Cheryl Fitzgarrald, a Senior Project Manager at BHMI since 1990, joined the PMI Heartland Chapter in 2004, the same year she completed her PMP certification.  In February of this year, Cheryl was elected to serve an annual term as VP of Membership for the chapter.

The PMI Heartland Chapter in Omaha, NE meets for lunch (11 – 1 PM) the third Wednesday of each month.  Meetings are typically held at the Scott Conference Center located at 6450 Pine St., Omaha, NE 68106.  The Heartland chapter has 580 members and averages 100 attendees per meeting.  The goals of the Heartland chapter are to:

1. provide local learning opportunities for those wishing to pursue the Project Management Professional (PMP®) or the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®) designations. Local learning opportunities include PMP® Study Groups and PMP® Examination Preparation Workshops.

2. provide local educational opportunities for practitioners in the project management field to enhance skills and maintain certification. Local educational opportunities include:

• Providing advanced skills courses, seminars and workshops for PMPs®.
• Working with local higher education institutions in strategically aligning project management and other relevant courses with corporate and project management practitioner needs.

According to Cheryl, a key benefit to membership in the local chapter is training.  Many people join the local PMI chapter prior to earning any project management certifications because, as members, they have access to local mentors, study groups and intensive training sessions.

Study groups meet twice a year to prepare members for upcoming exams.  Training sessions are also held twice a year. In the Spring, the chapter brings in an educational firm to provide a one or two day class.  In the Fall, the chapter offers “ProDev” which is a professional development day.  This year, ProDev is scheduled for September 19th.  Reservations can be made online.

Date: Monday, September 19, 2011
Place: Scott Conference Center
Time: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Cost: $125 for pre-registered members
$150 for non-members and walk-ins
Speakers:
Kate Cornell, Author and Manager of PMO, BPM & Governance at ACI Worldwide
Molly Welsh, Omaha Performing Arts
Scott Kaminski, VP of Support Services, Methodist Hospital
Harold Cliff, President/Executive Director, Omaha Sports Commission
Joe Hanrahan, Manager Brand Management, Mutual of Omaha

In addition to helping members earn certifications, the local chapter helps members maintain existing certifcations.  For example, project managers must earn at least 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) over each 3 year period to maintain a PMP certification.  Chapter members earn these PDUs each time they attend a meeting,  participate in a training event, or volunteer their time.  If you live in NE and are interested in a career in project management or continuing your project management education, please click here to visit the PMI Heartland Chapter website.

About PMI:

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s leading not-for-profit membership association for the project management profession, with more than half a million members and credential holders in more than 185 countries. Their worldwide advocacy for project management is supported by their globally-recognized standards and credentials, their extensive research program, and their professional development opportunities.

PMI offers several project management certifications based on experience, testing and education for members who want to continue their professional development.  These certifications include:

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)^®
• Project Management Professional (PMP)^®
• Program Management Professional (PgMP)^®
• New — PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)^SM
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)^®
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)^®

In addition to earning certifications, PMI members have an opportunity to connect with others in their profession by joining a local chapter.  PMI has more than 250 chapters in more than 70 countries worldwide. See the list of chapters.  Chapter members meet face-to-face to learn from speakers and peers, share what they know and increase their contact network.