From the President ...

I am very pleased that you have chosen me as President and I promise I will work hard with the rest of the Board to make the Chicago Chapter the premier chapter in ACP.

Looking back at 2005 we can be proud of what we accomplished. In addition to having regular monthly meetings we hosted the 2005 International conference last April. Chicago had a great showing with more than 45 members attending. We also joined the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. That's an added member benefit for all of us.

Looking forward to 2006 we have a robust agenda. We will continue to have exciting and informative monthly programs. We are also planning our Fall Conference. The Fall Conference has been an annual tradition for more than a decade. We suspended it last year because of the International conference. We will be reinstating it again this October or November. We are in the process of formulating ideas and identifying speakers and partners. If you have any thoughts or ideas about a conference subject, or want to be part of the planning team let me know. The more people we have helping, the less work it is for each person.

As part of our relationship with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce we have agreed to co-sponsor two workshops. The first will be in April on the topic of Performance Coaching. We are actively seeking members who are interested in presenting on this topic and wanting to develop business connections while doing it. We have sent emails regarding this and asking for proposals on the workshop. The proposals are due back to me by Friday, February 3. If you are interested or have any questions, please let me know.

The second workshop we will be sponsoring with the Chamber will be in the fall on the topic of Team Building. You will be receiving notification on this later in the year.

Our focus for the year is growth - not just growth in membership in the chapter although that is vitally important. We are also interested in the growth of our reputation as Career Professionals in the Chicagoland marketplace. We want to get to the point that when someone wants to hire a Career Professional, either as a staff member or as a consultant, they will look first to the members of ACP International. As your chapter leaders we will be formulating plans to promote our organization, chapter and members. One of the first steps is our new relationship with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. We are looking at other ways to increase our publicity to the general public. If you have ideas for how to do this or are interested in helping out let Claudia Voisard or John Petrik know about it.

There are some things that you as individual members can do to increase the visibility of our profession and chapter. A simple thing is to put the ACP International logo on your business cards and marketing material. You can get the logo from the International site at acpinternational.org.

A second thing you can do is highlight our Ethics and Standards when you are talking to clients or prospective clients. We all know there are a few unscrupulous providers out there that give the whole industry a black eye. It is our Ethics and Standards that differentiate us from the rest.

A third thing you can do is to complete certification through The Institute of Career Certification International. It is a portfolio certification process, not a test. It is thorough, but not that difficult to do. If I can do it, anyone can do it. To find out more about certification go to the acpinternational.org website. To become certified you will need to be sponsored by someone certified at the Fellow level. Our Chicago members who are Fellows are Jim Kacena, Helen LaVan, Kim Jarvis, and me. As more of us become certified, we can make that certification a differentiator in a highly competitive market.

Finally, we want to make the Chicago Chapter as strong as possible. That strength does not come from its leaders. It comes from the members as a whole. That strength is best demonstrated through involvement. Involvement may mean attending as many monthly meetings as possible. It can also be taking an active role on a committee, either small or large. Or, it could be promoting the association to colleagues who are in the field. If you are pleased with your membership in ACP International, let your associates know about it and invite them to our meetings.

I am looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at upcoming chapter meetings. I also welcome your input, ideas and critiques, either in person, by phone or by email. Let me know how we are doing and what you would like to see us do.

Fare forward and a great year to all of us.

Howard Campbell
President, ACP International Chicago Chapter