ASTD has just launched a new resource for chapter leaders to identify speakers for chapter programs and meetings. The ASTD speakers bureau is a repository of speakers and presenters connected to the workplace learning and performance profession.

To have your information included in the search, simply complete the speakers submission form (found online here) and email to Cami Best-Jones at cjones@astd.org.

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I have heard from a few folks already about the plans they have to celebrate Employee Learning Week in their companies, organizations, and ASTD chapters. It is so exciting to see folks getting psyched about promoting the value of learning! Remember there are lots of tools on the Employee Learning Week website - including downloadable logos, public service announcements to send to your local radio stations, and press release templates to announce your activities to your local press. You'll find everything at www.employeelearningweek.org. Remeber to send me an email, letting me know what you've done to celebrate ELW and we will send you a Champion of Learning certificate to recognize your efforts! You can email me at kfyfe@astd.org.

Tags: employee learning week, chapters, champion of learning, astd, elw

Categories: ASTD in the News | Chapters | Government | International | Membership

Came across this great story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that talks about the value of belonging to associations. The article is targeted at healthcare workers, but the reporter states that professional associations outside your given industry add value to your career too. Laura French's story "Associate with Success" states:

"Training and education is another career track of interest to healthcare professionals. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) has more than 130 chapters in the U.S. as well as members in more than 100 countries. ASTD offers the only certification in the training and development field: Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP). Visit www.astd.org for additional information."

Nice to see a reporter making the connection that professional associations add real value! And the reference to the CPLP credential by a reporter indicates that certification is growing in prominence and recognition.

Tags: astd, cplp, training, development, chapters

Categories: ASTD in the News | Chapters

IS YOUR CHAPTER A CHAMPION OF LEARNING? 

What will your chapter be doing to celebrate learning during Employee Learning Week? Big or small, every effort counts and when you let national ASTD know what you’ve done, we’ll send you a Champion of Learning certificate that you can use to promote your chapter’s efforts in recognizing the vital role of employee learning.

 

Employee Learning Week is just weeks away – December 7-11 – so it’s time to get busy planning. Need some ideas? Here are a few:  

·         Host your chapter meeting during ELW and recognize members who work every day to promote learning in their organizations  

·         Host a resource fair at a December chapter meeting and have members share best practices  

·         Send a “tip of the day” email to members with useful learning nuggets they can share with their colleagues  

·         Promote ELW by including language in your email signature that celebrates employee learning and ELW. (click here to download an email banner) 

·         Don't forget to email elw@elw.org and brag about what you're chapter is doing...it's the only way we know to send your certificate!

There are many resources and materials available to you at the ELW website www.employeeleanringweek.org. For more information, contact elw@elw.org, or call Kristen Fyfe at 703-683-8192.

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Love it when our local chapters make news! It's great exposure for them and increases the brand value of ASTD as a whole. Read the article "Rochester networking becomes important business talent" in the Democrat and Chronicle!

Tags: astd, chapters, genesee valley, networking

Categories: ASTD in the News | Chapters

In September, national ASTD provided the new National Operating Requirements (NORE) in response to chapter leader feedback that they wanted to know what specific support to expect from national ASTD. NORE mirrors the chapter’s commitment to the Chapter Operating Requirements (CORE). NORE and CORE have both been incorporated into a reciprocal affiliation agreement to be signed by all chapters to formalize the relationship between national ASTD and chapters.

All chapter leaders are invited to attend a webcast this Thursday, October 8, at 3 p.m. ET, facilitated by National Advisor for Chapters Christie Ward from the Rocky Mountain Chapter. The webcast will provide an overview of NORE and the affiliation agreement. If you are unable to attend, the webcast archive will be available on the Chapter Leader Community website.

If you have questions about the new chapter-national affiliation agreement or National Operating Requirements (NORE), please contact your chapter coach or NAC representative. National ASTD is committed to providing extensive support and resources so that you and your board have the tools needed to help your chapter thrive and grow!

 

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Congratulations to the October Chapter of the Month: The Greater Chattanooga Area Chapter!

The value of membership is a key driver for the Greater Chattanooga Area Chapter of ASTD. The chapter’s selection as Chapter of the Month for October 2009 derives from a two-fold commitment to membership. First, the chapter has created a Board of Director’s position called CORE (Chapter Operating Requirements) Coordinator. The CORE Coordinator is responsible for educating chapter members about CORE statistics and tracking the chapter’s annual progress in achieving 100 percent CORE.

In addition, the Greater Chattanooga Area Chapter is committed to bringing members value at every turn. Upon realizing that monthly chapter meetings were not providing enough networking time for members, the chapter created a Membership Networking Directory that includes the professional experience and contact information of all members and is thus a tremendous resource for members to expand and improve their networking contacts.  The chapter continues to work for deeper connections with members through various committee opportunities and participation in community service events.

Chapter President Teresa Headrick believes that being a professional society in a smaller city gives the Greater Chattanooga Area Chapter the opportunity to offer learning professionals in the area a great venue for improving skills and gaining insights into the profession. The chapter’s commitment to members and the community at large is why the Greater Chattanooga Area Chapter  is ASTD’s Chapter of the Month for October.

