Do you ever get so busy with life that you don't take the time to look up?  Believe it or not, we have made it to June.  Hopefully, you have weathered the storms and the flooding in the Houston area during the month of May.   As I look out my office window today, I saw the beautiful sunshine.  It reminds me of all of the beautiful things that are happening with the ATD Houston chapter.

First, have you attended any of the ATD Houston events this year.  There is definitely something for everyone including the Tech Conference in April, the general meetings or one of the webinars focusing on tools for talent development.  We have also had a least four CTN meetings each month in different parts of Houston or maybe you connected with the Young Professionals or the Career Transition group.  If you haven't had the opportunity to attend one of these many splendid events, you are missing out on excellent information related to talent development and connecting with other professionals in the community.

Secondly, many of us in the Houston area took a trip to Orlando, FL to join in  the fun at the ATD International Conference & EXPO.  There were many excellent speakers during the course of the conference.  My favorite speaker was Sugata Mitra.  I also enjoyed meeting many of the companies who were showcasing their offerings at the EXPO.  

During the month of  June, we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary as an ATD chapter.  Come join us at our general meeting on June 9th to celebrate 50 years of great members and great memories.  Also, we will share some of the things we learned from the ATD International Conference & EXPO.

Here's to looking up!

David Bell

President

ATD Houston Chapter

The ATD Houston Chapter is looking forward to an exciting year in 2015!  First of all, we will be celebrating our 50 year anniversary as a chapter in the coming year.  We also plan to host the Technology Expo in April and the Fall Conference in September.  

We will continue to come together with our general chapter meetings and through our Community Training Network (CTN) meetings throughout the year.  

We also hope to reach more of our members with events through the use of virtual technology so that you will have access to expertise and information without having to travel across town.

I would like to share three objectives for our chapter in 2015.

1. We want to create a great experience for our members and guests at all of our meetings and events
2. We want to improve member engagement and retention.  We encourage everyone to get involve to make our chapter better for our members and guests whether it is by volunteering for a specific event or by serving as a part of our newly established leadership team for 2015.
3. We want to make a meaningful contribution to our community.  We can do this by sharing our time and talents in service to others in the Houston community.

If you want to identify ways to get more involved in the chapter, plan to attend the upcoming ATD Houston Membership and Volunteer Showcase at Saint Arnold’s Brewery at 6:00 p.m. on January 13^th.  If you want to provide us feedback, please feel free to send us an e-mail at feedback@tdhouston.org.

So here is to a great year in 2015!

David Bell
ATD Houston Chapter
President 2015

“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.”

John C Maxwell.

For more information about leadership opportunities within the ATD Houston Chapter, send an e-mail expressing your interest and a current resume to leadership@tdhouston.org.