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We’re All Volunteers!
The Houston ISA Board consists of volunteers. We serve because we believe in the goals of the society and that it’s “good business”. Serving allows us to make a difference, network with important industry peers, and gain visibility within the industry both for ourselves and our employers. We’re the ones who set the direction and are tasked to accomplish our objectives. We’ve done a lot of great things over the years! If you’d like to be part of our winning team, check out the following job descriptions to see what might interest you. (Note that not all positions have completed job descriptions at this time.) Our Board changes every summer. If you’re interested in any of the positions, simply contact the current President via e-mail.
Elected Officers:
President
Vice-President
Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer
Secretary
Program Director
Newsletter Editor
Membership Director
Publicity Director
Education Director
Web Master
Past President
National Delegate
Host Committee Chair
Appointed Officers:
Parliamentarian & Historian
Standards & Practices Liaison
Section / Division Liaison
Student Section Liaison
Analysis Subsection Liaison
ICCS Subsection Liaison
Pipeline Subsection Liaison
Fall Program Chair
Assistant Fall Program Chair
Spring Program Chair
Photographer
Communications Liaison
Multi-Media Chair
Committee Member
Title: President
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Section President
The Section President shall preside over all meetings of the Section and Board of Directors. He shall call special meetings when necessary, appoint special committees and special Section representatives with the approval of the Board of Directors, have general supervision over all matters pertaining to the Section and perform such other duties as may be required.
Responsibilities
Leadership: Effectively lead the Section. Stimulate participation from the entire Board.
Monthly Meetings: The President should lead each monthly Board and Section meeting. Meeting agendas should be sent out one week in advance. Section meetings are not held in January or July, however, there should still be board meetings during those months to cover training, establish goals and objectives, and carry out performance reviews.
Documentation: Provide a written report to the District Vice-President at the summer District Leadership Conference (outlining yearly plans and accomplishments). Provide written reports (for the Section Performance Award) to National in September and May.
Bylaws: Be familiar with, enforce, and keep the local bylaws current.
Officer Elections: Officer elections are held in April. Three months prior to that (i.e., January), the President should appoint a nominating committee (normally lead by the Immediate Past President) to recruit new officers. Announcements should be made at monthly meetings for those that may be interested in serving. A written announcement of the annual election meeting shall specify that the election will be held and shall include the slate of candidates as determined at the meeting preceding the election (i.e., March). Elected officers assume office at the end of the June Board meeting.
Training and Supervision Plan
The Houston Section President normally rises through the ranks of Section leadership by holding the offices of Treasurer and Vice President (and then serves as Past President and National Delegate). During this time the candidate should have attended numerous President’s meetings with ample training opportunities. This generally provides enough time and experience to understand how to effectively lead a Section. However, much can be learned about general leadership, and specifically the leadership of volunteers, by reading books on both subjects.
There are a variety of leadership resources available on the main ISA web site, such as the OnLine Section Operations Resource Manual, Manual of Organization & Procedures, and the Leaders Brief. In addition, the President can seek assistance from former Presidents, the District Vice President, other Section leaders and ISA staff.
The President should ensure that all officers are trained for their jobs. This typically consists of:
1. Cross-training at the July Board meeting with their predecessor.
2. Board position notebook with instruction sheets, checklists, and lessons learned.
3. Assistance from previous position holders currently on the Board.
4. Attendance at District 7 Leadership Conference (held each summer).
5. Supervision by Section President.
The President should periodically correspond or meet with each volunteer to assess their performance and level of satisfaction.
Requirements
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
Background & Experience: Leaders come in all sizes and shapes. An effective leader should be organized, diplomatic, and set a good example. The role of Section President requires leading a group of volunteers to be effective in serving our Section membership. A good candidate should be familiar with the organization of ISA, both locally and nationally. Attendance at national President’s meetings, as well as serving in other roles on the local Board, will generally demonstrate whether a candidate has the desired characteristics to be an effective leader.
