JULY 2006                                                 Vol. 2 Issue 7 In this Issue... MTCA and MT-SHRM combine forces Connections Newsletter receives 2006 APEX Award Golf Scramble '06 committee members conduct site visit What is the SHRM Foundation? New HR Resource Directory to be unveiled soon Legislation happens... or not! MT-SHRM reaches Mega Chapter status Members in the news THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR   Kelly is ready to help you with your staffing needs!   Kelly Services provides top employees with a broad range of skills in a multitude of fields.   Contact Pamela Vaughn at (615) 367-1960   http://www.kellyservices.com/   MTCA and MT-SHRM combine forces Kellie Conn SPHR, President   I am very pleased to announce that Middle Tennessee Compensation Association (MTCA) has decided to merge their organization with MT-SHRM.  Beginning July 1, all 80 members of MTCA will automatically become members of MT-SHRM.   Mike Griffin, CCP, MTCA President and Audrey Doremus, MTCA Treasurer, have been working with our chapter's leadership to bring MTCA into MT-SHRM since the beginning of the year.   This is a great opportunity for us to combine our members with other human resources professionals and we believe everyone will benefit from the new association.  Many of the WorldatWork programs offered by MTCA will now be offered by MT-SHRM.   I would personally like to invite all new members to attend our July lunch meetings.  Two meetings are held monthly.  One on the second Thursday (July 13) at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in MetroCenter and another on the fourth Thursday of the month (July 27) at the Cool Springs Marriott.  Both begin at 11:30 a.m. and adjourn at 1 p.m.    Click here to visit the Web site and view this month's topics and speakers.   Back to Top >>>   Connections Newsletter receives 2006 APEX Award Art Smith SPHR, CCP, Communications Chair   APEX 2006, The Eighteenth Annual Awards for Publication Excellence, recognizes excellence in publications work by professional communicators.  APEX awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications excellence.    MT-SHRM is in good company along side 16 other national winners of the APEX Award of Excellence including The American Bar Association, Cal Poly University, Mortgage Bankers Association, WorldatWork and national SHRM.   Back to Top >>>     Golf Scramble '06 committee members conduct site visit Leslie Garrett-Stephens, Co-Vice Chair - Golf Scramble '06 Committee   Several members of the Golf Scramble '06 committee recently conducted a site visit of the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club in Franklin to survey the condition of the course.    "It's a small sacrifice," says Doug Edwards, Golf Scramble '06 Committee Co-Vice Chair, but we'll do what we have to over the next two months to make sure the fairways and greens are ready for our outing!"   Last year, more than 220 MT-SHRM members and their guests spent the day and evening enjoying golf, jazz, great food, spirits and fabulous relationship building.   "I met so many people at the event that night who have become my close business associates and friends," said Paula Mansfield of First Tennessee Bank.  It was a lot of fun and I don't even golf!"   "Our company will be back again this year, says Kevie Mikus of The HR Group, and we're looking forward to doing even more."   The event will be held Thursday, September 7, 2006 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Cool Springs beginning with the Golf Scramble at noon and the After Work Cocktails and Cookout starting at 5:30 p.m. in the pavilion.   Invitations to register for golf and/or the cookout will open in a few weeks.  Watch your inbox or check the MT-SHRM Web site for more details.   Members interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact Stephen King at 615-370-6115.   Back to Top >>>   What is the SHRM Foundation?   The SHRM Foundation was founded in 1966 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors from the HR profession, including academics, practitioners and representatives from SHRM. The Foundation supports projects that advance the HR profession and enhance the effectiveness of HR professionals.   To support its important work, the SHRM Foundation conducts an annual fundraising campaign. All contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible.    The Foundation promotes research, innovation, and the use of research-based knowledge. With an annual budget of approximately $1 million, it funds major research projects that have a direct and practical impact in advancing the HR profession. The Foundation puts out RFPs to the research community and then evaluates the research proposals it receives.    The Foundation also funds practical publications on specific issues such as the highly acclaimed book, "Making Mergers Work: The Strategic Importance of People and the new DVD HR in Alignment: The Link to Business Results."   Other Foundation projects include educational scholarships for HR professionals, the college HR Games, the Masters' Series, SHRM White Papers, the Effective Practice Guidelines series, and online directories of undergraduate and masters degree programs in human resource management.  For more information about the Foundation, go to www.shrm.org/foundation.    