2006-2007 Annual Report

PRESIDENT – Kristin BergstromFor those of you who haven't already asked, yes, being president was a wonderful experience.  It was wonderful because we have incredible members:  bright, interesting women who make things happen.  When they decide to do something, they get it done.  They also share a generosity of spirit (and a capacity to play), which makes this organization a very good place to be.  

This past year, we started working to carry out the objectives of our strategic plan.  Our strategic plan was built on what our members told us they wanted and their vision for the future.  And it has been working! 

Read below the reports from the Board teams who developed their activities around the Strategic Plan. Much was accomplished this year and many of the activities will continue the momentum into next year.  The Nominating Committee has worked hard to build a strong incoming Board of Directors.  If you are interested in becoming more involved, let the Nominating Committee or any committee chair know. 

As I write this, I know I have missed some of the fun things, such as the new special interests groups which have started this year.  And I so I won’t miss someone or a committee that should be recognized, I will say thank you to all the Board members, committees and members who contributed to a wonderful year.  You can see why being president has been such a great job!

Dyann Kostello will become the new president for next year.  Since she is bright, creative and gets things done (as well as being an all around wonderful person), it is going to be a great new year.  Thanks to Lois Dee, because she does everything, and thanks to all of you for this year.

STRATEGIC PLANNING – Paula KielyWith the completion of the Strategic Plan in spring 2006, this year was devoted to creating objections and strategies to help meet the five strategic imperatives.  Each imperative was assigned to one vice president, with one or more directors and their committees working toward the effort.  The imperatives include:  1)  Brand - Professional Dimensions will define and create a brand to realize its vision; 2) Membership - Professional Dimensions will be the women’s organization of choice for successful business and professional women who are engaged in its mission; 3)  Programming - Professional Dimensions will offer relevant, member-driven programming that advances women professionally and personally in their careers and communities; 4) Influence - Professional Dimensions will be a leader, offering solutions to important community issues; and 5) Money - Professional Dimensions will obtain the financial resources necessary to achieve its vision.  The plan is expected to guide the organization for the next 3-4 years. 

 The Strategic Planning Vice President’s efforts were directed at assisting the other VPs in organizing their plans and activities that will help PD reach its goals and strategic imperatives.  Using a standardized work plan format, each group set achievable goals for the 2006-07 year.  Activities and tasks were identified, deadlines and budgets set and responsibility assigned.  VPs were asked to report on activities and progress monthly.

 I’m pleased to report that excellent progress has been made in all areas.  The level of enthusiasm for the plan was evident from the first planning session and maintained throughout the year.

 Next year, Strategic Planning will begin an evaluation process that will ask the membership to measure our success in each area.  A work group will be formed to provide greater input into the process and to set in place a plan to transition to a new vice president and the next planning process.

 ADMINISTRATION – Mary McCormick, Caroline Krider, Amy Kolb, Kimberly Noon  Administration continues to review by-laws, policies and procedures, office services and organizational infrastructure. This year additional effort went into looking at possible efficiencies that could be gained by combining administration of the two separate organizations of the Charitable Fund and PD. Financial oversight and tax prep moved along with on time with monthly review by the Board. Nominating Committee worked long and hard to identify candidates to continue to lead this organization into 2008. Great job, team!

 COMMUNICATION – Christine Baranoucky, Tracey Carson, Molly Quirk, Therese Hamilton  The communication team was charged with evaluating the materials Professional Dimensions was using to communicate their overall message.  The members-only, password-projected part of the Web site was recently redesigned and updated to allow more flexibility in searching for members and in making reservations for meetings, accepting credit cards.  Despite that update, the public part of the site is still rather limiting and changes cannot be made easily.  As such, the site remains rather stagnant. A request was made to the company who built the password protected part of the site and a proposal was presented.  It is planned that additional proposals will be obtained in the next PD year with implementation of these changes to occur also during the upcoming year.

 The production of the PD newsletter continues without pause, with the hope of engaging and connecting members to the activities and women of Professional Dimensions.  A one page summary of PD was created by this group, to be used for potential speakers and new members to help engage the community.  The PD letterhead was also redesigned with implementation of this new design next year.

 Opportunities to engage the community as well as highlight Professional Dimensions were sought after throughout the year, including an article featuring the 2007 Saci artist in a local north shore newspaper.

 COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE – Karen Ordinans, Mary Dowell  The mission and purpose of the PD Community Affairs Committee is to position PD’s identity as a visionary, diverse group of community leaders who are making a profound impact on the Milwaukee community.  Our efforts and success is focused within several key initiatives:

1. We strived to utilize the PD organization to leverage relationships and talents of PD women to achieve appointments on community and corporate boards, and prominent community positions.  Through the sharing of information and relationships with the Greater Milwaukee Committee and Milwaukee Women Inc. several women have been appointed to local corporate boards with additional potential opportunities in the process of being  cultivated.
2. A program titled Issues Beyond Boundaries was provided to PD members to access information regarding regional issues facing Greater Milwaukee that affect our economic stability, quality of life and personal careers.  The committee is pursuing future programs that allow PD members to influence decisions on regional issues.
3. “Racism in our community” was identified as an issue committee members desired to bring to the forefront of PD.  Thoughtful and deliberate planning is currently taking place on how to ensure future PD member involvement.  The process involves three stages; 1) Reflection-how we look at race relations within ourselves, 2) Connection- learning how other organizations are address race relations, and 3) Action-what can PD do as an organization to address race relations.  To begin the conversation, the following question has been posed.  “What do you see as the top three practical problems of racism as it affects women in this community and why do you think these are the most challenging?” 

