They rebuild homes, volunteer at homeless shelters and serve veterans. They assist the sick, disabled and needy. They share a passion for community service and enjoy a common bond. Yet the name of the organization uniting these groups of altruistic individuals was anything but commonly recognized.
Signature Story - An Association Evolution
By Heather Ryndak Swink, CAE
They rebuild homes, volunteer at homeless sheltersand serve veterans. They assist the sick, disabled and needy. They share a passion for community service and enjoy a common bond. Yet the name of the organization uniting these groups of altruistic individuals was anything but commonly recognized.
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It was a chance meeting: Following a medical association conference, four young trauma surgeons arrived at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., to return home. While waiting for their respective planes, they began discussing their unique medical field, individual practices, common experiences and challenges. The group talked about how to advance their careers and the professional organizations available to help them. Although several respectable national trauma associations existed, none were tailored to young surgeons like them.
Signature Story - In the Right Direction
By Susan Besze Wallace
It was a chance meeting: Following a medical association conference, four young trauma surgeons arrived at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., to return home. While waiting for their respective planes, they began discussing their unique medical field, individual practices, common experiences and challenges. The group talked about how to advance their careers and the professional organizations available to help them. Although several respectable national trauma associations existed, none were tailored to young surgeons like them.
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They know it’s coming every time hurricane coverage begins: footage of a piece of metal being precariously hurled by Mother Nature through the streets of a beach town. Members of the Metal Construction Association see that scenario through their own lens. They know that metal panel is video-worthy because it’s still intact. Everything else is being shredded. It’s not the metal panel, but likely the installation that was inadequate. And when winds have calmed, the panel will still be around, ready for rebirth through recycling.
Signature Story - The Mettle of Metal
By Susan Besze Wallace
They know it’s coming every time hurricane coverage begins: footage of a piece of metal being precariously hurled by Mother Nature through the streets of a beach town. Members of the Metal Construction Association see that scenario through their own lens. They know that metal panel is video-worthy because it’s still intact. Everything else is being shredded. It’s not the metal panel, but likely the installation that was inadequate. And when winds have calmed, the panel will still be around, ready for rebirth through recycling.
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Indian Prairie School District 204 is the perfect place to raise a family. Encompassing parts of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, Ill., in west suburban Chicago, it’s brimming with cul-de-sacs, clean air, safe streets, soccer fields and schools. Thirty-five schools within 46 square miles, to be exact, making Indian Prairie the third largest school district in Illinois.
Signature Story - Grading Governance
By Matt Alderton
Indian Prairie School District 204 is the perfect place to raise a family. Encompassing parts of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, Ill., in west suburban Chicago, it’s brimming with cul-de-sacs, clean air, safe streets, soccer fields and schools. Thirty-five schools within 46 square miles, to be exact, making Indian Prairie the third largest school district in Illinois.
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One more push.
A mother in Tanzania summons all her hope and energy to thrust a new life into the world, and into the waiting hands of a birth attendant.
The child is here. The sweet cry of life is not.
Signature Story - Waiting to Inhale
By Susan Besze Wallace
One more push. A mother in Tanzania summons all her hope and energy to thrust a new life into the world, and into the waiting hands of a birth attendant. The child is here. The sweet cry of life is not.
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In February 2011, 61-year-old Beth Jones was feeling faint. She therefore made an appointment with her primary care physician — an internist at Summit Medical Group in Westfield, N.J. — to see what was wrong.
Signature Story - 'Meaningful' Medicine
By Matt Alderton
In February 2011, 61-year-old Beth Jones was feeling faint. She therefore made an appointment with her primary care physician — an internist at Summit Medical Group in Westfield, N.J. — to see what was wrong.
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They know of burls and butt joints and beveled edges; the intricacies of dormers and drip caps and diffusing glass. Members of the Window & Door Manufacturers Association deal in the currency of craftsmanship and architectural nuance.
Signature Story - Opportunity Knocking
By Susan Besze Wallace
They know of burls and butt joints and beveled edges; the intricacies of dormers and drip caps and diffusing glass. Members of the Window & Door Manufacturers Association deal in the currency of craftsmanship and architectural nuance.
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I believe that good begets good, and becoming involved is contagious,” says Steven M. Ruffalo, president of the DuPage County Bar Association and member of the law firm Fuchs & Roselli Ltd.
Signature Story - Lending Many Hands
By Suzi Wirtz, CAE
I believe that good begets good, and becoming involved is contagious,” says Steven M. Ruffalo, president of the DuPage County Bar Association and member of the law firm Fuchs & Roselli Ltd.
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A busy high school English teacher, young wife and mother of two, Nora Bowers’ focus was on serving others — admittedly even at the expense of her own health. However, after suffering from hay fever for a week in summer 1999, Bowers was driven to her family physician for relief. What she received was a wake-up call.
Signature Story - Focus on the Future
By Heather Ryndak Swink, CAE
A busy high school English teacher, young wife and mother of two, Nora Bowers’ focus was on serving others — admittedly even at the expense of her own health. However, after suffering from hay fever for a week in summer 1999, Bowers was driven to her family physician for relief. What she received was a wake-up call.
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Christian Sinclair had hit a low point in his residency. He was diagnosing, he was calculating — the technical side was there. But he wasn’t sure he was truly helping anyone as a doctor.
Signature Story - Making A Network Work
By Susan Besze Wallace
Christian Sinclair had hit a low point in his residency. He was diagnosing, he was calculating — the technical side was there. But he wasn’t sure he was truly helping anyone as a doctor.
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It was the ideal August evening — the kind that makes you want to breathe in the fresh summer air and experience nature at its finest. As a gentle breeze swayed the branches of thousands of trees, more than 500 people gathered together to share smiles, recount memories and enjoy the serene surroundings of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill.
