SIM Portland Program Year Ends - 6/30/2020

Dear Chapter members, 

Apologies for my late June blog, things have been busy…which is good. Unfortunately, the planned attempt to re-open the State and the economy have shown the virus‘ insidious nature. Masks have gone from being voluntary, to being required in public, indoor spaces. The careful emergence from our cocoons seem for some to have turned into a defiant return to the way it was, allowing the virus to take hold once again. Portland and Oregon seem to be fairing a lot better than other States and cities across the U.S. but the emergence of hotspots and continued outbreaks across the country does not bode well for a continued opening up of the economy and holding larger events such as our monthly Chapter dinner speaker evenings. Watch this space for more information on our September Chapter meeting.


We had our final virtual Chapter meeting of the 2019-2020 program year on June 10th. A very successful partnership with Premier Connects brought a half day of session including a CIO panel, a number of speakers and a breakout Zoom networking session facilitated by Premier staff and SIM Portland members. Nice touches included live music from a Portland area artist, and food delivered to attendees by UberEats. We certainly look to a continued partnership with Premier in the Fall, and also to bring some of these ideas to our Program events. If you have ideas for programs, and around the online and eventual (hopefully) in person events, let me or Tony Alferez know.

I definitely wanted to highlight that we have our annual Golf Fundraiser comingup in September. We will be using a slightly different format (virtual tournament) to take account of the pandemic and current public health requirements. Sponsors and players will self-schedule rounds of socially distanced golf at Stone Creek Golf Club followed by an online Awards Reception on Tuesday 29th September at 6:00pm to highlight the scholarship program, past scholars and the winners of the golf tournament. Please check out the sponsorships for your company, or vendors you partner with, at https://sim-portland-golf.perfectgolfevent.com .

Since we usually do not have an August program, this year I am putting out a Call to all Chapter members to attend at a Virtual Town Hall at 530pm on Wed 12th August. Come chat with the President (and I am sure some of the Board) about your SIM Chapter, what it means to you and what you would like to see going forward. We are entering into the year's planning phase for our chapter with the Annual Board Retreat occurring on August 21st and 28th. In previous years, we have gathered input from members with online surveys, and we may still do one this year.

August Chat with the President

But I prefer a more personal interaction, and invite you to have a "conversation" rather than filling out a “form.” What's working…particularly in the interesting time that the Chapter is weathering through. What's not working…or even better, what can we do or try that would bring more value to your participation in our community of IT professionals. So plan to have your favorite beverage on ice, hopefully sit outside in the lovely Summer weather (if your Wifi reaches the yard), and join me on August 12th for a chat.

More to come in the July blog which will be out shortly…

Richard Appleyard, PhD
SIM Portland Chapter President 202

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