Message from the Executive Director
The New Rules of the Road: It’s Not “Us and Them;” It’s “Us”
By: Barbara C. Higgens, PMI Executive Director
One of the biggest changes in PMI since its restructuring in 1998 is the current and effective, inclusive nature of our initiatives. Once known as the “Just Say ‘No’ Bunch,” today PMI is leading the charge on a number of fronts. PMI has become the voice and the choice for our industry. As we enter another new decade, we continue to solidify our position as the go-to source for information and action.
We are proactively promoting legislation that supports water efficiency and harmonization of product content requirements. We have successfully partnered with groups, both domestic and international, that share our vision and we have reached out to seemingly disparate groups to find areas of common ground. Appropriately, the attitude of the PMI Board of Directors and our membership is that it can no longer be a matter of “us and them.” To maximize our progress it must be simply “us,” working together to achieve our mutual goals.
The 2010 Spring Meeting is being built around these successes. Our theme, “Expanding the Value,” speaks to the concerted efforts we have in-the-works for reaching out to important new allies, adding new prospective product group members to our roster, inviting more participation by representatives from within current member companies and our mission to enhance the international value and knowledge of our membership.
We will hear updates from around our industry from our invited guests. (By the way, the historic and prestigious meeting venue, San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado, once again fulfills the directives of the Board and our members by being located within an hour of an airport and with rates under $200 per night!)
Another significant change over the years has been the increasingly strategic use of the talented PMI Board of Directors. In the early years, much of the efforts were, rightfully, focused on creating the structure and setting the direction of the “new” PMI. While the management of the organization’s operations, staff and finances fall squarely on my shoulders, approvals for policies and strategies are the responsibility of the PMI Board of Directors.
With the structure solidly in place, the dissatisfaction of the membership and the uncertainty of PMI’s chances for survival are distant memories. With the rotation of the Board, the membership at large and even our PMI staff, not many individuals currently active in PMI realize how far we have come. Not many people remember that the PMI meetings were set around not one, but two golf tournaments in the three-day conference. Work on industry issues occurred basically twice per year at the conferences (in the fall and the winter/spring) with few committee meetings in between. There was no “PMI News,” “Tech Talk,” conference calls or email blasts to bond members and keep them apprised of progress between conferences. Government affairs were monitored only on the national level and not state-by-state as they are today. Action by the association was, at best, slow and was typically reactive, not proactive. Dues and spending increased annually and “special assessments” were common.
Today our successes, financial stability, the efficiency of our meetings and industry reputation are “givens.” With the influx of new leaders and members, the question becomes, “What have you done for us lately?” While the progress we have made is worthy of noting, as one not content to live in the past or rest on my laurels, the constant push suits me just fine! I’ve earned a reputation as being responsible for taking the “fun” out of PMI meetings. As much as I hate the sound of that, I am pleased at the progress we make on our issues by working on them between meetings and using the conferences as the reporting mechanism. Our meeting templates have been copied by other organizations looking for “best practices.”
Expect great things as we enter another decade. Keep those ideas, comments, criticisms and challenges coming. PMI is your organization. We are up to the challenge!