October 2009

Region H Fall Caucus Meeting
The Region H fall caucus meeting was held on Saturday, August 29th in St. Joseph, MI. The Southwest Michigan Section in conjunction with Whirlpool Corporation hosted the meeting. The purpose of this face-to-face meeting was to allow our Section leaders to interact with the Region leadership in preparation for the National Conference. Section President Lisa Schmalhurst attended the meeting as a representative for SWE-MN. The focus of the caucus was on Region H business and training. The day started with a quick overview of SWE, including changes to the Board of Directors, Region structure, and the transition from the Council of Representatives to the Senate. The morning progressed with a presentation of the current SWE Strategic Plan. A copy of the document is available to all members on SWE Communities under the Resources portion of the Governance Documents Community. Senate proposals were intended to be reviewed during the morning session of the meeting, but were still in draft form and unavailable for discussion at that time. After lunch a sharing session of the Region’s Best Practices took place, as well as discussions about Outreach resources available to the Region and associated Sections. Finally, Director of Regions Alyse Stofer gave a presentation on the need for Regions to start thinking strategically, starting with the development of a pipeline of future leaders for the Region and Society levels. Overall, the meeting was considered a very productive and successful gathering of Region H leadership!

New Professional Section in Region H
SWE-MN would like to welcome the newest professional section to Region H, The Mid-Michigan Section. The section is based out of Midland, Michigan and hosted its chartering banquet on Thursday, September 24, 2009. Be sure to extend a warm SWE-MN welcome to Mid-Michigan Section members at the upcoming National and Region H conferences!

SWE’s 60th Anniversary Celebration
SWE will be celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, starting with the upcoming events being held at the 2009 SWE Na-tional Conference in Long Beach, California and extending through the end of the 2010 SWE National Conference in Orlando, Florida. National SWE leadership has asked Regions and Sections to host a local event to celebrate this stepping stone for SWE. The event would be a “Founders Day” type event, taking place May 27 -28, 2010. If you have any ideas for the event or would like to help SWE-MN plan the event, please contact us at cor@swe-mn.org. We welcome your comments and ideas!

WE09 The National Conference for Women Engineers – Register Now!
The Gateway to the World will open up wider than ever with opportunity as more than 6,000 women in engineering and technology will converge in Long Beach for WE09—the largest and most comprehensive gathering of forward-thinking women engineers and technologists. When these bright and energetic women come together great things will happen. Careers will advance, as will the world of technology.

• Join us for WE09 as we move ourselves and our industry forward!
  If you are planning on attending the National Conference, then be sure to logon to the Minnesota Section Community and update the National Conference Attendance List. This list will enable you to coordinate with other SWE-MN members who are going to the conference. A networking dinner is planned for SWE-MN members on Friday, October 16th. You can sign up for this dinner by indicating your interest in the National Conference Attendance List. Also, mark your calendars for the following meetings during the National Conference:
   The Region H Meeting - scheduled for Thursday, October 15, from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. This meeting covers the business of the Region and is open for all members to attend.
   The Society Membership Meeting – scheduled for Saturday, October 17, at 10:00am. This meeting covers the business of the Society associated with the general membership and is open for all members to attend.
   The Society Town Hall Meeting - scheduled for Saturday, October 17, at 11:00am. This meeting allows members of the Society to direct questions to the Board of Directors in an open forum manner. The Board of Directors requests that questions be submitted prior to the meeting on SWE Communities. You can find a link to the question submittal site on the right side of the main page for SWE Communities.
  We look forward to seeing you in Long Beach!
  
  Region H Conference – Mark Your Calendars!
  The Region H Conference will be held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) on January 29-31, 2010. The conference website with event details and registration information is expected to be up and running shortly after the National Conference, or approximately October 19, 2009. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for additional details.
  Please feel free to contact us at cor@swe-mn.org with your comments, questions or concerns. Watch for a COR blog to come out on the Minnesota Section Community.
  
  Jenna, Lindsey, and Charlene
  FY10 SWE-MN COR
  
  --------------------------------------------------------
  
  September 2009
  
  Please allow us to introduce ourselves, we are your Council of Representatives, or COR, Minnesota Section representatives for the upcoming fiscal year.
   Jenna Rendon, a Software Engineering Manager at Lockheed Martin, is your first veteran COR representative this year, having also served in FY09.
   Lindsey Roberts McKenzie, a Water Resources Engineer at Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc, is your second veteran COR representative this year, having also served in FY09.
   Charlene Willenbring, a Project Engineer at Goodrich Sensors and Integrated Systems, is your new COR representative this year.
  
