Or that you joined us on Wednesday, April 23rd for our ARMA Houston Chapter monthly meeting held during the conference. All of these were opportunities for professional development during the conference this year!

Why not step out of the box and boost your professional development by participating with the two major RIM outreach projects we are sponsoring for the Houston Symphony? Earlier in the year, Linda Williams brought an opportunity to the ARMA Houston Chapter that we wholeheartedly embraced! The Houston Symphony was hit by devastating floods during Alicia and needs experienced volunteers to help process and copy flood-damaged news clippings, press releases, contracts, and artist files. They also need some professional expertise in completing their records retention schedules and related policies to establish a firm foundation for their records and information management program. Do you have a song in your heart or a love of music to volunteer with ARMA Houston and The Houston Symphony with this assignment? The project team is lead by Robin Thompson and she is looking for some great folks to help our Symphony recreate their legacy of music.

Another project that we are looking for assistance with is for the Texas Medical Center. The Texas Medical Center is a pillar institution of medical history and achievement and a shining star for the Greater Houston Area. This not-for-profit organization needs RIM professional volunteers to develop a strategic plan for implementing a solid records and information management program for their electronic records. If you are interested in expanding your professional development by volunteering to work with the experienced team of records managers from the ARMA Houston Chapter – please contact Judy Sitton, CRM.

Be Prepared to Be Successful – Stay involved with the ARMA Houston Chapter! We appreciate the opportunity to provide outstanding opportunities to enhance your professional development.

ARMA Houston Chapter

2007-2008 Board of Directors
Be Prepared To Be Successful!

I will never forget that road trip (keep in mind there are no freeways in the U.P., my freeway driving experience was extremely limited). I hit every major city during rush hour (Minneapolis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Dallas). When I finally got to Houston, I got lost and ended up on the 610 Loop – after going around the Loop for the SECOND TIME, I finally got off the freeway.

Patti has two sons, both in college. Douglas is at UNT in Denton and Andrew just started Wharton Junior College and will transfer to UNT in the fall. Right now, I am actually looking forward to the “empty nest” but I am sure when it finally gets here, I will not be as welcoming it with open arms.

Patti always knew she wanted to be a legal secretary. While attending Davenport College of Business, she worked two jobs -- as an RA in her dorm and as an entry-level legal secretary for a law firm. When she moved to Houston in 1980, she worked for Shell in their legal department. Missing the law firm environment, she left Shell and went to work for Griggs & Harrison (where she first met Robin Thompson).

Twenty years later, and by this time, tired of trial lawyers, Patti made the move to Baker Hughes. It seemed, however, the need for increased challenges continued. Two promotions later, Patti found herself in her current position as a Record Control Specialist. I have definitely found my niche! I am very fortunate to be in a position to truly make a difference. My stress level has increased, but the rewards and sense of accomplishment are immeasurable! Even though I am a records department of one, I have my PacoTech team right there with me along for the ride and because of Julie and her team, that ride becomes less and less bumpy!

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When not working, Patti is studying and doing school work. My life has definitely changed since I returned to college. Sleep is now a luxury! Patti graduated from West Iron County High School in Iron River, MI and attended Davenport College of Business in Grand Rapids, MI. She recently completed her Bachelor’s in Business Administration, with a concentration in Project Management. Since then, Patti says “I am looking forward to reading a book for pleasure again, cooking, hanging out with my sons, and having a clean house!! But I doubt it will last long because next on the agenda is my goal of obtaining the CRM certification.”

When asked about how Patti feels that she has benefited from ARMA, she says “ARMA provides a roadmap for success. ARMA Houston has equipped me with the tools necessary to achieve that success. “There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs” (author unknown). I look at ARMA Houston and its members as the stairs. Actively participating allows me to climb those stairs--one step at a time.

In fact, I am not sure that she will remember this, but Gayle Page is the person who told me about ARMA Houston and I attended my first meeting in October 2004. I was immediately certain that this was the organization in which I wanted to actively participate that I joined the next day. The first person I met at that meeting was Brenda Clements – who made me feel right at home! Patti immediately got involved by volunteering to introduce speakers at the Houston Conference. Since then, she has served on several committees, including Seminars, Corporate Outreach, Mock Trial, and the 2007 Conference Arrangements. Patti is presently serving as the Committee Manager of External Seminars (Langemo in June), co-Manager of the Professional, Corporate & Community Outreach Committee, and Registration Committee Manager for the 2008 Conference Committee.

 
Patti has also recently been assumed the responsibilities of Committee Manager of Archives. She also coordinated the ARMA Houston Committee Summary Forms which highlight the skill sets and core competency requirements of the various committees.

