“Southern Minnesota” Section Report “Dennis Spathis” “Vice-Chair” Region 4 Meeting January 27-28, 2007 Marriott Hotel, Chicago

Section Characteristics Typical smaller section (~500 members) –1 sub-section (Coulee) and 1 student branch (Mankato) –Programs mostly run by section with chapter help –Good attendance for size and geography (45 – 85) Strong Technical Programs –IBM, Mayo Clinic base with many smaller companies Friendly Atmosphere –Invite all – no fee –Social networking ½ hour before meeting - pizza and pop –Attendees into local DB – many later join IEEE.

Highlights of 2006 Activities New EMBS Chapter pending Talks last year included: –Cell Broadband Engine (Sony PS3) –XBOX 360 –SW Defined Radio Remote Broadcast of meetings –Initial trials successful –Voice and Video –Investigating trade-offs between several approaches –Helps with non-local member groups

Plan for 2007 Fill GOLD chair –Had excellent candidate –Left for Stanford Graduate School Need more volunteers –Present board and volunteers spread thin –Try suggestions from R4 conference Transition to all electronic notices –Exception for annual elections – mailing also Implement additional activities –More award and recognition events –Site visits in addition to typical lectures –Pre-college engineering awareness and projects

How Can R4 Help in Meeting Your Section’s Goals? Help with GOLD chair startup activities Funding for local educational activities Maintain an R4 “topics and speakers” list –Only include successful experiences –Reference originating section and date Suggestions welcome!