 MEMBERSHIP – Julie Pedretti, Heidi Holdener, Jane Wood, Jamie Pratt  The whole membership team and committees worked very hard toward our goals and have achieved wonderful results:

Objective 1: Recruit 50 new members Through active committee work and special member-involvement contests (Shining Star), more than 45 new members have already been added and it is expected that the goal of 50 will be reached this summer. New members have been selected based on the richness of diversity including age, ethnicity and professional roles.

Objective 2: Clearly community the type of new members we are seeking  Frequent and clear communications to committee members and members-at-large (through the newsletter and at monthly meetings) have helped focus recruitment efforts on diverse membership candidates (age, ethnicity and profession).

Objective 3: Develop “Shining Stars” recruitment program Contest at the holiday party was well-received, created a buzz among members and brought in nearly a dozen solid candidates.

Objective 4: Assist all new members in becoming acquainted with and involved in PD.  Planned two successful orientation events, one in fall and one in spring. As new members joined, the chair assigned them to a committee member and that person made contact, invited the new member to meetings and facilitation the connection to committees and interest group. New members also were invited to help at the meeting reception table so they could more easily and quickly meet PD members.

Objective 5: Encourage all new members to become involved.  Committee members contacted all 2^nd and 3^rd year members to make sure they had a point of contact. Each member had5-6 assigned to them and made phone calls or scheduled personal visits. They shared information about, and connected them with, committee and special interest groups.

 PROGRAM – Pam Klein, Beth Bauer, Anne Tidmore This has been a year of change and improvement for the Programs Committee under the able leadership of Pam Klein, VP Programs, Beth Bauer chair of Program Chair and Anne Tidmore Special Events Chair.  The move from the Wisconsin Women’s Club to the University Club has had a few bumps but overall has worked out -- especially the covered parking lot.  The committee has worked hard to achieve its strategic goal of offering relevant, member-driven programming that advances women professionally and personally in their careers and communities.  A significant number of PD members have participated on the Program Committee offering interesting and well-received speakers and topics at our regular meetings.  Topics have ranged from race relations in Milwaukee to the new efforts to strengthen regional cooperation in Southeastern Wisconsin.  The quality of the programs and the appeal to members is evident in the increased attendance at meetings from average of 72 attendees per meeting last year to an average of 85 attendees per meeting this year.  A portion of the attendance increase may be further attributed to improvement in the marketing materials to promote our member meetings.

An effort was also made to try to make new member at our meeting feel more welcomed so greeters were assigned to seek them out.  We also offered table topics at some meetings to encourage more interaction between members and held a very well received “6 Degrees of Separation” networking meeting. We are ending the year with a full and interesting fall schedule planned that we hope will continue to appeal to members and their guests.

CHARITABLE FUND – Barbara Armstrong  The Charitable Fund has had a busy year- supporting our current chosen project; The Women’s Harm Reduction Program at the Benedict Center (WHRP) and selecting our next commitment to a community organization /program that works to develop economic self sufficiency for women and children in our community.  We are proud to report success in both of these efforts as well as our annual Sacagawea dinner!

Our current project:  During the last two years (and ongoing until the fall kick-off for our new project), the champion team led by Tina Chang and Christy Brown has been hard at work educating our membership on the challenging issues facing women in our criminal justice system and the alternatives to incarceration provided by the Benedict Center’s Women’s Harm Reduction Program.  Through their work of direct solicitation of members and special events and our Sacagawea dinner we have made a substantial financial impact on the organization and its outreach to help women and their families overcome the obstacles resulting from criminal behavior.  Watch for the financial summary for the project in the next newsletter.

Our new project: After careful deliberations, the Charitable Fund Board has selected The Dominican Center for Women to be the recipient of our attention for the 2007-2009 sessions.  The Dominican Center for Women provides support services to women striving to achieve economic stability.  It has been operating successfully in the central city since 1990.  Its mission is to help women and their families develop their voice and their potential while transforming the surrounding 12 block neighborhood into a safe place for families.  The Center has a well established record of helping neighborhood residents, primarily female heads of households, to attain three cornerstones of self sufficiency: education, self esteem and home ownership. This project will be connected to PD through its primary Champions Anne Curley and Margaret Henningsen.  You can look forward to learning more about this organization and its impact in the fall of 2007.

 In addition to these two projects, the PDCF is proud to announce that the proceeds for the Sacagawea dinner held in March 2007 were $57,000.  A great team led by Donna Bembenek and Pauline Foster were able to achieve these great financial support because of the tremendous efforts of many of our members to solicit sponsorships and corporate tables.  Thanks to all who made the event a memorable evening and a financially successful one as well.