  The role of the COR has changed due to the adoption of the SWE Senate for FY10. The COR is still the voice of the Minnesota Section members. However, the COR will focus primarily on local and regional Soci-ety concerns, programs and systems. The role of the COR is to represent the Minnesota Section membership on both local and regional issues. COR will also act as the official contact between the Region H Senators and the Minnesota Section to ensure that your voice is heard at the national level. The three Minnesota Section representatives will continue to report the information and business of the Society at all levels to the Minnesota members.
  
  Starting this fiscal year, the new SWE Senate structure has been put into place. The following Senators are the new voice for Region H membership at the national level:
  Region H Professional Senators:
  Diane LaFortune – Chicago Regional Section Laurel Jaeger – Southwest Michigan Section
  Region H Collegiate Senator:
  Emily Carroll – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  
  The new Senate is a high functioning deliberative body focused on the long-term strategic position of the Society. The Senate is responsible for legislative duties such as changing bylaws and setting individual dues. The Senate is a much smaller size governing body with 32 members: 22 Professional Senators (two for each region) and 10 Collegiate Senators (one for each region). This smaller size will enable more effective interaction and deliberation. The Senate will focus on national Society concerns, programs and systems. The Region H Senators serve as a direct conduit and point of contact for any member in Region H to express concerns and issues at the national level. If you have questions about the Senate or the new role of the COR, please don’t hesitate to contact us at cor@swe-mn.org.
  
  National SWE Budget for FY10 – SWE Senate Motion Approved
  Over the past few years, SWE has continued to increase its membership and the number and level of pro-grams and services offered to our members. However, like many other businesses and organizations, SWE has not been immune to the recent economic downturn. Over the past several months, National SWE has performed monthly financial reviews and has initiated efforts to cut expenses and pursue additional funding sources. Despite these efforts, the Board of Directors is ultimately looking at a 20% reduction in unrestricted income in FY10. On July 15th, the new SWE Senate convened for the first time to discuss a motion to au-thorize a withdrawal of funds (up to a maximum of $625,000) from the SWE Contingency Reserve Fund (CRF) to cover FY10 general operating expenses and to support the current level of programs, services and membership benefits. The motion was brought fourth by Jon Graf, National SWE Treasurer. The discussion began on July 15th and it was continued on July 22nd. An amendment was added that said that the funds must be returned to the CRF by the end of FY15. After the amendment was added, the motion was approved. We encourage you to email us at cor@swe-mn.org with your thoughts on this motion.
  
  Region H Fall Caucus Meeting
  The Region H fall caucus meeting was held on Saturday, August 29th in St. Joseph, MI. The Southwest Michigan Section in conjunction with Whirlpool Corporation hosted the meeting. The purpose of this face-to-face meeting was to allow our Section leaders to interact with the Region leadership in preparation for the National Conference. Meeting attendees included Region H Officers, COR and Section Presidents. The focus of the caucus was on Region H business and training. The agenda included plans to discuss Senate proposals and mega issues. This face-to-face meeting gave us the opportunity to review the SWE overall strategic plan and the Region strategic outlook. A Leadership Development training module was also conducted. It was a productive meeting for all!
  
  WE09 The National Conference for Women Engineers – Register Now!
  The Gateway to the World will open up wider than ever with opportunity as more than 6,000 women in engineering and technology will converge in Long Beach for WE09—the largest and most comprehensive gathering of forward-thinking women engineers and technologists. When these bright and energetic women come together great things will happen. Careers will advance, as will the world of technology.
  Join us for WE09 as we move ourselves and our industry forward!
  
  If you are planning on attending the National Conference, then be sure to logon to the Minnesota Section Community and update the National Conference Attendance List. This list will enable you to coordinate with other SWE-MN members who are going to the conference. A networking dinner is planned for SWE-MN members on Friday, October 16th. You can sign up for this dinner by indicating your interest in the National Conference Attendance List.
  
  We look forward to seeing you in Long Beach!
  
  Region H Conference – Mark Your Calendars!
  The Region H Conference will be held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) on January 29-31, 2010. April Privett, the Region H Lt. Governor, recently gave an update on the planning for this conference and things are going well. The UIUC collegiate section is working on fundraising and beginning to plan the logistics for the conference. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for additional details.
  Please feel free to contact us at cor@swe-mn.org with your comments, questions or concerns. Watch for a COR blog to come out on the Minnesota Section Community. There is a lot to discuss with the move to the new Senate structure this year and we will be sure to keep you informed.