Dear GTC IFMA members,
I am very excited to have been given the opportunity to serve as Chapter President for the 2018-2019 term. I came to this role at a rather late point in my Facility Management career, having been a member for almost 20 years.
A couple of years ago, I was getting ready to retire and was preparing my “Bucket List”. One of the items on the list was to be more active in our local chapter. After participating in several IFMA National projects and serving on the GTC Professional Development Committee, I ran for and was elected to the Board as Chapter Secretary. My PDC committee mate, Robert Sunukjian, was serving as Treasurer; my colleagues, Connie Drake and Laura Shaw, were serving as President and Immediate Past President respectively. The group had a proven record for working well together…it just felt “right”. So far, it’s been one of the best “Bucket List” items I’ve done!
What’s the key? In my opinion, becoming engaged in the workings of the Chapter and accepting last year’s President Robert Sunukjian’s challenge to increase volunteerism. He and the rest of the Board members made it easy to do so by updating the Committee leader’s job descriptions so that roles would be better defined and implementing a project work sheet system for the committees to use for events and goals. Combine that with an awesome array of Committee Chairs, Co-chairs, and volunteers, and I can confidently say that we had a very successful year.
I have every reason to believe that this year will be just a good, if not better. We’ve made it easy to work on a committee by allowing people to choose how much they want to participate. Members can head an event or just working on specific tasks that contribute to the event allowing all to participate according to their interests, capabilities, and availability. Try something new! Pick and choose the best fit for you according to your particular passion in the Facility Management field.
You’re invited to become not just engaged in the Greater Triangle Chapter of IFMA, but EXTREMELY ENGAGED. Contact a committee chair and find out what opportunities are open to you to learn more about our great organization. It’s easy to do that by visiting our updated website: https://ifmatriangle.org/
I’ll sign off with a quote by Howard Schultz, former Executive Chairman of Starbucks (who coincidently, is retiring as of June 30 of this year):
“When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible.”
To me, that describes IFMA. Please join the new Board, Robert Sunukjian (Immediate Past President), Justin Barber (Vice President), Angel Bond (Treasurer), Haley Conover (Secretary), and myself as we explore new possibilities. We look forward to being extremely engaged with all of you!
Cris Karasek
President 2018-2019
