Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc. Corporate Blog

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.

On May 21, 2011, Jack and Lynne Baldwin hosted a benefit dinner for Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, Inc. (NWRI) at their residence in Omaha, NE.  Over 25 people were in attendence representing NWRI volunteers and people interested in learning more about and supporting NWRI.

During the evening, guests learned about the following NWRI initiatives through a presentation by Laura Stastny:

• educating children and adults
• rehabilitating injured and abandoned wildlife
• working with state and local agencies to coordinate wild animal care

The real after-dinner treat for all guests was to meet and hold a baby raccoon, coyote, rabbit, wood chuck, and fox.  Below are some photos from the evening.

About NWRI:

Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, NWRI is a professional, non-profit wildlife rehabilitation organization specializing in native Nebraska species.  NWRI holds permits from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to rehabilitate mammals, reptiles, game birds, amphibians, migratory songbirds, waterfowl and wading birds.  Mammal species include bats, squirrels, rabbits, opossums, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, minks, beavers, muskrats, and others. 

NWRI also works to bring hands-on educational programs to students of all ages, including our Outdoor Science Classroom initiative. 

Through the generous support of Ash Grove in Louisville, Nebraska, NWRI has a new home in a 4,500 square foot building just off Highway 50 and just 10 minutes south of the I-80 Sapp Brothers exit.  NWRI accomplishes its mission through the efforts of unpaid volunteers.  This new home allows NWRI to give better support to its volunteers and provides a great location for the wildlife rehabilitation training that each volunteer must take. 

The organization is sustained solely from the contributions of its community of supporters.  To learn more about NWRI, please visit www.nebraskawildliferehab.org or read an article about NWRI featured in the July 2011 issue of metroMAGAZINE. 

Over the years, BHMI has been a proud supporter of Easter Seals Nebraska.  This year is no different.  BHMI has stepped up to be a food and activity sponsor for the upcoming Easter Seals Nebraska’s Family Fun Fest Carnival and Kickball Tournament presented by Omaha Track Material coming to ALLPLAY Sports Complex August 27, 2011!  All proceeds from the event will help fund Easter Seals Nebraska’s programs and services for individuals with disabilities throughout the State of Nebraska.

The 6th Annual Bike Omaha Commuter Challenge presented by Trek Bicycle Stores of Omaha is on! This year, riders will track their trips/miles ridden to work from May 1 through October 1, 2011.

Once again, a team of BHMI employees is taking the challenge.  In fact, as of today, they are in 3rd place in their division!

City wide stats can be found here:

http://www.cycle-tracker.com/activate_omaha/index.php

Good luck and safe riding to Team BHMI!

BHMI hopes all its customers in the United States of America have a safe and joyous Fourth of July, as we celebrate our Nation’s 235^th birthday.  As you gather with family and friends to celebrate the freedom we all enjoy, remember those, some far from home, who make this patriotic holiday possible.   

BHMI would like to thank all the men and women who are spending their Fourth in other parts of world helping to protect the rights of others who, like us, value freedom and independence.

Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc. (BHMI), a leading supplier of high-volume transaction processing solutions, announced today that Concourse – Transaction Messaging System™ (Concourse – TMS™) is now available on the Linux platform.  Read full press release>>

The North Omaha Kiwanis Club is an organization of business and professional men and women who work with local children and youth; enabling them to become better prepared for the future. 

In order to carry out their mission, the club keeps a close eye on current news and events in the Omaha area.  Rev. Frederick (Fred) A. Felger, serving as the June Program Chair for the club, had read a recent article in the Midland’s Business Journal about BHMI and thought the members of the North Omaha Kiwanis would benefit from learning more about BHMI’s software products and services.  Felger invited BHMI to speak at the club’s meeting on Friday, June 24, 2011.

Ryan Moore, Senior Software Engineer at BHMI, delivered an introduction on BHMI to the group.  He also provided specific examples of software applications BHMI has created for customers.  Ryan then highlighted BHMI’s long standing intern program and offered some advice on how students can be successful in a computer science career.

Today, BHMI announced a partnership with WiseData to distribute Concourse – TMS in the South Korean market.  As our exclusive distributor in South Korea, WiseData is authorized to sell Concourse – TMS software licenses and provide local support.  BHMI selected WiseData because it has the people, technology, and experience to implement and support a critical middleware product like Concourse – TMS. 

Read the full press release>>

Subscribe to this blog and we will keep you informed of how things are progressing with this new partnership.

Thanks to all who entered the BHMI 25 Year Anniversary Applie iPad2 Giveaway.  The winner of the iPad2 is John Manno, VP of Business Development at Kirby Engine Systems. 

A subsidiary of Kirby Corporation, Kirby Engine Systems overhauls and services medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines and reduction gears, and sells diesel engine parts. Kirby Engine Systems provides these services to distinct segments of the market through its two subsidiaries, Marine Systems, Inc. and Engine Systems, Inc. The diesel engines are used in marine, power generation and railroad applications.

Congratulations John!