MGA Outstanding Large and Small Section Award Recipients

Large - IEEE Boston Section, Region 1

Congratulations to the following officers for their efforts. 

Small - IEEE Galveston Bay Section, Region 5

Congratulations to the following officers for their efforts.

Large Section = membership greater than 500 members

Small Section = membership less than or equal to 500 members

In November 2003, the Outstanding Large and Small Section Awards were established.  These awards were presented as a substitute for the Outstanding Section Award.

The IEEE Boston Section (R1) held a Job Opportunity Forum that was over-subscribed and provided attending companies a platform to inform the local members and colleagues about technology related employment within greater Boston. The Job Opportunity Forum provides the channel to bridge companies and individuals regarding local technology and engineering employment. It is beneficial to larger organizations that are looking for a well-attended and well-qualified forum. It also allows entrepreneurs and smaller start-ups an opportunity to discuss their employment status and potential needs.

The Boston Section tasked each standing committee Chair and Chapter Chair to draft an Action Plan with activities and programs that engage their members and the strategic plan to recruit new volunteers and new IEEE members. Some action plans were presented during the Section ExCom meeting:

• setup and man IEEE Membership Development (MD) booth at all the Section sponsored local conferences;
• encourage all Chapter Chairs to give a 5 minute introduction of IEEE membership at the beginning of each Chapter meeting; display IEEE MD materials at each Chapter meeting;
• publish a full page “Call for Volunteers” with positions description and time commitment, and the benefits of volunteering, on both paper Section newsletter and Section Web site;
• create Section Facebook page; help each Chapter setup the individual Chapter Facebook group; both the Section’s marketing and publication committees championed the initiative; the members and Chapter Chairs administrated the groups; all the lecture series courses and Chapter meetings were posted at the respective group;
• the Section’s MD Chair worked with the Section’s Chapter Coordinator and all the Chapter Chairs to collect non-IEEE attendees, and reach out to them with IEEE MD materials. In addition, they collaborated to improve Chapter meeting recruitment tools. 

The IEEE Galveston Bay Section (R5) hosted a PRO-AM (Professional-Amateur event), where the Section coordinated with local industry and NASA Johnson Space Center to host guest students from local area universities for a few hours, so that the students get some exposure to the professional environment.

The Section devised annual goals for 2011 at the beginning of the year. The Section membership mainly consists of aerospace professionals. With the downturn of space activities, the Section was concerned with a major loss of membership. In order to offset this concern, the Section implemented the following strategy activities to retain and attract new members:

• organize special seminars on hot topics (e.g. energy-smart grid, clinical engineering, automation workshops, etc.) that can fetch alternate jobs;
• provide membership incentives (e.g., complimentary meetings for laid off members);
• membership upgrades;
• organize project management workshop;
• initiate formation of Consulting Affinity group;
• work with IEEE-USA Aerospace Committee to support aerospace program. 

The IEEE Kerala Section (R10) has a very robust communication plan. Section activities are regularly communicated to members by via newsletter, IEEE eNotice, Web, and e-mail. Four quarterly issues of the IEEE Kerala Newsletter were published in 2011. The revamped IEEE Kerala Web page is updated regularly. The Yahoo e-group of IEEE Kerala members has been effective in communicating with the members. IEEE LINK (Local Integrated Network of Kerala IEEE Students) and the student mailing list are very active among the student community. The IEEE Kerala Section LinkedIn group has also been effectively used to discuss various member issues.

The IEEE North Saskatchewan Section (R7) has organized an IEEE sponsored mentorship program for new graduate students. The aim is to have experienced graduate students show new graduate students the ropes and the benefits of their IEEE membership. IEEE Illumination is a conference organized by the University of Saskatchewan IEEE Student Branch to educate students about industry and career choices through informational and inspirational speakers, workshops, and corporate networking. Illumination, held annually since 2003, focuses on the interpersonal and soft skills that new graduates need to succeed in industry. The conference also enables students to meet and interact with industry professionals and learn about companies in their area of interest. Illumination is a unique conference that further develops engineering students’ skills and prepares them for life after graduation.

The IEEE Southern Minnesota Section (R4) has committed to remote broadcast of meetings because the geographic area does not allow all members to easily attend meetings. On average, the Section has five remote sites viewing meetings, which also includes student group. The Section also actively reaches out to current and prospective members using a variety of methods:

• inviting guests to IEEE meetings;
• slides announcing futures meetings and benefits of membership during pre-meeting social time;
• survey including members and non-members;
• actively promoting the benefits of membership elevation;
• sharing Distinguished Lecturer speakers with other IEEE Sections;
• promoting the benefits of IEEE membership through e-mail and announcements at Section meetings.