2021 GTC OF IFMA TOYS FOR TOTS CAMPAIGN

If you would like to provide a monetary donation for the GTC of IFMA Community Outreach Committee Toy Shopping Day, please click the link: DONATE HERE

GTC OF IFMA BINGO FOR BONES 2021 RECAP

What a great turnout we had for our Annual Bingo for Bones event on Thursday, October 7th! Thank you to all our sponsors and attendees! This year we held the event at Lake Montague in Cary and set up a good old-fashioned tailgate-type event.

Through the generosity of our chapter members and additional tent sponsors, the chapter raised over $900 for each local animal rescue!

 TENT SPONSORS 

DJ Wayne provided the entertainment for our musical bingo game, and if you missed it, brush up on your movie theme songs and 80s hair bands so you’ll be ready next year.

In true community outreach spirit, the leftover food was delivered to two local fire stations to support our heroes in the community. Thank you to our Community Outreach Committee for your dedication to giving back to the community!

The Programs Committee is working hard to provide you with the best content for our upcoming meetings. In December, we are planning a site visit to the Southeast Raleigh YMCA / Southeast Raleigh Elementary School. This collaboration between the YMCA of the Triangle and Wake County Public Schools is a first of it’s kind facility in North Carolina. It is a 35,000 square foot facility with a Wake County Public School K-5 on one side and traditional YMCA branch on the other.

In January we are looking to bring in Doug Stewart to speak with us about mentorship. Doug is a nationally recognized TedX speaker and best-selling author as well as a certified Dale Carnegie instructor. Doug’s topic will focus on mentorship and how it relates to IFMA and you in your professional career. His easy-going storytelling approach will surely make this a meeting that you don’t want to miss.

VIRTUAL ADVOCACY DAY HELD FOR SECOND YEAR
by Cris Karasek, Professional Development Committee  Co-Chair 

Until 2020, IFMA representatives from across the USA would convene in September for IFMA’s Public Policy Forum or Advocacy Day:  a two-day meeting held each year to learn about current political issues pertaining to facility-related issues and meet with their state representatives. Typically, the first day is spent learning about specific issues concerning the Facility Management profession and the second day is spent in meetings with each attendee’s regional Congressperson. Jeff Johnson, External Affairs Counsel with IFMA, leads the IFMA Government Affairs Committee and coordinates IFMA Advocacy Day.

Again this year, Covid-19 restrictions hampered that from happening. Members of the IFMA Government Affairs group felt that an annual gathering was important enough that it should be held virtually, and on September 29^th, the meeting was held.

GTC of IFMA Past President Cris Karasek represented our Chapter. While limited in scope, Mr. Johnson was able to present the group with informational and timely reports on the current situation in Washington, DC such as:
*The focus on congressional priorities for the remainder of 2021 (mainly budgetary)
*Tools for successful advocacy and engagement with the government
*Understanding the importance of Chapter-based advocacy, outreach, and being part of the unified voice of FM to support our profession

The group heard from North Carolina’s own Dr. Virginia Foxx, (R-NC) congressional representative from North Carolina’s Fifth District. Dr. Foxx, who is a regular speaker at Advocacy Day, spoke about the importance of IFMA’s Global Workforce Initiative (GWI) and the value of our certification programs. Several other congressmen spoke on facility-related issues.

Doug Helman, Office of the Architect of the Capital, spoke about their current focus on energy, sustainability and water conservation. The office manages over 18,000,000 square feet in 26 buildings on Capitol Hill with approximately 2800 employees.

Again, the group hopes that the 2022 Advocacy Day can be held in person. Our GTC members may contact Cris Karasek to learn more about attending Advocacy Day and how Congress creates and implements the laws that affect our profession.

IFMA WORLD WORKPLACE RECAP
by Travis Dodson, 2021-2022 President

From October 26 – 28, the annual IFMA World Workplace was held in Kissimmee, Florida.  Believe it or not, this was the first time that some of our members saw each other face to face for the first time.

 The conference began with Facility Tours and some housekeeping items with the Annual House of Delegates meeting on Monday.  During the House of Delegates meeting, the Board presented the State of the Association and declared that IFMA is officially debt-free as of 2021.  They also announced multiple partnerships with other associations such as ISSA, ASHRA, and BIFMA, to name a few.  These partnerships will allow us to have access to discounted training by industry thought leaders.

 Tuesday was crammed full of valuable educational sessions and a great opening keynote speaker. Topics ranging from discussing the FM Salary, Compensation, and Facility Operations Benchmarks, to building a better workplace after the pandemic kept our members engaged and learning.  I also got a chance to meet our scholarship recipients for the first time, Shyann LaFay and Brielle Butler.  Through your generosity, our chapter raised $10,000 towards scholarships for these two young ladies.  Shyann is interested in Disaster Recovery specific to museums and cultural institutions, and Brielle is interested in understanding how vendors and contractors may overlook work when completing projects.  If anyone would like to talk with them about their projects, please let me know.

There were a lot of great vendors at the Expo, which opened up on Wednesday.  There are so many new products and tools out there to help ensure the safety of our customers when we begin returning to the office that it can make your head spin. Being able to talk to the vendors and give them details of a situation proved valuable.  We ended the evening with a Carolinas Chapters Mixer sponsored by our very own Budd Group and Charlotte’s Cotton Holdings Inc. We even adopted some new members from other chapters and additional student members with whom we look forward to connecting again next year.

IFMA CHARLOTTE VIRTUAL PROGRAM
IFMA Charlotte has invited our Chapter to join their November virtual program.  Please see the details below:

November 4, 2021
11:30am - 1:00pm
Art Fierro, CISM, CPP, Allied Universal Risk Advisory and Consulting Services
Art F. Fierro, CISM, CPP
Vice President, Risk Advisory and Consulting
Allied Universal
Protecting your people, facilities and operations has never been more important.  Knowing basic physical security concepts will assist in the deterrence, detection, response and recovery from unauthorized intruder access. Preparing for natural or manmade adverse events is more important than ever. Join us and learn how to prepare. Click here to register. 

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 840 3611 6230
Passcode: 281417
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