President's Message

by Marianne Bays

It's the last week in April as I write this and it's raining just like it normally does this time of year in the Northeast. After the long, snowy winter we had this year - even rain is a welcome sign of spring. (Which all reminds me of my favorite third grade joke: "If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?" Answer: "Pilgrims".) (Yeah, I know it's awful, but something makes me retell it year after year, anyway. Sorry.) Seriously now - ACN Editor, Beverly Waldron, is expecting a message from me to you for the next ACN (and you know how she gets...) and I've got a lot to tell you about IPMAAC activities. So, in the space below, let me take this opportunity to briefly bring you up to date.

In the realm of electronic communications, our Internet presence keeps expanding, the IPMAAC discussion list is kept lively with member questions, debates and information sharing. In addition to member activity, we've also noted that we've been attracting more outside interest in IPMAAC through our presence on the world wide web. Enhancements are being regularly added to our Electronic Communications Network (ECN) through the efforts of Jim Johnson, Brad Jensen and Bill Waldron, including new web pages and functions. I am also tapping the collective talents of these members to help plan both IPMAAC and IPMA conference sessions on information technology. The ECN remains a very important strategic area for IPMAAC - offering enhanced communication among members; publicizing our services, accomplishments and activities to non-members; and providing a means for inexpensive publication and dissemination of reports and articles relevant to the membership. Bill Waldron plays a dual role in these publication efforts - in addition to maintaining the IPMAAC Home Page, as chair of the Professional and Scientific Affairs Committee, it's been his charge to help us to identify professional and scientific issues of importance to the members and to determine and pursue means of disseminating information on these.

In the area oftraining, co-chairs Nancy Abrams and Judy Trabert have a new IPMAAC training course in oral examining under development, and are working with the IPMAAC Board of Directors and with MAPAC and with WRIB to reach agreement on conducting two co-sponsored Exam Planning workshop offerings. Dennis Joiner, our "marketing guy", is working on the text of a new training brochure which we hope to print and distribute soon. Dennis has also taken the lead in preparing IPMAAC advertisements to run in two issues of TIP this year. Paul Kaiser, President-Elect and Chair of the Continuity Committee, is working to improve IPMAAC's training policy and procedures document and is also working on next year's strategic plan and budget.

In other areas: TR Lin's University Liaison Committee has just selected our 1996 IPMAAC Student Paper Competition award winner. Anne Soileau, Chair ofthe IPMAAC Bemis Award Nominations Committee has concluded the work of her committee and submitted the name and supporting information on this year's IPMAAC nominee to the Bemis Award Selection Committee on which David Dye will serve as our voting representative. Both the Student Paper Award and the Bemis Award recipients will be honored at the upcoming conference. Kris Smith and Warren Bobrow are currently working with their committees and IPMA staff to finalize the Boston conference program and social activities. As you will soon see, they've done an outstanding job! Jim Johnson, our Past President and Chair of this year's Nomination Committee, has just concluded his efforts to line up a slate of IPMAAC Board and officer candidates for the annual election (the ballots will have been returned and counted by the time you read this). And Jeff Feuquay is preparing to communicate plans for the annual Regional Relations Roundtable (on which he represents IPMAAC) to be held in Boston to all of the regional assessment groups, inviting their participation.

Committee reports in this issue will provide more detail on many of these initiatives, so I won't dwell on them - except to say that I'm very gratified at the support I've received from the folks named above as well as from all of those who serve on their committees. You should be, too. IPMAAC remains a strong organization primarily because of the committee and individual efforts of people such as these. And...speaking of committee efforts, we'll be holding transition meetings at the conference again this year, with 1996 committee chairs and members joining with 1997 appointees and interested new volunteers to discuss both current activities and future plans. If you'll be in Boston, I hope you'll be interested in "joining up" and will attend one of the committee meetings on Monday afternoon between 4 and 5 PM.

On the IPMA front, you may have heard that Executive Director, Don Tichenor, is retiring and that Neil Reichenberg has been appointed the new Executive Director by the IPMA Executive Council. We offer best wishes to Don on his retirement and welcome Neil to his new position. Many of us have worked with or heard Neil speak and read the legal updates he's prepared in his former role as IPMA's Director of Government Affairs. He's been a valuable resource and we look forward to working with him in his new role as well. Neil will be joining us in Boston during the IPMAAC conference and has also arranged a breakfast meeting with the Board of Directors there. We're please that current IPMA-US President, Wayne Etheredge, will also be joining us for part of the conference.

Final note: We'll be celebrating 20 years of IPMAAC at the upcoming annual conference in Boston. Clyde Lindley is serving as our able historian and has compiled materials on IPMAAC history that will be part of the conference attendee package. WRIPAC is sponsoring an IPMAAC "birthday party" for us during the conference and we're also planning a Presidents Forum in which many of the IPMAAC Past Presidents have agreed to participate. I'm looking forward to the conference both professionally and personally, and I hope to see you all there!