In a recent holiday message from the IFMA Chairman, we heard that 2009 brought many challenges and uncertainties along with much good fortune. With the skills and strengths of IFMA headquarters' staff, senior leadership and board of directors, the association has continued to persevere and address these challenges head-on, achieving our goals and continuously improving on various objectives.

As the new year and a new decade approach, it's time not only to look forward to the future but also to reflect on the past year.  It has been a challenging and difficult year for so many, with members and companies within our chapter cutting costs, cutting their labor forces, and making tough decisions on how best to utilize the available dollars that have been allocated.  IFMA responded early with payment plans for membership and a-la-carte options to keep costs affordable to members who's company no longer pays for them. 

For IFMA Atlanta the hard economic times also forced the Board to sharpen their pencils and take a hard look at the Chapter budget and how best to maximize the experience of membership without sacrificing the benefits.  The theme of the Board's strategic planning session was "Havin' fun, Gettin' it done".  We knew we had our work cut out for us in the upcoming year with a lot to accomplish and limited resources to do it with. 

We started the year with a tough decision in front of us; to continue on with plans for re-scheduling Atlanta Work Place, one of the Chapter's largest operating expenses, but also our largest offering in terms of education, professional development and associate member visibility.  A dedicated and resourceful committee offered creative alternatives, like a partnership with AIA and CoreNet.  This event was undoubtedly one of the year's most successful endeavors. As a result of those determined resources, the Chapter not only staged a fully successful day of superlative educational offerings and an EXPO Trade Show with over 40 vendor tables, but we also exceeded revenue goals by more than $12,000 and generated $8,000 toward our annual support of the IFMA Foundation and our other community partners.

In an effort to bring more social networking opportunities to our members, in the fourth quarter, we held both an Associates Reception, which included professional members, and our first Bowling Night.  We not only had a great deal of fun but raised an additional $1800 for the IFMA Foundation.  We really put the "Havin' fun, Gettin' it done" into both events and for those of you who missed it them, watch the calendar in 2010.

This spring, look for a combined effort of our Associates, Special Events and Tours committee in bringing us a Speed Networking event as well as our Annual Golf Classic at Lake Lanier.  This year will bring our golfers a new Legacy course as well as some other exciting additions to this annual event.

In addition to our monthly educational programs, our Education committee held a LEED EB-OM class, for the first time offering real-time project experience on a LEED project.  They are also working to develop a Case Study for an educational session at WWP in 2010.  We also have a class on Professional Writing for Results scheduled for January and our CFM Review Class will take place in February.

Lastly, I'm happy to report to you the internal strides your Atlanta Chapter Board has made year to date.  They have created and are following job descriptions for their functions.  They've worked to streamline our reporting, track our volunteer hours and are establishing a map for succession planning.  Together we have accomplished a lot in the first six months, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.  I'm looking forward to meeting with a team at the end of January to review the Strategic Plan for 2009-2010. If you receive a call from an executive committee member, consider giving a few hours to assist in the review process.  This is a great way for you to be part of the chapter's growth.   Soon long-term strategic planning will take place to carry our Chapter into the new decade and assure IFMA Atlanta's place as a leader in the FM industry.  With the support of our members, we look forward to an exciting new era in the Chapter's history.

To all of the members in our Chapter, the entire Board and I wish you a Happy New and Prosperous Year to come.