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ASTD announces that 39 organizations from Canada, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and the United States are winners in the 2009 ASTD BEST Awards competition. Sun Microsystems, of Santa Clara, California, holds the first place ranking. The 2009 ASTD BEST Award winners are recognized in a special section of the October issue of Training + Development (T+D), ASTD’s monthly magazine, and were honored during a reception on October 1 in Washington, D.C. Many of the winners participated in the “Learn from the BEST” event on October 2 to share best practices during roundtable presentations and networking time.

The BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise‐wide success through employee learning and development. According to Tony Bingham, ASTD’s president and CEO, “The ASTD BEST Award winners set the standard of excellence for exceptional learning practices, and demonstrate that a skilled workforce is vital to
achieving results. They use learning as a strategic tool and have the support of senior leaders who champion a learning culture.”

Through an online application, the 2009 BEST Awards received entries from 93 organizations in 10 countries. These organizations submitted quantitative and qualitative information to ASTD about their learning and development practices and programs. Their applications were assessed by members of the BEST Awards advisory committee, a group of experts in the learning and development field.

More information about the 2009 ASTD BEST Award winners may be found in the October 2009 issue of T+D magazine and online: www.astd.org/best. ASTD would like to thank the following sponsors of the 2009 BEST Awards: Platinum Sponsor: Booz Allen Hamilton; Silver Sponsors: General Physics Corporation, Learn.com , and SkillSoft.

The 2009 ASTD BEST Award winners and rankings:

1. Sun Microsystems, Santa Clara, California
2. MTR Corporation, Hong Kong, SAR, China
3. SCC Soft Computer, Clearwater, Florida
4. DPR Construction, Inc., Redwood City, California
5. BB&T, Winston‐Salem, North Carolina
6. VF Asia Limited, Hong Kong, SAR, China
7. Highmark (an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
8. BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, Missouri
9. Datatel, Fairfax, Virginia
10. Trust Company of the West, Los Angeles, California
11. Luxottica Retail North America, Mason, Ohio
12. La Quinta, Irving, Texas
13. Robert W. Baird & Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
14. Gables Residential, Atlanta, Georgia
15. Wipro Limited, Bangalore, India
16. T. Rowe Price, Baltimore, Maryland
17. LarsonAllen, Minneapolis, Minnesota
18. University Health System, San Antonio, Texas
19. CSC, Falls Church, Virginia
20. Reliance Industries Limited, Jamnagar Refinery Division, Mumbai, India
21. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, New York, New York
22. Infosys Technologies Limited, Bangalore, India
23. Reliance Industries Limited, Dahej Manufacturing Division, Mumbai, India
24. CIGNA Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
25. Suzlon Energy, Ltd., Pune, India
26. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Mumbai, India
27. Prescription Solutions, Irvine, California
28. Whirlpool Corporation, Saint Joseph, Michigan
29. Barilla America, Inc., Bannockburn, Illinois
30. Fallon Clinic, Worcester, Massachusetts
31. InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta, Georgia
32. Mayer Electric Supply Company Inc., Birmingham, Alabama
33. TELUS, Vancouver, British Columbia
34. G4S Wackenhut, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
35. sanofi‐aventis U.S., Bridgewater, New Jersey
36. Brown‐Forman Corporation, Louisville, Kentucky
37. United Overseas Bank, Singapore
38. Grant Thornton LLP, Chicago, Illinois
39. Cbeyond, Atlanta, Georgia

In addition, nine companies on this list have been BEST ASTD Award winners for three years or more. They are: BB&T, CSC, Gables Residential, Infosys Technologies, MTR Corporation, Reliance Industries, sanofi‐aventis U.S., TELUS, and Wipro Limited.

Tags: astd, best awards, training and development, workplace learning, best practices, learning culture, tony bingham, t+d, skilled workforce

Categories: ASTD in the News | Chapters | Membership

At a recent meeting of the Ft. Lauderdale chapter of ASTD a speaker named Cher Holton was brought in to teach team building techniques to members. That session is the peg for a story titled "Go Team! Need for Collaboration Greater When There Are Fewer Employees" which offers so tips and strategies for teambuilding. This is the second story columnist Marcia Heroux Pounds has written using a speaker at an ASTD chapter meeting to peg a broader column on workplace issues. Last time her column was picked up in many major publications around the country (see blog posting here). It'll be interesting to see if this story is likewise syndicated!  

Tags: astd chapters, teambuilding, marcia heroux pounds, economy

Categories: ASTD in the News | Chapters

Building a Partnership with the Local Public Workforce System
October 1, 2:00 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT, Noon MT, 11 a.m. PT)

Speaker: C. Michael Ferraro, President & CEO, TRAINING SOLUTIONS, Inc.

Federal and state governments provide billions of dollars annually for job training and related services through the public workforce investment system at the local level. So why aren’t you taking advantage? Savvy workplace learning professionals can access a broad range of grants, tax credits, and other government resources to build a skilled workforce and maintain a competitive edge.

During the webcast, free to chapter leaders and members, Michael will explain how to locate and develop these opportunities for your organization, chapter, and how to influence state and local funding priorities.

Register HERE!

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