SHRM Maine State Council

Greetings to my fellow HR Professionals throughout the great State of Maine!

Another Maine HR Convention has come and gone and before too long, Bud, Heather, DJ, Becky, and Cathleen will start planning for the 2014 Maine HR Convention!  It takes that long to put together such a high quality, high energy program and I know I’m not alone when I say that it’s definitely time well spent.  Every year seems to out-do the previous year and this year was no exception.  SHRM Maine State Council continues to proudly endorse this fine event.

The convention provides a complimentary day on Tuesday to volunteer leaders in the state so we can participate in Leadership Day, as it’s come to be known, without any financial constraints.  The Council coordinates the morning by lining up speakers and a sponsor for the morning’s meetings.  This year we were honored to have several SHRM staffers among our presenters, as well as a former SHRM staffer and three representatives from the EEOC.  Susan Post, Director, SHRM Eastern Region, and Liz Van Berg, our Regional Administrator, kicked off our morning with a SHRM update.  Kris Avery, Immediate Past MESHRM Director and SHRM Eastern Region Membership Advisory Council (MAC) Rep, provided the group with some insights into her new role as our Eastern Region leader.  We got a look inside the EEOC from Kevin Berry, District Director for the NY District Office, Bryan White, Program Analyst for the NY District Office, and Kenneth An, Acting Director of the EEOC Boston Area Office.

We also were fortunate to have Pam Green, President & Founder at Power Project Institute present to our group on leadership and Lisa Horn, Co-Leader for SHRM’s Workplace Flexibility Initiative, give us an overview of SHRM’s Workplace Flexibility Initiative.  And finally, we recognized Kris Avery for her dedication and service to MESHRM as Council Director for 2011 and 2012.  We barely had time to grab lunch before the HR Awards.  A SHRM congratulations to Mary Beth Turcotte, Director of Human Resources at Bernstein Shur and Co-Chair of the Diversity Hiring Coalition, as the 2013 HR LEADER OF THE YEAR!  Congratulations Mary Beth!

All of this before the first keynote speaker and so much more to look forward to.  There was learning, fun, good food, great people, new friends, great weather (for the most part), brainstorming, dancing, and so much more.  I’ve already marked my calendar for next year May 6-9. . .have YOU?!

Deb Whitworth, SPHR

State Director - SHRM Maine State Council

 
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