ARMA 2013 Mid-Atlantic Conference Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

We’re gonna need a bigger conference room!

A Note from the Chapter Representative Dear Chapter Members: Fear not! My sharp-toothed friend was thankfully high above my head behind a very large – and impressive - glass tank, at the Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach. This was just one of the remarkable parts of the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Leadership Conference, of which I had the pleasure serving again as the Pittsburgh Chapter representative. Like many Pittsburghers, for almost 20 years, my family has made an annual vacation to Myrtle Beach – while the family has extended to include spouses and (grand)children, there is a certain familiarity that we experience when reaching the ocean – as if we never left the year before. Arriving at the Beach Cove Resort, I felt that same familiarity – except with rejoining those in our ARMA family instead! While the conference was filled with many fantastic presentations and activities, one of the best parts for me was seeing familiar faces who were in Charlotte last year, and in Pittsburgh in Additionally, I was able to meet many new, interesting people this year as well – including our keynote speaker, Tom O’Rourke. Tom is the Executive Director of the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, but is also a native Pittsburgher – and Slippery Rock graduate. Tom’s presentation was excellent, and drove a very crucial point home – what’s important to us, what drives us, to be effective leaders, citizens, and human beings? It’s with this idea that I ask all of you to consider not just how you can become a more effective member of ARMA, but how we, as your board, can make the ARMA Pittsburgh Chapter more effective for you. We want to hear your suggestions and feedback – through the recent survey sent to each of you, or through an or phone call. Most of all, we want to meet you in person and collaborate with you during our program year – each one of you brings a wealth of knowledge and talents that will surely enhance ARMA and the chapter itself, as well as each of us individually as Records and Information “governors” in our respective companies. Take the opportunity in the program year to join us – I’m sure many of you will find that with ARMA, you’re not just a colleague, you’re not just a chapter member – you’re family. Best regards, Brianne Aul Vice-President, Pittsburgh Chapter

ARMA by the Beach! Our Wednesday kicked off with conference check-in, and a reception at the resort. Amongst great colleagues and delicious food, we had an opportunity to catch up with each other, and also meet new members of the conference. We also had the opportunity to review the agenda and handouts provided at check-in – it was sure that the next two days would be very eventful…

June 6 …and were they! On Thursday we had sessions on important topics such as: State of the Region AIEF ARMA BOD HQ Update In addition to Tom O’Rourke’s presentation, members also had the opportunity to learn the importance of teambuilding through Jennifer Redmond and Jill Marshall, corporate trainers at Santee Cooper. As part of their session, we were broken into teams to help communicate to various levels of leadership how to build a robot. As I was Vice President for my team, I was the first point of communication for how the robot was to be built. Thankfully, my team consisted of a great group of individuals, and our robot was built successfully! But we also learned an important point through this project – solid communication at all levels is crucial to ensuring a goal, or vision, is achieved.

June 6 (cont.) After a good day of meetings, the group was then shuttled to Broadway at the Beach (a large shopping and dining complex). There, we had the opportunity to tour – and dine – the Ripley’s Aquarium. Truly amazing – jellyfish, sharks, stingrays, seahorses, and even “mermaids” swam around us, and we enjoyed dinner and drinks in a private section of the aquarium. Thankfully, the weather cooperated enough for us to take a group photo outside of the aquarium as well. Later at night, it began to rain – a sign of the weather we were expected to get as Tropical Storm Andrea headed to the Carolina Coast…

June 7 And while Friday’s weather looked a bit ominous, thankfully it cooperated for us not just to enjoy our day’s meetings, but also the weather in the evening. To give you an idea, the picture on the right was taken Friday morning. The picture on the presentation’s title page was taken Friday evening. What a difference a few hours make! Again, the weather took a backseat to the topics of the day, which included such important subjects as: Risks Chapter Forum The Power of Questions Website Maintenance During the Chapter Forum, we again had the chance to learn from each other best practices for enhancing meetings, membership, and the Board itself.

In closing… A lot of people put time and effort into making this conference a success. Thanks to the SC Coastal Chapter for an amazing experience, and to all of the vendors and chapters who helped support the cost of many of the events. I headed back to Pittsburgh with a lot of great information, new colleagues and contacts, and a renewed energy to make the most of the opportunities being in ARMA, and on the Pittsburgh board, have afforded me. I hope that many of you, who may be questioning as I did 7 years ago what all ARMA was about, have another glimpse into some of the benefits your membership provides you. Regardless of your industry or position – we are all records managers and information governors, and as such, our own experiences contribute to the fortune of information ARMA provides.