Meeting Attendance: The President should endeavor to attend:
- Monthly Section meetings
- National President’s meetings and fall conference
- District Leadership Conference
Section Performance Award: The President should be familiar with the Section Performance Award and the submittal requirements. The Houston Section is the largest Section in the world. Considering the resources available, the Section should always be a strong candidate to win the “large” Section category Gold Award.
Submit the following to National by September 30:
- Documented Annual Plan
- Listing of Section Goals, Objectives, and Results
- Listing of Board members
The remainder of the submittal requirements are due in May.
Time commitment: 2-3 days/month. Committing to the role of President is not to be taken lightly. The typical time in leadership is five years, serving as Treasurer, Vice President, President, Past President, and National Delegate.
Benefits
1. Leading the world’s largest ISA Section is a significant responsibility and accomplishment
2. Visibility for self and employer
3. Learning valuable leadership skills
Restrictions
The President needs tolead the Section. This means gaining input and agreement from others, not dictating. Others need to be given the freedom to accomplish their tasks in their own preferred manner, as long as the goals of the Section and position are being met. The President should not act alone, as most issues require Board approval.
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Vice President
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Section Vice President
The Vice President shall assist the President in the performance of his duties and officiate for him in his absence. The Vice President shall have supervision over Section representatives to engineering societies and other organizations outside the ISA in which the Section participates and shall report for these representatives to the Board of Directors.
Responsibilities
1. Prepare for term as Section President.
2. Become knowledgeable (preferably by participation) of any Section activities that are not already familiar.
3. Perform any other duties as assigned/requested by the Section President.
Training and Supervision Plan
1. Cross-training at July board meeting with predecessor.
2. Assistance from previous position holders currently on the board.
3. Attendance at District 7 Leadership Conference (held each summer).
4. Supervision by Section President.
Requirements
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
Background & Experience: The Vice President normally rises through the ranks of Section leadership by holding the office of Treasurer and then serves as President, Past President and National Delegate. A good candidate should be familiar with the organization of ISA, both locally and nationally. Attendance at national President’s meetings, as well as serving in other roles on the local Board, will generally demonstrate whether a candidate has the desired characteristics to be an effective leader.
Meeting Attendance: The Section Vice President should endeavor to attend:
- Monthly Section meetings
- National President’s meetings and fall conference
- District Leadership Conference
Time commitment: 1-2 days/month.
Benefits
- Visibility for self and employer
- Learning valuable leadership skills
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Treasurer
Purpose/Goals of the Treasurer
To have a transparent financial management system with up-to-date record keeping.
1. To monitor and maintain financial records.
2. To assist Board Members and Program Chairman in financial accountability.
3. To update members with budget status and assist committee in preparing ledger sheet.
4. To assist members in alternate method of charging invoices.
5. To maintain all financial records in quick-book accounting system.
Responsibilities
- Supervision of the funds and financial records of the section.
- Establish and maintain proper accounting procedures for all Section funds (Assistant Treasurer to maintain all bookkeeping).
- Assist Section President in preparing the budget (Assistant Treasurer to support).
- Prepare financial statements and report the Section’s financial status (Assistant Treasurer to prepare the report).
- Periodically compare actual revenue and expenses to the Section’s budget (Assistant Treasurer to support).
- Close the book at the end of the fiscal year (Assistant Treasurer to close all books).
- File all required tax returns on a timely basis (Assistant Treasurer to file tax returns).
- Simplify and to motivate members to pay for the invoices in a timely manner.
- Support Board Members in collecting beneficiary funds
- Assist Board Members in better managing their budget by having continuous and updated status to account receivable and expenses (Assistant Treasurer to prepare the report).
- Attend all programs, meeting, and activities to collect charges and manage cash box.
- Make disbursement/mails bills (all invoices).
- For detail responsibilities refer to “ISA Section Treasurer” and “Treasurer Lesson Learned”.
