Why do you still remain active in ARMA

Question:

Why do you still remain active in ARMA?

Response:

This question was recently asked by my son during a conversation on retirement. For those of you, who do not know me I have already retired twice, but continue to work as a way to keep my mind active, plus develop my skills and knowledge which in turn provides value to my clients in a profession I enjoy.

Cheryl L. Pederson, CRM, the President of ARMA wrote a great article titled “What’s in it for You?” that recently arrived in my e-mail that listed all the benefits the association provides members. She wrote about the educational opportunities, our annual association conference, networking, friendships, standards and best practices, benchmarking, and unique resources available to association members. She is absolutely correct on stating that these are valuable resources for those who wish to maintain their knowledge base. We owe it to ourselves to take advantage of all the resources available to us to insure that we stay proficient in our chosen profession.

One of the most outstanding programs provided by ARMA, the web seminars, are in my opinion, a real bonus to those of us who do not have the time or resources to attend seminars. While I may not have an immediate need for the type of information the seminar provides, it does increase my understanding of some of the issues brought out by the speaker. The question and answer session after the web seminar provide an opportunity to clarify your understanding directly with the speaker. It is also a bonus to be able to watch the presentation at a time of my convenience.

If I was working in the private and/or public sector I would try to reserve a room to view the presentations as a training session on records management for the staff. For example, one session; “New Rules in Electronic Discovery – and Their Impact upon Records Management”, presented by ARMA International and our own Puget Sound Chapter Member Joan Feldman, Managing Director OF Navigant Consulting Discovery Services Practice Group in Seattle, would be ideal for Information Management and the Legal Department staff. Another session; “Put the Cart Before the Horse: Why records management needs should play a larger role in defining and selecting enterprise content management systems”, presented by ARMA International and our good friend from British Columbia, Canada, Art Bellis, Director of Sales & Marketing for OmniRIM Solutions Inc. Art provides excellent information on the legal and compliance issues on why the records management should be involved in selecting an enterprise content management system.

Remember that the sessions are free as one of the benefits from your membership in the association. You may sign up for the seminars at http://www.arma.org/learningcenter/webseminars/index.cfm . The seminars are also maintained in the archives and available at the same website. Do take advantage of this educational opportunity!

Education is one of the keys to being successful in our profession. Note that our Great Northwest Region Coordinator, Fran Blaylock, wrote an excellent article on “Resilience, the Stepping Stone to a stronger ARMA and RIM Profession” that will appear in the March 2006 newsletters in our region. One statement she makes stood out to me; “Education is the key to staying resilient and prepared to take on any challenge”. Local chapter educational programs provides a forum to gain valuable knowledge of the records and information management field. In addition, the chapter meeting offers the attendees the opportunity to network and share information with others in our profession.

I encourage each and every one to take advantage of your membership and utilize the educational opportunities offered by ARMA International and your local chapter.

BobDalton, CRM of Dalton Consulting

Note: My thanks to Barbara Werelius, Records Manager and Guru at Tacoma Public Utilities, and the Puget Sound Chapter of ARMA for her assistance in the development of this article.