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No. 01/2008 SPRING 2008
CONTENTS
General Manager's Report
Chapter Annual Report
Membership Renewal Procedure
Membership forms - Recruitment/Retention Awards
Chapter Event
New Corporate Sponsors
Chapter Web Sites
Dear AFCEANs,
With one of the driest February’s on record in the UK I can only hope that we are not now about to undergo the wettest March since records began! However, there is plenty to look forward to in the AFCEA Europe plans for the coming months such that the weather is the least thing to anticipate.
But first let me share some of the elements of the business meetings that were the product of WEST 2008. A wind of change is blowing and this against a background of steady revenue generation and increased individual membership levels (now up to nearly 32,000) and corporate memberships (up 150 to 1610 – and I know that is thanks to some splendid recruiting within the European region). The most immediate HQ focus is on the new SOLUTIONS series with the first one on ‘Information Sharing’ taking place in Washington 12 -13 March. The details are at www.afceasolutions.org which includes information on associated podcasts, webinars and WIKI.
Kent Schneider, as our new President and CEO, has established a set of priorities to move the Association forward. Included is a focus on members outside the Washington Beltway, leveraging Web 2.0 technologies, developing a virtual Professional Development centre (PDC) – with a greater emphasis on e-learning – and more strategic (as opposed to tactical) planning. As ever, young members, recruitment and retention are high on his agenda and I am looking at how we might implement these initiatives in Europe.
Kent has already made his presence felt in Europe with a visit to the UK to meet all the Chapters there, and then coming on to Brussels to meet his European staff. He also paid a visit to The Hague Chapter. He is planning a trip to the Rome Chapter and most of the Chapters in Germany in May and you should expect to see him at TechNet Europe (TNE) in Prague 16 - 17 October. With John Dubia also coming over to Europe in July and attending TNE we are seeing quite a focus on Europe
I am also pleased to note that Fred Rainbow, AFCEA Vice President and Executive Director of the Educational Foundation, is coming over to attend our first ever student conference taking place in Brussels on 10 and 11 April. On that subject I would really welcome attendance from members of our scientific community to come and ask questions of these young people (and I wouldn’t mind some sponsorship too!). A visit to our website at www.afceaeurope will show you the very high calibre of presentations being given and it seems only right that these young people, the seed corn of AFCEA in the future, should be encouraged by the presence and interest of the more mature members.
For those with an interest in personal identity management (and the possibility of a long weekend in a Baltic State) let me draw you attention to the event I am running in Riga, Latvia, on Friday 16 May (details on the website). There is a cracking programme and I am hoping to use the event as the first step to establishing a Chapter in Riga. Your presence will be greatly appreciated and enjoyed.
There is, of course, one of our standards coming up on the 4th of June at SHAPE. On ‘The Dual Use of Technology’ the subject offers much to be explored and the speakers are exactly the right people to guide us. And we are following this with a two-day ‘How to Do Business with NATO’ course in Brussels. I hope to see you there. Indeed I would like to see you in April, May and June for we have four different events in pleasingly different locations offering, as ever, a challenging and thought-provoking set of opportunities.
With the annual ACT Industry Day being held in Brussels on 30 September/1 October, TNE in October and the possibility of a joint venture with another distinguished conference organiser in Brussels in December there is much going on. But, as ever, we are here to help you and so please contact the office if there is something you feel we might be able to do for your Chapter. I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Howell
Commodore, Royal Navy (rtd.),
General Manager, AFCEA Europe
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