CIPScene February 2005

Message from the President

I believe the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) is at a critical point in our history as we redefine our value to IT practitioners. This will take some time and we all must stay the course because the importance of professionalism in the IT industry is more important today than ever.

On a local level we have some symptomatic problems that need to be addressed if we want continue to operate a local section. In the National Capital Region we are trying to deliver a program and provide services that are foremost of value to our CIPS members, and also to the Ottawa IT community. The problem is there are very few present and/or past CIPS members attending our local events.

I recently read an article titled "Professional Associations - Gold Mines or Coal Mines" by Eric Gershon. The complete article can be found at the following URL: http://www.1099.com/c/ar/ta/associations_t004.html.

In the article, Eric writes:

"Of course, not all of an association's members partake equally of membership's rewards. Savia, principal of The Sage Group, a one-man finance, insurance and real estate consulting business in Raleigh, North Carolina, points out that members who make the greatest personal investment in the organization -- by attending meetings, leading committees, and giving speeches and advice -- get the most out of membership. "That's really the place where most people make a mistake," he says. "They join and assume that the association is going to know what their needs are and is going to solve all their problems. We see it all the time at IMC. But I can't refer you if I don't know you. If I don't see you at meetings, if I don't get to know you, how in the world am I going to feel comfortable referring you to someone else? A person needs to make a commitment. They need to get involved."

I appeal to the CIPS Ottawa membership to get more involved in the local board, our committees, and our local events. We can certainly use the support - your personal commitment will ensure the continued growth of our membership and improve our ability to deliver value to our local IT community.

If you would like to get involved, please send an email to CIPS Ottawa at cips@mco.ca and we will contact you.

Rob Tait
President
CIPS Ottawa