Back to Top >>>     New HR Resource Directory to be unveiled soon   MT-SHRM invites all members to submit a listing for the new HR Resource Directory to be unveiled on the MT-SHRM Web site later this summer.   If your organization provides goods or services to human resource professionals you'll want to list your company's specific area of expertise in the new directory so HR professionals can find you fast.   Members will be able to display their company's logo with a hot link to their Web site, contact information and up to 50 words of descriptive copy and may list their company in up to three of the nine major categories: Benefits & Compensation Organizational Consulting & Project Management Legal & Compliance Staffing, Recruiting & Search Training & Development Incentives & Rewards Technology & Software Housing & Relocation Career Management & Outplacement The directory will be promoted to members and the Middle Tennessee business community at large as a definitive resource for "all things HR" and users will be able to search the directory by category and/or keywords.  For additional information, contact Art Smith at 615-260-8909.   Back to Top >>>     Legislation happens... or not! Mark Peters Esq., Legislative Chair   The 2006 Tennessee Legislative session started with a bang for employers and ended with a whimper.  At the beginning of the session, proposed bills affecting employers included reverting to the pre-2004 DOL regulations on the Fair Labor Standards Act, unemployment compensation changes, minimum wage increases, the Pay Equity in the Workplace Act of 2006 and the Tennessee Employer Health Care Security Act.    While all of these bills received significant attention and debate during the session, none ultimately became law.   Back to Top >>>     MT-SHRM reaches Mega Chapter status   About two months ago the membership number quietly crept over 500 putting MT-SHRM into Mega Chapter status--the denotation SHRM gives chapters with 501 - 1,000 members.    The next level is Super Mega (more than 1000 members) which, with the recent addition of Middle Tennessee Compensation Association members and all the work by our Membership and Member Relations committees, shouldn't be too far off.   Back to Top >>>     Members in the news   Deborah Story, president of ESS Group, Inc. has been appointed to Governor Bredesen's Cabinet as the new Commissioner of Personnel for the Great State of Tennessee, effective June 26, 2006.      Congratulations to Yolanda Fowler on her new position with Meharry Medical College!   Brett Kling has taken a technical trainer position with Franke, a Swiss multi-national company specializing in stainless steel products. Cathy Grizzell with SEASAC, Inc. has been promoted to Vice President, Human Relations.  Grizzell, a 25-year veteran of the performing rights organization, will maintain direct responsibility for the overall administration, coordination, evaluation and operation of Human Resources, Benefits Administration and Facilities Management/Operations functions.     Know someone who needs to be recognized in the Connections Newsletter?    If you or someone you know lands a new position, is honored in some way, passes a certification exam or just needs an "at a boy," then send us the information and a picture, if possible, to communications@mtshrm.org and we'll do the rest!   Back to Top >>>

THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR Committee Links >>> Find out what's going on... Professional Development  Legislative Communications Diversity Community Involvement HR Career Tranistion Membership Finance Workforce Planning MT-SHRM South Member Relations Check out the HR Excellence Awards luncheon slide show...   Quick Links >>>   About MT-SHRM General Information Board Members Career Connections About Career Connections Submit/Remove HR Jobs HR Job Listings Membership Information Join MT-SHRM Now Join National SHRM Guidelines for Membership Eligibility MT-SHRM By-laws Events Upcoming Events Calendar Events Photo Gallery  News & Resources Professional Development Advertising Opportunities Other HR Web Sites Legislative Issues Newsletter Archive   Looking for an HR Professional? Quick!  Post a job on  Career Connections and get the right person, right now!     MT-SHRM 2006-2007 Board of Directors   Kellie Conn - President   Denis Blackwelder - Past President   Tracy Anthony - Workforce Planning Chair   John Gilbert - Member Relations Chair   Lynn Hutson - Programs Chair   Danny Nelms - Membership Chair   Tish Meshew - Finance Chair   Kevie Mikus - MT-SHRM South Chair   Jimmy Patterson - Legal Advisor   Mark Peters - Legislative Chair   Art Smith - Communications Chair   MT-SHRM Communications Committee Art Smith - Communications Chair Kathy Story - Vice Chair, Newsletter Patty Bouchillon -Vice Chair, Web Site Dan Aronoff - Co-Vice Chair Marketing Gary Bynum - Co-Vice Chair Marketing Brooke Thurman - Vice Chair Editorial   Contacts   Please forward comments, suggestions and/or questions to communications@mtshrm.org   To change your subscriber information, contact Anne Powers   For Connections Newsletter sponsorship, contact Dan Aronoff      Connections Newsletter   is published monthly by Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resource Management © 2006 Past Issues