FROM THE CHAIR 

Frank Leonardi

August 2007

Fellow Quality Professionals,

It is my pleasure to greet you as the incoming chair of ASQ section 1414.  I look forward to an eventful year.  But first, it is with great sadness that I report the passing of Donna Barger.  Donna was a long time ASQ member and active volunteer in our section.  This past year, as Publicity Chair, she broke new ground by developing professional advertisements for ASQ and our section.  Donna also spearheaded our Community Good Works program with Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR), Children's Division.  At our dinner meeting last December, representatives from the organization reported the value they received from our work in the community and their gratitude for our efforts.  Without Donna it is unlikely this would have happened.  Donna always had a smile on her face and a strong desire to improve things not only by teaching others what to do, but also by jumping in and doing what needed to be done.  We will miss her!  One of my goals as Chair is to honor her memory by continuing the work she started.  Please join me in this effort.  We will all be the better for it.

On a more positive note our year started out with a bang… or should I say “a conference”.  In July your section hosted the annual Region 14 Leadership Training Conference.  Based on survey results it was a great success.  We divided the agenda between motivational presentations and the details of what it takes to be a great section.  Friday evening we had a great time in a social setting.  Unfortunately the bats boycotted our bat watching outing.  Oh well, we had a good time snacking and networking. Saturday we provided a full day of training.  It was a lot of work, but with the efforts and support of our excellent team of leaders we had a great time and hosted 32 attendees from several states and Mexico.

I’m told that each chair sets a theme for the year.  I thought long and hard about this and actually have two themes:

The Value of Quality

We know our work has value.  Work by quality professionals affects just about every aspect of our lives.  During this year I would like to solicit specific examples of the value our work brings our society and to us personally.

The Lighter Side of Quality

As quality professionals we often focus on what is broken, what can go wrong, what isn’t being done, what could be done better, etc.  As much as I enjoy my work sometimes it seems like it’s all too serious.  Once again during this year I would love to hear some anecdotes and examples of the humorous side of our profession. 

You can find me on the section website www.asqaustin.org. Please contact me and give me some examples I can share at our meetings.

To wrap up I and the section member-leaders are committed to providing interesting, informative and valuable meetings and events to you, our members.  Let us know what you would like to see happening in your section.  Better yet, volunteer to make something great happen!  That’s the best way to get the most from your membership in ASQ.

See you at the September meeting,

Frank Leonardi, CMQOE