The Monthly Programs are a very visible piece of each chapters overall presentation to the public. Over the past two years we have worked to make steady improvements to this element of the Central Indiana Chapter of PMI. Here are a few changes that were made in the past:

• We worked with the Five Seasons Resort to add two, two sided buffets to allow our guests and members to get their food more quickly.
• We added more drink stations.
• We added the bar for our membership to have an adult beverage after work if they wish.
• We worked with the Five Seasons Resort to improve their food quality.
• We worked with the Five Seasons Resort to add decorations on the tables and the buffets.
• We added the raffling of three books/gifts at every meeting.
• We started providing Monthly speaker's with a Certificate of Appreciation and a gift.
• We changed the way the "check in" lists are organized to reduce confusion as our guests enter the monthly programs.
• We started partnering with APICS for one meeting a year.
• We started bringing in out of town speakers. There is an expense associated with this change but it also brings in new talent that we have not heard from in the past. An example was Andy Crowe who came in from Atlanta, GA to speak to us about Alpha Project Managers.
• We have made the commitment to bring in at least three non-IT speakers per year. We would love to have more, however, retail, construction, health sciences professionals etc. that speak to groups are hard to come by.

We have had our challenges as well. We have worked with the Five Seasons to provide a reliable audio system. Further, we are working with the Five Seasons to have the noisy condenser above the speaker podium fixed.

There is still more work to do. Matt Bracher will be taking over the reins of the Program Directorship as of January 2007. He will undoubtedly make improvements to the way the current team is conducting the Programs. Each year we get a little better.