I think the guy before me was doing this job (PMI CIC IT Director) full time... as in, he was unemployed so he had nothing else to do but this.  And you know what else?  Other chapters have paid webmasters (true story)!  But I was convinced that I could handle it. 

Then, after a year of supporting this website and composing the weekly emails (all in straight HTML using Notepad, no less) I was convinced that I was going to fail.  Well, to be more accurate, I was convinced that something had to give and, after considering the other options (my job, my marriage), it was a pretty easy decision.

I knew I needed help, but nobody was volunteering.  I was up against a wall, so I took matters into my own hands and started actively recruiting people.  Many of you will remember the chapter meeting in which I asked the general assembly if anyone knew how to manipulate graphics and .eps files.  One guy raised his hand and I recruited him on the spot, right in front of everyone.  Okay, so maybe "pressured" or "guilt tripped" would be more appropriate than "recruited," but after a while things started going more smoothly and the volunteers started coming in.

So now I've got volunteers doing most of the key IT functions for this chapter. And because their hard work has helped me to retain my sanity, I would like to thank them, recognize them, and use their introductions to introduce you to the activities that our committee is performing:

• Nick Taylor has been helping me manage the Content Management project, in which we are migrating from our current web hosting environment to a portal solution with content management functionality. Nick will be Project Manager of phase 2 of this project, in which the new portal solution will help us offer special web content to chapter members.
• Until recently, Matt Bracher served the committee as an Account Manager, responsible for coordinating vendor sponsorships, and as Newsletter Editor.  Matt left the IT Committee earlier this year when he was appointed by the chapter Board of Directors to fill the vacant board position of Director of Marketing and Sponsorship.
• Gina Williams has been responsible for our newsletter column "Building Up Indy."  In this capacity, she has been making contact with the project managers of major Indy-area construction projects, interviewing them, and then writing the excellent articles that appear in the newsletter column.
• Steve Shebuski has been serving the IT Committee as an Account Manager but has recently transitioned over to Matt Bracher's new Marketing and Sponsorship Committee.
• Terri Cloud has been serving as an Account Manager and has recently taken the responsibility of coordinating the new "Women in Project Management" column in our newsletter.
• Ian Kreitenstein has been serving as an Account Manager and has recently taken responsibility for the PMI CIC Technology Fair.  This is a new concept for our chapter and is still early in the conceptual phase, but we are hoping to provide a forum in which major PM-related software companies can provide demonstrations of their products for our members.
• James Lowes has helped to pull my drowning body out of the whirlpool by taking over responsibility for supporting website updates.
• Mark VanDenBoom has also helped to save me from drowning by taking over the responsibility of composing and quality checking our weekly and monthly emails (this is a lot of work, and must be done every single weekend). 
• Mark's wife, Lauren VanDenBoom, serves as our chapter's graphic designer and created the PMPoints, PMPrograms, and PMPerspectives banner images that tie back to the colors and images on our website.
• Nancy Glenn has volunteered to manage our Process Improvement project.  In this capacity she will be surveying members of the chapter to obtain feedback on the IT Committee's current services and illiciting suggestions for future services.
• Ron Lacy has taken over the responsibility of Newsletter Editor and will be adding his own editorial column, targeted to begin in 2006 volume 3.
• Kurt Crowley has been serving as a Sponsorship Specialist, a role that is transitioning to the new Marketing and Sponsorship Committee.

Again, I would like to recognize these volunteers and commend them for the value they have added to the PMI Central Indiana Chapter.  And I would like to encourage the rest of you to consider getting involved in the IT Committee.  As you can see, we are working on some cool stuff and there are even a few projects that I would like to pursue, if only I had volunteers to drive them:

• "Knowledge Base" Web Project:  Develop a collection of templates, FAQ's, links (actually useful ones), etc. that can help a project manager in his or her daily work.  The deliverable of this project would be a maintainable repository on the chapter website.
• "Investigation of PM Credentials" Newsletter Project:  What is the difference between a certification and a certificate?  Of the popular credentials, which of them are which?  This is a research project whose results would be delivered over several installments in our chapter newsletter.

If you find any of this interesting, let me know and we'll find a way to get you involved.  If you are interested in becoming involved, but none of this stuff inspires you, then pitch me your idea.  As you can see from the Process Improvement project, we are constantly trying to improve the services that we provide to the chapter, and our new website solution is going to make it even easier for us to do so.

Thanks again to the active volunteers listed above and to all of those who have come and gone but contributed along the way.