There are many ARMA Houston members who have impacted my professional and personal life! Leaders lead by example and several ARMA Houston members have unknowingly mentored me in the area of leadership. But when it comes to records management, PacoTech is my mentor. Whether it’s Gayle offering advice and wisdom, Judy imparting her encyclopedic knowledge, or Julie – one of the most effective, proficient and skilled consultants I have the pleasure to work with and one of the few people who can keep me calm without saying a word (unless we’re driving the mountains of Virginia), I would not be where I am today without them!

"There is no elevator to success.
You have to take the stairs."
(Author Unknown)

Lucky Number Search Each issue of the ARMAdilla features an ARMA Houston member's number. All you need to do is read through the issue and find your member number to become a lucky winner! Winners should contact Nancy Ramirez @ nancy.ramirez@exxonmobil.com to claim their prize. Good luck!

ARMA Houston Board of Director Leadership News

Leadership Lonely?

Submitted by: Jim Dixon, Houston Chapter

Leaders … Where do they come from?

I may be showing my age, but a question in an old Beatles song asks a similar set of questions: Where do they all come from and where do they all belong? You may remember that the subject of these questions was “all the Lonely People.” It has also been said over and over again that “it’s lonely at the top.” So, is it then safe to say that leaders are at the top and by being there; they must be lonely? Not necessarily.

Strong leaders who surround themselves with other strong co-leaders will probably enjoy the comfort that they are not to be counted in “all the lonely people” category. So, where do strong co-leaders come from? Usually they are from the category known as the “movers and the shakers group” and not the “we’ll get to it some day group.” Movers and shakers enjoy getting to the results and will share the limelight with others of the same destiny. The “get to it some day group” usually find that they are in slim company and wonder why they don’t get any assistance in their destiny.

Leaders (our movers and shakers) usually stir up the status quo. They are sometimes referred to as the agitators. The “wait and see crowd” are often agitated by those who do have direction, who can rally supporters, who actually get the job done, who arrive at the top and are in good company.

The moral of this story is that strong leaders belong next to others who share their strength and are not threatened by success, regardless of where the ideas come from. Another truism is that if one is certainly a leader; there will be those who follow and enjoy being in that similar company of leaders and will not be one of those …"all the lonely people."

Submitted by: Linda Williams, Houston Chapter

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• 31% for small companies.
  
• 32% report to Administrative Services,
  
• 27% to General Counsel/Compliance, and
  
• 25% to Information Technology.
  
• 51% of the respondents made at least $90K with the average annual salary in the U.S. to be just under $95K.

If you’re not already, don’t you want to be part of the above numbers the next time the ICRM conducts this survey? Any of our CRM’s would be more than happy to help you achieve this goal.

Question of the Month:

Q. How important is “Declaring a Record” in the overall lifecycle of a record?

A. I’ll probably end up providing you with more questions than answers on this topic. Also, this is a very intense topic; however I’ll try to answer the question in the limited amount of space that I have.

First, in my opinion, declaring a record is a very important stage in the lifecycle of a record. It is the stage after which no changes should be made to the record. It is the record that should be retained and disposed of according to your records retention schedule. I did a fair amount of research on the topic and I was quite surprised however that none of the Record Lifecycle information that I found identified Record Declaration as a major step in the overall lifecycle. I found different versions of the Lifecycle of a Record. Some of them were: 1. Creation, Collaboration, Preservation, and Disposition 2. Creation, Maintenance, Use, and Disposition 3. Create/Capture, Collaborate/Distribute, Output/Print, Archive/Destroy.

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At what stage in the lifecycle of a record do you declare it? After records are declared, they are added to the File Plan and all the formal stages in the Record Lifecycle are applied. I  can see however, that information could become a record at different lifecycle stages. In a few cases, information becomes a record when it is created. In most cases, information becomes a record after there has been collaboration, revisions, etc. So in most cases, declaration of records will be made between the Collaborate and Preservation stages. When should records management programs become involved in the lifecycle of a record? Should they be involved in the entire lifecycle of a record or only after it is declared? In my opinion, they should be involved in the entire lifecycle of a record, from creation to disposition. There are many advantages to this; however one is that the records management program personnel can assist the record creators in determining formats and technology that will make the processes more effective and cost efficient for the remainder of the record lifecycle. Would making “Declaring a Record” a major stage in the lifecycle of a record lead creators of records to think that records management programs should not be involved until the records have been declared? I would love to hear your answer to this question.

