Please make plans to attend our annual spring seminar and PDM on Thursday, May 15.  We welcome Keith Launchbury, CFPIM, CIRM and Past International President for a day long professional development activity at the Four Points Sheraton near the Wichita airport.  His main presentation will be "The ESSENTIAL Elements of World Class Manufacturing".  In the evening, he will present "Overcoming the 10 major problems with Enterprise Resource Management".   If you can't make the seminar, please bring a guest and join us for a prime rib dinner.

The last PDM this spring will be Tuesday, June 10, with Rhonda Lummus, Ph.D., CFPIM, CIRM, Associate Professor at Iowa State University and in 2001 she served as chair of the APICS International Conference in San Antonio, Texas.  Her presentation on "Creating Flexible Supply Chains" was very well received at the Nashville Conference so don't miss it. This will be our Top Management Night so please invite your boss to join you at a new location --- watch for details in the next newsletter.

The new Board of Directors for July 2003 - June 2004 will be installed at the June PDM.  If  you think that you might be interested in serving as an officer or on a committee, please contact me or any board member {list of current officers is located later in this newsletter}.  It is a rewarding and worthwhile volunteer activity that can enhance your skills and career development. FREE Training is provided. 

The Student Chapter at WSU has been very active this year and will probably receive another Gold Award for their Passport Activity.  They have done wonderfully promoting APICS on campus. I hope you had a chance to attend the College of Engineering Open House on May 3 and 4 --- more information later in the newsletter.   Also in this newsletter is an update on the APICS Strategic Planning and our own chapter's progress on CPIM Certification Maintenance.

I sincerely appreciate each and everyone of you.  The Wichita Chapter celebrated it's 40^th anniversary this year because you and many others believed in APICS and worked to make it successful.  Your continued investment in maintaining and upgrading your production and inventory control skills will serve you well.   "Lifelong Learning for Lifetime Success"

Last, I wish to acknowledge our website sponsors:  ACCESS GROUP, LLC and SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE.  We could not communicate electronically without their help - please take a minute and let them {see officers' list for e-mail or phone info} know that you appreciate this tool.

THANK YOU,