February is our traditional month for a joint meeting with the National Association of Purchasing Managers - Wichita {NAPM-W}.  They are hosting this year so the PDM is on Thursday, February 13 at the Petroleum Club.  These meetings have been well attended and an excellent time to network in the past so please join us as our own Barry Dick, CPIM, opens the evening with "The ABCs of Cycle Counting".  

Our Program for March and April maybe changing --- details are still pending at press time.  We will have a plant tour one month and a Professional Development Meeting celebrating our 40^th Anniversary the other.   We will present certificates at the PDM for our new members, CPIM pins for those recently certified and multiple five-year service pins for those with "first joined dates" in years ending in 19x3 or 19x8.   Several of the Past-Presidents will hold a round table on "how great things were back then".

Please mark your calendars for the Wichita Spring Seminar on Thursday, May 15, 2003.  Keith Launchbury, CFPIM, CIRM, will present ”The ESSENTIAL Elements of World Class Manufacturing".  This will be an all day seminar.  He will present the PDM talk that evening.  If you have questions or need additional information, please contact President-elect Ron Kammerer, E-mail: president-elect@apics-wichita.com .

We welcome Crystal Morgan, CPIM, to the Board of Directors.  She was appointed VP Programs at the last BOD meeting to replace Jason Harris.   She and Steven Boyer, our new Secretary, attended the last Board meeting.  Crystal works for Boeing and Steven works for Precision Pattern Inc.   The contributions of all volunteers, especially those in Board positions, are sincerely appreciated.  They make this organization possible and keep it functioning – THANK YOU!

We are currently seeking nominations for the new year, which starts July 1, 2003. It is a golden opportunity to learn a new skill and/or add new credentials to your resume at no cost.  You are invited to our next Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Access Group, LLC, esp. if you are interested in a board position.   Please contact the Nominations Committee:  Ron Kammerer, CPIM, CIRM;  Steve Plaster, CPIM; or Brian Maschino, CPIM if you are interested. 

Several of the Board are planning to attend a regional workshop on "Strategic Planning" in Des Moines on Feb. 22.   This is just one example of "free" training that is available in exchange for a little volunteer time.  The next regional meeting is scheduled for April in NW Iowa.   We are tentatively planning a mini-regional meeting in Wichita next fall.  And yes, your attendance at these meetings counts for CPIM certification maintenance points.

We are happy to publish any and all essays related to resource management in this newsletter. They should be submitted by the twentieth of the month prior to publication to my attention: president@apics-wichita.com .   A newsletter article counts as 2 CPIM maintenance points.