In closing, there are probably as many different opinions on the processes that records management programs should follow as there are people who have an opinion. The most important thing however; in my opinion, is that you have records and information management policies and procedures in place and make sure they are followed in the normal course of business.

Please take advantage of all the wonderful educational opportunities that we have in our profession and contribute whatever time you have back to our professional organizations. Also, please continue to send questions or topics of interest to me at allan.heath1@kbr.com  or give them to me at our next records management function.

Behind The Scenes of Chapter Meetings

Submitted By: Robin Thompson, Houston Chapter

We started off this year with the largest chapter luncheon in ARMA Houston’s history with our January 2008 Program. There were 209 in attendance. Our programs would not be as successful without you, our members. You took time to fill out evaluations and feedback forms letting us know what types of programs you were most interested in seeing.

You may not know this, but work for the 2008 speaker season started early in January of 2007 with the evaluation forms we collected for Jan Hargraves. We took your feedback and suggestions for speakers and topics and searched through the records management community to find the best and most interesting speakers possible to meet your requests. A full slate of speakers and workshops was presented in October of 2007 to the Board of Directors for the 2008 season.

We start on the Monday before meetings getting badges made and organized, and working with speakers and presenters to make sure they have the equipment they need and ensure it is photocopied. We arrive at the HESS club usually around 9:15 a.m. to start work on badges, tables, passing out information, so that by the time you arrive, everything is in place for you!

Since we get to see the members on more of a regular basis, we get to know you pretty well. We thought it would be fun to share something about us with you.

Please meet our Social & Hospitality, Programs, and Workshops teams:

JENNIFER WALKER-OSTERTAG, Committee Manager of Social & Hospitality
Jennifer is charged with managing the registration and payment processes for chapter luncheons, ensuring that the HESS Club staff sets the right number of tables for the workshops and programs, and that audio/visual equipment is ready for our presenters. Julie Prochnow, Barrett Walker and Kathleen Fabra work as part of her team.

Passion: Playing with (my daughter) Emma. I love to scrapbook, but rarely have the time.

Favorite Book: Detective Books 

Favorite Movie: A favorite movie that has been on my mind the past few days is Yankee Doodle Dandy. My least favorite movie of all time is The Departed. The ending disturbed me, and I don’t like to see Leonardo DiCaprio in pain.

Career: I am the Manager, Records Information Management at Cardtronics.

What I like about working on my committee: What I love most about working on the Social & Hospitality Committee is that I get to meet so many new people as well as see the “regulars” each month. It keeps me in the networking loop!

JULIE PROCHNOW, Committee Member,
Social & Hospitality
Passion: My kids

Favorite Movie: Any love story; Bridges of Madison County, Note Book to name a few.

Favorite Book: Any murder mystery. There are too many good ones to name just one.

Career : Senior Staff Consultant with PacoTech. I oversee client worksites.

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What I like about working on my committee: Interacting with members. Volunteering at the registration desk actually gives you the opportunity to talk with members, and learn more about them. This is why it is so important to get involved with the chapter; it is worth the time and effort!

BARRETT WALKER,
Committee Member, Social & Hospitality

Passion: Tinkering. I love experimenting with electrical circuits and computers to find new and exciting ways to make them do new and exciting things. If there is something in my house that plugs in or takes batteries, there's a good chance I've disassembled it to see how it works! I got that from my dad.

Favorite Movie: Without a doubt my favorite movie is Gladiator. The action packed scenes throughout coupled with the familial back story dazzles me every time I see it.

What I like about working on my committee: Seeing everyone at the monthly luncheons as they make their way into the meeting and greeting them.

KATHLEEN FABRA,
Committee Member, Social & Hospitality

Passion : My goals and passions would be to be a better person not only in my job, but with my personal life as well. I am toastmaster and have been for about 3 years now. I am a past Secretary and Vice President of Public Relations. By joining Toastmasters I have become more sure and more confident of what I do, not only in my business life, but my personal life as well. I won the Chapter Speech Contest and went on to the next level and came in second then. I have had the backing of my husband and my Manager (Beverly McMahan) and that has helped tremendously. They are both past Toastmasters and have always urged me on. I also mentioned I enjoy doing crafts as well. I have a room in my house dedicated to doing all my crafts.

Favorite Movie: An Affair to Remember is an all-time classic, along with Gone with the Wind. They don't make them like they used to.

Favorite Book: I love to read, especially Light Romance Books. I especially enjoy the books that involve families. They are lighter to read. They are relaxing and take your mind away.

Career: I am a Corporate Records Analyst at EOG Resources. I really love my job. It can be really challenging at times. When I get there in the mornings I am ready to work, and before I know it the day is gone, and I don't know where it went.

