2010-11 was a bit of a roller coaster year for our industry. We started out in pretty ominous place, then things started looking up, and now it feels like we are back to feeling somewhat uncertain about the state of the economy and, more specifically, how it relates to A/E/C firms in an area of the country that isn’t necessarily a hotbed for growth right now. But we are fighting through it, and over the last 10 months SMPS Maine has achieved several successes.

Education/Programs:

• Programs led by SMPS Fellows on:
  • client debriefings
  • effective writing strategies
• Plus great programs on:
  • corporate social responsibility
  • integrated project design
• Client panels related to
  • the Maine/NH bridges issue
  • the future of sustainable design
  • hospital master planning
• Each of these events had time for networking built in, plus we had three great social events as well.

• 15% of our members are now Certified Professional Services Marketers – which is very good comparatively speaking – but we’d like to see that number grow even more. Katy Hews is very passionate about advancing the number of CPSMs in our chapter, so if you have interest, please email her at katy@marketivity.com, as she is trying to assemble a study group.

Membership:

• Despite losing some members who have had to leave the industry due to the challenging job market, and losing others whose firms have had to cut back on expenses, our Chapter has grown by about 10% since the beginning of the year.

• We are really hoping to get some traction in regard to membership, and would love for all of you to help sing our praises to your colleagues so that we can add members, which in turn will add value for everybody.

Financial:

• We are in a tough economy, but by taking a conservative approach to spending and raising our non-member event fees, we have been able to build our balance sheet back up to a place where we can really start to make investments in the Chapter again.

Sponsors:

• A big part of the reason we have been able to get back to a good place is through the generous support of our sponsors:
  • Bronze: Logo Owl Promotional Advertising
  • Silver: Woodard & Curran, SMRT, and Maine Turnpike Authority
  • Gold: Mainebiz, Northeast Technology Alliance, and GEI Consultants
  • Platinum: Terracon

The other people I really have to thank are our board members:

Being on the board of a non-profit professional organization isn’t always as glamorous as it might seem, and we couldn’t do it without the hard work of these people and the support of their firms.

We have a few people who are finishing up their terms, so I’d first like to recognize them:

• Secretary: Kim Stiver, CD&M Communications
  Kim has been a great resource to us, as she comes from outside our industry and has always provided unique insight into the challenges that we face.

• Director: Scott Tompkins, Maine Turnpike Authority
  Scott has been so valuable in providing guidance to us over the last few years. He is extremely well-connected in not only the A/E/C community, but the community in general, and his knowledge and relationships have been invaluable.

• Past President: Katy Hews, CPSM, Marketivity
  Katy is passionate about making SMPS Maine a place for great educational programs that result in our members being able to elevate themselves within their firms and grow their careers.

Our 2011-12 board is very diverse in terms of geography and is representative of all facets of the A/E/C industry:

• Director: Paul Stevens, SMRT (Portland)
• Secretary: Allison Lynch, Ledgewood Construction (South Portland)
• Treasurer, Kevin Gendreau, CES (Brewer)
• Past President, Jen Andrews, CPSM, Woodard & Curran (Portland)
• President Elect: Allison Sovetsky, CPSM, Woodard & Curran (Portland)
• President: Anne Weidman, JSA (Portsmouth)

I know Anne Weidman has a lot of exciting things planned for next year and the incoming and outgoing boards will use the summer months to get a really solid approach together for the 2011-12 SMPS year, which marks the Maine Chapter’s 20^th anniversary. If you have any thoughts or want to volunteer to be on a committee or sponsor, please let me know and I would be happy to talk to you about it!

Jen Andrews, CPSM

SMPS Maine Chapter President

jandrews@woodardcurran.com