Plan Your Arrival Carefully; Don't Miss Important Activities

When you register for the Asheville Professional Forum and make plans for when you'll arrive, keep in mind that there are high-value activities that take place before Monday. For instance, those with project management responsibilities may want to take the class Facilities Planning and Project Management, which runs Friday through Sunday. On Sunday, IAMC offers Research Roundtable, Women's Brunch, Health & Science Companies Action Group and Leadership Seminar. Sunday evening, don't miss the welcome reception and dinner on the terrace of Biltmore Estate. The evening includes a tour of the 200-room mansion and grounds, which should be spectacular as IAMC will be there at the height of Biltmore's annual flower festival. Make your flight and Grove Park Inn reservations accordingly.

Biltmore Gardens during the Flower Festival Source: www.biltmore.com

Pump Up your Project Management Skills by Taking BOMI International's Class in Asheville

As head or a member of CREM project teams, you need the latest management thinking at your fingertips so that you can help deliver the best possible project results. Get the latest project management know-how by taking the BCIR-hosted BOMI International class "Facilities Planning and Project Management" on May 1-3, 2009, in conjunction with the Asheville Professional Forum. You may take this class as a stand-alone or in conjunction with attending the Asheville Professional Forum, which immediately follows it. To sign up, click here. For more information, please e-mail Joel Parker at joel.parker@iamc.org.

Research Roundtable to Focus on CREM Database Systems

Corporate real estate (CREM) database management systems will be the topic of the Asheville Research Roundtable. Program moderators Jim Winter of Alcoa and Lisa Speltz on Nestle Waters N.A. will explore with the participants how they use these systems to deliver valuable information and services to their companies. Based on preliminary conversations on the topic, it became clear that even Actives using the same software were often using it in unique and creative ways. Through the database system, some corporate real estate departments are providing valuable services to such departments as purchasing and human resources. An objective of the Asheville program will be to identify and share unique database system capabilities that Actives could adapt to their operations to increase the department's value to the company.

Women's Brunch to Discuss Routes to IAMC Leadership

IAMC's leaders would like to boost participation in the Women's Brunch program that happens at the Asheville Professional Forum on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. To enable more Actives to attend, Research Roundtable has been moved to the Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. time slot. One item on the Women's Brunch agenda will be a discussion to learn from the attendees what IAMC might do to get more women into IAMC leadership positions. Please attend and contribute your ideas. For more information, please e-mail Angel Fortenberry at angel.fortenberry@iamc.org.

Sean Nugent of Pfizer

Health and Science Companies Action Group

IAMC pharmaceutical, medical products and services companies have organized themselves into an industry group called the Health & Science Companies Action Group (HSCAG), led by Sean Nugent of Pfizer and Pat McKee of UGL-Equis. The group, which is for Active members only, met for the first time at the Oklahoma City Professional Forum and plans to meet at the Asheville Forum on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. If you would like to attend this meeting, please RSVP to Pat McKee at Pat.McKee@ugl-equis.com or 602-908-3442.

Retirees Networking Committee

IAMC is organizing a group that will be geared to the needs of its retired members and those who will retire in the next 18 months. Former board of directors chair Scott Reed and current board member Wayne Young have provided the initiative behind this effort. The Retirees Networking Committee plans to meet during the Asheville Forum on Monday at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. This will be an organizational meeting that's open to all who feel that they fit the group's description. The meeting room and agenda will be provided in a future edition of IAMC Dispatch Newsletter. For more information, please e-mail Joel Parker at joel.parker@iamc.org.

Forum presenter David Goldsmith Source: http://davidgoldsmith.com/photos.htm

Management Strategist to Kick Off Asheville Forum

One of the country's top management innovators, David Goldsmith, will deliver the Asheville Professional Forum's Monday morning keynote address. His Web site says, "Goldsmith is one of the world's premier business forecasters and management strategists. As co-founder of MetaMatrix Consulting Group LLC, and founder of nine separate businesses, David understands what it takes to bring transformation change to his clients by uncovering opportunities yet to be explored while addressing current business challenges in ways never taken. His solutions alter the futures of entire industries. It's why he's often asked to predict what's next in industries from aerospace and construction to transportation and food production. ... Wharton School of Business asked him to keynote [their annual conference] for 5 consecutive years."

Forum presenter Mark Vitner Source: www.pbs.org

Wachovia Economist to Address
Wednesday General Session

Wachovia Bank has been near the center of the recent storm involving large U.S. financial services companies, and as a result is being acquired by Wells Fargo Bank. Wachovia's Senior Economist Mark Vitner will give his first-person perspectives on what's happening in the economy and where it's likely to go in the near future. His bio says, "Mark Vitner joined Wachovia in 1993 and is responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends. He writes Wachovia's economic newsletter, Regional Economic Review, and also contributes to their Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary. Prior to joining Wachovia, Mark was economist for Barnett Banks in Jacksonville, Florida for approximately nine years."

North Carolina Featured In Site Selection Cover Story

To learn how the state that will host the Asheville Professional Forum state maintains the best business climate in the U.S., read "Pedal to the Metal," in Site Selection magazine's November 2008 edition. Author Mark Arend writes, "Great incentives. Low taxes. A receptive economic development department. That's how one corporate site seeker described North Carolina in a survey of such respondents that makes up half of Site Selection's annual ranking of state business climates. Add a track record of consistently strong business expansion activity as tracked by the publication's proprietary New Plant database — the other half of the ranking — and a state has what it takes to land at the top of that ranking."