What I like about working on my committee: I really enjoy working on the Social & Hospitality Committee as I am getting to know more and more of the members of ARMA. I like to be involved in what is going on. I want to get more involved with ARMA.

REGINA COREY, Committee Manager Programs and Committee Manager Workshops

Regina works with the speakers for both the programs and workshops to ensure that they have everything they need for their speech. She arranges to photocopy their handouts if they need that service. Regina is also responsible to tally evaluation forms for analysis by the Board of Directors. Rhonda Boehm works on Regina’s committee.

Passion: Balancing the best of both worlds between family and work. I love my career because I get to apply my skills to promoting a product I believe in. I have a great work-life balance where I can enjoy life with my 19-month old son, Aidan, (and future prospects) and my husband. Regina also loves yoga, sports and is an avid football fan.

Favorite Movie: This is a hard one because I love movies in general, but if I had to choose today…overall…Pirates of the Caribbean. Favorite Classic – Beaches; Favorite Animation – Monster’s Inc.

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Favorite Book: Right now, I am reading the Harry Potter collection. Can’t wait to read this to Aidan when he gets older.

What I like about working on my committee: First, I would say meeting new people and learning from the speakers and presenters on what is a benefit to CRMs. I am understanding how to make the CRM/business practice world better and helping a worthwhile organization devoted to records management.

RHONDA BOEHM, Committee Member, Programs

Passion: My passion is singing & working two ministries - Kairos Outside (a Prison Ministry - for women who have loved ones Inside prison) & Walk to Emmaus (a ministry for women in the church).

Favorite Movie: Gone With the Wind

Favorite book: Atlas Shrugged. Both my Favorite Movie and Favorite book changed me, and they are about as opposite a setting/time as one can get. Strong Women who make it through adversity is the theme.

Career: Document Control Specialist - maintain control of all project documents, adherence to the Retention Schedule, interface with contractors and vendors.

What I like about working on my committee: The opportunity to see and hear the best speakers ARMA has to offer and to learn more about their personalities and professions.

And, last, but not least, our VP of Chapter Meetings…

ROBIN THOMPSON, VP Chapter Meetings

Passion: My motto is “live out loud.” No big secret here – my passion is what I do for a living, and my husband and daughter.

Favorite Movie: I am like everyone I think. I don’t have one favorite. Citizen Kane, Presumed Innocent, and Happy Feet. If Seinfeld were a movie, I would have listed it. My husband destroyed Birdcage because I watched it every single night, but I plan to get another copy soon!

Favorite Book: Roots and Illustrated Man

Career: Honestly, I don’t classify what I do as work because I love it so much. I am currently the Managing Director of the Houston Operations for American Legal Search and built this operation from the ground up. I work with law firms and corporations on any type of legal position, RIM or compliance position, and litigation/practice support. I recently received a promotion and will be moving into a combined position of Chief Marketing Officer and National Business Development Director.

What I love about working for ARMA: This is my favorite group of all the groups I belong to. I have enjoyed the honor you gave me when you elected me to serve as a Board Member these past 2 years. I have put on educational programs for most of my career and this, by far, has been the most satisfying set of programs of that time. Thank you for letting us know that we have done a good job for you.

We look forward to seeing you at our next Chapter Meeting and Workshop!

NOTE: Please remember to continue registering separately for both the chapter luncheon and the workshop. Even though the workshop is free, having a tally of attendees has helped us get the proper room size and know how many handouts to bring.

Monthly Chapter Meetings:
January Program Summary
Honorable Judge Ronald Hedges

Submitted By: Robin Thompson, VP Chapter Programs

If you missed our chapter meeting in January, it was a fantastic event! We had 209 in attendance and gave such a great opportunity to hear a fantastic keynote speaker, The Honorable Ronald Hedges.

Not only is Judge Hedges one of the most knowledgeable folks in the field of information management and electronic discovery, but he is one of the nicest folks you would want to meet. He prefers to be called Ron, rather than his earned title of Your Honor.

Judge Hedges graduated from Georgetown University and was appointed a U.S. Magistrate in New Jersey where he served for 21 years. He is a Sedona panel member and expert on the Sedona conference. Additionally, he is a professor.

Judge Hedges updated us on new case law, and gave us tips on preservation of data, production responsibilities and cost-shifting. One of the most interesting things he talked about was ephemeral data such as Voice Over Internet, Instant Messenger and Cell Phone data! Even an insulin pen that keeps track of injections given can be considered a record!

The good news is that if you missed him in