A friendly wager between championship chapters

It has become tradition that the mayors of the two cities competing in any professional sports championship series wage a friendly competition. The recent Red Sox/Cardinals World Series sparked wagers from more than just the mayors, in fact, it extended to the Boston and St. Louis chapters of IFMA! The friendly war of words between IFMA chapters actually began on Twitter. The two chapters, their respective leadership, committee chairs, and even some interested members weighed in with their thoughts and opinions about who was going to win and why. Ultimately, the two chapter presidents decided to settle the score (all in good fun of course) by wagering a basket of their respective town's best wares...should their team lose the World Series. As we know, the Red Sox were too Boston Strong for the Cardinals, and IFMA Boston took home the prize! In a most interesting twist, chapter leadership has agreed to contribute their winnings to the forthcoming charity silent auction that is held at the Holiday Gala on December 12th! So if you want to find out what was in the basket sent direct from St. Louis, you'll have to attend the 2013 Holiday Gala and place a bid in the auction! Meet the Executive Committee Recently, IFMA Boston's executive committee gathered to meet, greet and reflect upon chapter initiatives with the current board of directors. The chapter's executive committee is a panel of previous presidents of IFMA Boston who collectively (and individually) have a great deal of experience and industry insight about the built environment. The executive committee was eager to learn about the results from board's recent strategic planning session, as well as industry trends and the many successes of the Boston chapter of IFMA over the past few years. Thank you to all those on the executive committee for participating in this important tradition! Behind the Scenes of the IFMA Board's Strategic Planning Session On November 5th, the board of directors convened at the Country Club in Brookline for their biennial Strategic Development Retreat. (Special thanks to IFMA member Steven Ballard for the invitation and for being a truly gracious host!) The purpose of this important gathering is to focus the energy of chapter leadership in a way that will help shape the overall direction of the organization. Over the course of the afternoon, this group of nine dedicated professionals, facilitated by Keli Trejo, of Partnering Resources, engaged in a robust dialogue on the "current state" of the chapter and the industry trends that were affecting the business of the chapter. Through a series of activities and break out sessions, the board worked through the trends and threats of the chapter and prioritized potential strategies to address each. Considering that each trend impacted the chapter in a significant way, none were dismissed and a larger dialogue emerged that boiled down to two central questions: What is the "Value Proposition" to the general membership? How do we expand the level of involvement with our members and volunteers? These two questions, all agreed, were really intertwined in the chapter's commitment to engagement. Collectively, the group brainstormed on ideas that could advance those two central engagement themes and as expected, an avalanche of ideas spilled forth. As the meeting drew to a close, Keli gathered the output, promised to distill and summarize for the group. The board's next steps, she noted - would be putting words into action! Joe Flynn, CFM, LEED AP is the 2013 IFMA Boston president, Boston, Mass.