Say hello to my little friend

Folks, Lemme tell ya... I grew up near Philly - so I've seen some inner city insects in my day, but this thing I saw one night while walking back from the convention center in Orlando scared the begeezus out of me. This cockroach was easily six inches long. They grow 'em big in Florida apparently. What really took me by surprise was when it asked me if it "could bum a smoke." -Wayne

Awards of Excellence Ceremony

Team, Here is the video footage of our own Chapter Prez, Christian Flanders, accepting the award for our chapter. It was great to finally see Christian up on that stage after all the years and dedication he has shown to the chapter. Christian was one of the early adopters for the website redux back in 2004. His fingerprints are all over this chapter and has a lot to do with the awards we have received in the past two years. Please drop Christian a note and congratulate him on his leadership in helping us achieve our vision.

-Wayne Whitzell, National Director of Sustainability - Corporate Care, IFMA Sacramento Chapter VP

Two For Two!

Fellow IFMA Sacramento Valley Chapter Members, We are pleased to announce that our chapter is the proud recipient of the 2009 Award of Excellence for Web Communications Small Chapter Division! This award is the culmination of a long road starting in 2004 when we first began sketching plans to redesign and re-launch our then ragtag website. There was robust committee discussion that resulted in a framework that has made our website worthy of this award. Most importantly, however, we owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to our webmaster, Kathleen Smith with Wulfwerks. Kathleen is intimately familiar with the workings of an IFMA chapter and similar associations having worked with the San Francisco chapter for many years. Besides helping us with design and implementation, Kathleen helped the web committee I chair to flatten our structure to create incredible efficiency and agility. Rather than all web communications flowing through a chapter member or committee (and creating a bottleneck) we empowered everyone in the committees to go directly to Kathleen with new posts and suggestions. The committees were given guidelines and Kathleen is a final line of examination before posting. If a request from committee may be questionable, she will then reach out to me and/or the board before completing the request. This streamlined method to get accurate information posted rapidly would only be possible with someone like Kathleen. I can’t say enough about Kathleen. If its long past time for you to consider upgrading your chapter’s site, I implore you to contact her CLICK HERE. The Sacramento Valley Chapter is more than happy to share our technology and layout structure for use in your own site. The calendar in particular is a tremendous resource that Kathleen has developed for IFMA chapters. Besides that, Kathleen is a sweetheart. She is that rare balance of discipline and execution with creativity and warmth. Kathleen, from all of us on the web committee and the rest of the chapter, we thank you for your guidance and ongoing assistance with making our website so successful. Webmaster Kathleen Smith Wulfwerks 1516 Lombard Street, #4 San Francisco, CA 94123 Phone: (415) 673-7775 Fax: (415) 651-9744 Email: kathleen@wulfwerks.com I was able to snag some video of our Chapter President, Christian Flanders, accepting the award last night at the awards gala. I will have it up next week (needs compression). We had a great time before heading over the Anderson Audio Visual after party at Margaritaville (more on that in my next blog entry). From Orlando, Wayne Whitzell – Corporate Care National Director of Sustainability and Chapter VP

Live From WWP Orlando 2009!!!

Greetings from Orlando! So far this has been a rock solid World Workplace with great classes, a cutting edge expo-floor and the wonderful opportunities to get to know and learn from talented people in the industry. I was talking with Serena tonight and we came up with a description that it’s like “returning to the hive” to be with our “kind.” It just feels right to be in a room with so many folks who face the same challenges and weather the same storms. Talk about instant camaraderie… It has obviously been a tough year for many of us and the indications are still not all that bright. However, it is plainly obvious that the professional development that IFMA provides is integral to a person’s success in this industry. With the market awash with potential hires, a CFM, FMP and years of training from IFMA education is a huge plus for candidates on the job hunt. Here at WWP, we are gathering information and intelligence to bring back to all of you about trends and influences affecting our industry. Though these tough times look as though they will continue for a while longer, we will take the opportunity to sharpen our skills and keep learning to position us for the future. Tonight, my employer, Corporate Care, graciously hosted a dinner at the Oceanaire for forty facilities professionals. In the room were two IFMA Fellows, a former Chair, numerous Chapter Presidents, VP’s (GO VP’s!) and many committee chairs. As I surveyed the room, I was reminded that the partnerships between value-driven and knowledgeable associate members and the professionals in the chapters are very important. They are important because together we solve problems and drive situations to a “win/win” touchdown each time. They are also important because we get to know each other as friends, each with dreams, hobbies and personalities beyond the FM world. The bottom line is IFMA is chock full of good people who have a damn difficult career. IFMA helps to smooth out the rough edges and pull us together as a family who supports each other to reach our goals. Once again, WWP has demonstrated that this is THE organization for those who manage the built environment. From Orlando, Wayne Whitzell – IFMA Sacramento Chapter VP National Director of Sustainability – Corporate Care








For last year's blog coverage of 2008 WWP in Dallas, click here: http://ifmasac.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html