What’s New!
Beth Wingate Elected 2008 NCA President
Four New Members Join
the Board
By Michael A. Scruggs, PPM.APMP
New changes are coming to the NCA Board with Beth
Wingate recently elected
as the chapter’s new president. Beth’s leadership as the editor
of the chapter’s Executive Summary newsletter during the past two
years makes her highly qualified to assume chapter leadership. Congratulations,
Beth!
Four new individuals are also joining the Board. Olessia
Smotrova-Taylor will
assume Beth’s former position as newsletter editor. Chris Simmons takes
over the Membership Committee from Patricia Westlein, who is leaving the Board
after years of service. Brenda Crist takes over the leadership of
our annual Professional Day event as former PD Chair Bob Lohfeld moves to become
our Program Chair. Former Program Chair Chris Stahl also leaves the Board
after two years of service. Marcia Horting joins the Board in an
at-large position, while Alex Brown assumes the duties of the chapter’s
Corporate Partner program. Welcome to the Board!
NCA Chapter Wins Chapter of the Year Award!
By Michael A. Scruggs, PPM.APMP
At its 18th Annual Conference in Savannah
on May 30, the APMP Board of Directors presented the Steven Shipley Award to
the NCA Chapter as the 2006 APMP Chapter of the Year. The NCA Chapter competed
against the other national and international APMP chapters for this high recognition.
Named after one of the co-founders of APMP, the Shipley Award takes the place
of the Everest Award, which the NCA last won in 2004.
Additionally, the APMP Board jointly awarded the Steven Myers Chapter Chair Awards to Dana Spears of the Southern California Chapter and Michael Scruggs of the NCA Chapter. Like Shipley, Mr. Myers is one of the original founders of APMP.
2007 Professional Day Date Announced
By Michael A. Scruggs, PPM.APMP
For the fourth year in a row, capture and proposal professionals
have the opportunity to participate in the National Capital Area Chapter's Professional
Day event. On-site check-in for this full-day event starts at 8 AM on Tuesday,
October 16, 2007, at Northrop Grumman's Fair Lakes facility located at 12900
Federal Systems Park Drive, Fairfax, Virginia. The facility is approximately
15 miles from Dulles Airport and 25 miles from Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Last year's Professional Day was sold out almost a week
in advance. Attendance is limited by the facility's occupancy requirement of
255 people. The chapter expects this year's event to also sell out in advance,
so early registration is highly recommended.
Professional Day Chairman Bob Lohfeld and his 20-member
planning committee reviewed the success of last year's Professional Day and explored
the possibility of having a two-day event. The committee concluded that attendees,
already burdened with demanding proposal deadlines, might find it too difficult
to attend a two-day event.
Positive comments received from chapter members and
attendees shows there is a strong interest in events beyond that currently provided
by the chapter. In addition to Professional Day, the chapter produces six Roundtable
presentations throughout the year.
Bob Lohfeld and I are exploring the possibility of designing
a new event titled Proposal Boot Camp. This one-day event is targeted
to professionals new to the profession. Potential topics might include business
opportunity identification, capture management, proposal management, task order
response development, graphics, and other areas of professional interest. The
event is tentatively scheduled to be held in April 2008 in the metropolitan Washington
area. Watch this Web site and the chapter's newsletter, The Executive Summary, for additional information as event planning evolves.
Added Value: NCA Events Help Complete CEU Requirement
By Michael A. Scruggs, PPM.APMP
With more and more NCA Chapter members becoming involved with the APMP Accreditation
Program, participants want to know how to acquire Continuing Education Units
(CEUs) needed to maintain accreditation levels.
Starting in 2007, attendance at a NCA Roundtable is worth five CEUs. With
your attendance of our six Roundtable events planned for 2007, you can earn up
to 30 CEUs annually. In addition, your attendance at the chapter’s 2007
Professional Day event will earn you an additional 10 CEUs.
So if you’re serious about acquiring CEUs, it is now possible to earn up
to 40 CEUs annually by simply attending the chapter’s Roundtable and Professional
Day events. Remember: You are investing in yourself and your career by earning
APMP Accreditation.
Now Serving the Mid-Atlantic Region
By Michael A. Scruggs, APM.APMP
The National Capital Area Chapter has never been stronger or more energized. Our membership numbers have increased significantly over the past year, and attendance at our chapter events has skyrocketed.
More and more capture and proposal professionals are discovering the value of attending events that explain topics we are faced with everyday, such as Earned Value Management or Performance Based Contracting. Other topics, such as our recent “Getting Graphics Right the First Time” presentation, explore the technical aspects of our profession.
And because we are in the center of federal government spending, the chapter is able to attract federal government speakers that share their acquisition experience and recommendations to improve your proposal response.
What are you doing to keep up with the evolving changes in the capture and proposal fields?
Professionals living the in Mid-Atlantic region are invited to affiliate with the NCA and attend our seven annual events. Affiliation is free, and it’s the way to keep abreast of chapter activities, receive our newsletter, and network with other professionals in the field. Affiliate here.
Our events are held at venues in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area near key transportation hubs and interstate highways. Nearby hotels are readily available.
Identify a NCA presentation that can help you with your work and make it a part of your employer’s training plan. You will be surprised how many employers that will support training that will result in increased revenue through higher win rates.
Make it a point to affiliate with NCA and attend a chapter presentation in 2007.
Professional Day Exceeds Expectations!
By Michael Scruggs, APM.APMP
NCA's fourth Professional Day event, held on October 25th at Northrop Grumman's Fair Lakes campus, exceeded everyone's expectations. With NG's maximum allowable capacity of 269 attendees reached days before the event, registration was closed early. There's no doubt in my mind we could have easily registered another 50-100 people.
The high attendance can be attributed to interest in the profession, focused event promotion, and a well developed list of presenters. Feedback form information shows that the Professional Day Committee got it right, especially with booking the Federal acquisition presenters.
If you missed the event, you have a chance to hear a chief evaluator, Gregory Giddens, discuss "Lessons You Can Apply from the Winner—and the Losers—of a $1.5 Billion High Profile Contract" at our November 15th Roundtable. Find out what the winner did right, and the losers did wrong, in the DHS Secure Boarders Initiative procurement competed earlier this year.
We hope to start streaming the Professional Day presentations from this website by mid-November. Check back soon.
And once again to the Professional Day Committee and NCA's Corporate Partners: Thank You!
NCA’s Technical Refresh: Welcome to our new Web Site!
By Michael Scruggs, APM.APMP
While it is technically infeasible, every time I looked at our old Web site, the colors seemed to fade. I was wondering when the pictured team was ever going to finish that proposal.
Now after months of hard work by the chapter’s volunteer board, the National Capital Area Chapter has finally launched this new Web site. It’s designed so we can update and manage content easier, and it features a brand new look and feel.
I wish to thank all of the individuals involved, and especially NCA Board Director Jay Schiavo for all of his hard work and dedication. Great launch, Jay!
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