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When Jim Tilley was in high school, his physicist dad sat him down for a battery of tests to see where his interests and intelligence might take him. Tilley later would follow in his father’s footsteps, eventually earning a doctorate in physics from Harvard University.
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National Automatic Merchandising Association. During these challenging financial times, association professionals constantly are asked to do more with less. That edict was not lost on the Chicago-based National Automatic Merchandising Association, which decided two years ago to merge its two longstanding annual tradeshows into one unparalleled event. In Westminster Kennel Club parlance, it needed to be a "best in show." Expectations were high. Resources were at an all-time low.
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Human Resources Management Association of Chicago: Everyone knows what happened to Humpty Dumpty. An egg - fragile, delicate and just a little bit clumsy - he sat on a wall, then had a great fall. Because he was shattered, however, neither all the king’s horses nor all the king’s men could put him back together again.
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Girl Scouts of the USA: Bold. Courageous. Strong. Responsible. Helpful. Friendly. Optimistic. These are the words of several third grade Brownies in Troop No. 314 in Rockford, Ill., who were asked to describe what it means to be a Girl Scout. Their troop is part of the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois (GSNI), one of more than 100 local councils that make up Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). Because of the transformation of the Girl Scouts organization and program model that began four years ago, every member of GSUSA — more than 3.4 million in the United States and U.S. territories — will focus on a new approach to leadership through a coordinated series of annual activities called Leadership Journeys.
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The Association for Operations Management: We see the store shelf. They calculate the number of items that should be on it. We see a cell phone. They ensure the 12-week production of the fingernail-sized chip that makes it work. We see a train loaded with coal. They are the ones charged with getting the parts to fix, in short order, the $9 million digger that unearths it.
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The American Massage Therapy Association: Covering 60 miles of various terrain on foot during three days naturally leads to blisters, fatigue, and stiff and sore muscles. But for many participants of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure walks, one characteristic overshadows all physical ailments – selflessness.
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By Susan Besze Wallace Featuring the Illinois Psychiatric Society
The Illinois Psychiatric Society: When a girl starves herself into a life-threatening state of desperation, they already have fought for her treatment. When a mother Downstate cannot make the 100-mile trip to a psychiatrist to find out why she experiences both euphoria and rage each day, they already have determined a way for her to afford long-distance care. And when an inmate’s sentence ends and he needs immediate access to the prescriptions that have helped stabilized his life, they already have helped build a potentially life-changing bridge.
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The American Society of Safety Engineers: Fourteen-year-old Hayley Lemens of Pendleton, Ore., is soft-spoken and shy. She always has been, according to her mom, Jeanie, who says her daughter — a straight-A student who’s involved in everything from dance and music to swimming and Girl Scouts — often struggles socially because she’s so reserved.
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The Institute for Real Estate Management: "Hello. I'm looking for industry-standard staffing ratios for apartment buildings - i.e, 1 manager per 100 apartments and X maintenance men per 100 apartments. I know there are many variables. But we have a luxury apartment complex with pool, tennis court, workout room, etc. We have 230 apartments. The complex is less than five years old. Are there any general guidelines in the industry?"
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When Chicago-area resident and fashion fanatic Lyn Burgess heard about a Chicago designer sale event to be held at a wine and cheese bar, she thought, “Fashion, food and friends? Great idea … and I know I’ll buy something!” And, she did – which was exactly what designers Lara Miller, Erin Gallagher and Kate Boggiano counted on when they brainstormed the unique affair several months ago.
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The Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc. Gastroenterology nurse Janet Hannah had 30 minutes before her next procedure, and she offered the time to the admissions desk. A 12-year-old girl waited her turn for a procedure that would take an internal look at portions of her more than 25-foot-long digestive system – and not for the first time. Hannah grabbed a donated teddy bear, and engaged the nervous pre-teen. She didn’t have to feign the honor she felt when the girl decided she’d try an IV insertion, without being knocked out, only if Janet would do it.
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Before you were even in kindergarten, you probably knew the importance of brushing your teeth. Scrub gently in circles. Don’t forget the ones way in back. Brush as long as it takes you to sing “Happy Birthday” twice. And, as you got older, flossing came into the picture. Flossing gets in between your teeth where your brush can’t reach. It helps clean off dirty little things called bacteria.
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The Management Association of Illinois had no worries in the spring of 2007. Membership numbers were up. Programs were well-attended. The budget was in great shape. Members were not complaining. The association could have kept on doing what it had been doing, remained content with the status quo.
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the American Hospital Association: In this sluggish economy, an increasingly weary workforce is growing accustomed to hearing phrases weekly – sometimes daily – like job slashing, workforce reduction, involuntarily layoffs, buyouts, RIFs (reduction in force), workplace re-engineering, downsizing, even “rightsizing.” Less common are terms such as workforce shortage and staffing crisis. Yet that is exactly what some segments of health care are facing.
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The National Association for Quick Printers: Suppose you run a small business with a few good employees. You’ve carved out a good niche for yourself, have a number of loyal customers and are financially sound. But although you’re making a decent profit, it’s not significant. And you’re concerned about the future of your potential customer base; it seems to be shrinking.
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National Military Family Association: They eye the challenge before them with nervous dread. At the same time, they’re stoked to be part of something momentous. These kids want desperately to be brave. They are safe, and others cheer them on. Ultimately though, these children have to summon the little warrior within to make it through.
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The Medical Library Association: Kerri Morrone Sparling was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 7 years old, just before starting the second grade. What she remembers most is giving a urine sample behind a door that read, “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat.” It was funny.
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