsorship information please contact co-chairs Ana Covea at 617-587-2336 or Monica Moreira at 617-482-3232 I will be attending most if not all of the events so please feel free to say hello if you see me there. I look forward to another great year. Sean Murphy is the president of IFMA Boston.