President's Message
written by Holly Teska

Welcome to a new programming year for HRMA!  As your president, I am starting the year with great excitement and a renewed commitment to serving the HR professional and advancing the HR profession.  I hope you will join me in that excitement and commitment as collectively we can increase the growing appreciation of the HR profession and the role we play in delivering bottom-line value through effective human capital management.

The theme for this year is:  HR...business success through people.  Those of you who have seen the recent Fast Company article entitled:  Why We Hate HR, know that we have a lot of work to do to change perceptions about HR.  It is imperative that as HR professionals we continue to contribute to the strategic success of our businesses.  We have come a long way, but we can't stop to rest now.

During the last several months the program committee has been working hard to provide a line up of programs that will bring value to you as a member.  Take a look at the programs on tap for 2005-2006.  We start September with Myrna Hellerman, Sibson Consulting, presenting on Employee Value Proposition.  In October we will be bring local HR leaders together for a panel discussion on Future Trends and Practices in HR.  November features Wayne Baker on the topic of Smart Networking.  Rebecca Ryan headlines our Diversity Conference in February and Marshall Goldsmith provides three distinct programs on Coaching in March.  April is the month of our Spring Conference and Talent Acquisition is the topic for our May program. 

I urge all of you to attend each of these programs for a superior educational opportunity, networking and enhancing your ability to contribute strategically to your business.

Speaking of educational opportunities, the Wisconsin State SHRM Conference is approaching very quickly.  Mark your calendar for September 29 through 30 and please help spread the word.  The conference is in our backyard this year (at the Midwest Airlines Center) and the committee has a wonderful event planned.

Check out these keynote speakers!  We will have SHRM's very own President & CEO, Sue Meisinger, presenting on HR Competencies:  What HR Professionals Need to Suceed in the Next Decade, as well as noted author, Ram Charan.  Also -- I saw Margaret Morford present last year at the national SHRM leadership conference and you shouldn't miss her!  She is wonderful.

Keynote speakers at the Wisconsin State SHRM Conference: 

• Ram Charan, highly acclaimed business advisor, former Harvard professor and author of Execution and Confronting Reality
• Margaret Morford, President, The HR Edge, Inc. and one of the top 10 speakers at the 2004 SHRM National Conference
• Susan Meisinger, SPHR, President & CEO, Society for Human Resource Management

I hope to see as many of you as possible in attendance.  Remember, our chapter benefits directly from the success of this event!  Let's show the state that Milwaukee and HRMA are great.  You can find additional details on the conference on the WI SHRM website.

On a more somber note, by now I’m sure you have all heard the news that Vicky Wakefield passed away earlier this month.  It feels like I have been unable to wake up from a bad dream since I received the call from Jane Navis just before lunch that morning.  We were all so encouraged by Vicky’s strong resolve to overcome her cancer… I don’t think any of us thought for more than a few moments that anyone except Vicky would win this battle.  But apparently she was needed elsewhere.  I can only think that perhaps God was having HR issues with the angels above… so he called on the expert.  Why else would someone so bright and full of life and inspiration be pulled from us at such a young age?  It is a sad time for us all and a terrible loss to everyone who knew her as well as the Human Resources profession and the Milwaukee business community.
 
For those who may not have seen it, I want to call your attention to a wonderful article that appeared in the Journal/Sentinel:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/nobits/aug05/348451.asp.  The writer interviewed Vicky’s husband Tom. 

I think Tom’s quote from the article sums it up…"She regularly challenged people professionally to find within themselves strengths and skills that they had not yet discovered," Thomas Wakefield said. "Those who came to know the force of her personality and her convictions credit her with having dramatically impacted their careers and lives."

Personally, I can’t ever think of a time I walked away from a conversation with Vicky where I had not learned something from her. She was a wonderful friend, awesome mentor, and truly an inspiration in my life. I will miss her tremendously and hope that she continues to guide us all from "behind the scenes" in the pursuit of advancing the HR profession.  It was truly her passion and she would want us to carry that passion on. 
 
Please keep Vicky, Tom, and the entire family in your thoughts and prayers.

I wish you all a very successful year and thank you for the honor to serve as your president in 2005/2006.

All the best!

Holly 

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