Requirements
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
The candidate should have accounting experience.
Time commitment: 12 – 16 hours per month. It is typical for the Treasurer to advance through the positions of Vice-President, President, Past President, and National Delegate.
Benefits
- Visibility for self and employer
- Learning valuable leadership skills
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Assistant Treasurer
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Assistant Treasurer
Provide financial records to the ISA Houston Section Board and project information to the project leaders. Establish financial plans, goals, and methods with guidance from the Executive Board.
Responsibilities
1. Maintain Section financial records
Record Deposits
Record Expenditures
Establish annual budget
2. Provide financial reports as requested
Monthly financial reports
Project financial reports
3. File annual IRS returns with CPA
Training and Supervision Plan
1. Work with incoming Treasurer for records familiarity
2. Establish routines for financial accounting and reporting
Requirements
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
The individual must be familiar with accounting procedures and possess a working knowledge of the account system in use.
Attend the business meetings of the Section.
Provide monthly financial reports to the Executive Board.
Time commitment: Approximately 6 hours per month. Additional time will be required to record the financial aspects of the fall and spring membership events.
Benefits
The volunteer will gain insight into corporate finances, budgeting processes, and the impact of income and expenses on the financial health of an organization.
Restrictions
The assistant treasurer is not responsible for issuing checks or maintaining current accounts payable, this is the duty of the treasurer.
Length of appointment
One year (July through June). This position may be renewed.
Title: Secretary
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Section Secretary
The Secretary keeps track of the business of the Section and functions primarily as a record keeper and correspondent.
Responsibilities
- Take and maintain minutes of all Section Executive Board meetings; issue draft minutes for review / comment by the Board and issue final minutes for approval.
- Maintain records of monthly meeting programs and agendas.
- Correspond with ISA Staff, District and Section officers and with other individuals and groups as may be necessary.
- Assist the President and Executive Board in other duties as necessary.
Training and Supervision Plan
- Cross-training at July board meeting with predecessor.
- Board position notebook with instruction sheets, checklists, and lessons learned.
- Assistance from previous position holders currently on the board.
- Attendance at District 7 Leadership Conference (held each summer).
- Supervision by Section President.
Requirements
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
Background & Experience: A good candidate should be familiar with the organization of ISA, both locally and nationally.
Meeting Attendance: The Section Secretary should endeavor to attend:
· Section Board meetings
· Monthly Section meetings
· District Leadership Conference
· National President’s meetings and fall conferences
Time Commitment: Approximately 6 – 10 hours per month
Benefits
· Enhanced leadership skills
· Interaction with peers
· Visibility for self and employer in Automation and Controls community.
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Program Director
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Program Director
To provide and promote programs, in the form informative meetings and social events which are intrinsically useful to the Houston ISA chapter and its members by educating, providing fellowship, increasing membership, and furthering the goals of this chapter as a whole.
Responsibilities
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
Leadership: Make sure that all the programs are well coordinated.
Monthly Meetings: The Program Director should plan and execute each monthly Section meeting. The Program Director must set the yearly schedule in advance to set up the logistic for the meetings. Meeting topics and place should be sent out two weeks in advance for the website. Send e-mail to Houston list serve 10 days in advance and also send reminder Monday before the meetings. Get estimated RSVP count and make sure that caterer is aware of total head count. Prepare name labels for all the folks who have RSVP’d. A Blank Professional Development Hour certificate should also be prepared for each meeting for members who might need that. Order a Pen set (gift) from Monarch Trophies with ISA logo on the case for the presenter for each meeting. Presenter Name and date of the monthly meeting should be engraved on the pen. In addition to the section meetings, Program director needs to make sure and reserve a meeting place for all board meetings. The Section meetings are not held in January or July, however, there should still be board meetings during those months.
Documentation: Maintain a record of all monthly meeting (i.e., meeting date, topic, presenter info, attendance info, and any other special information).
Bylaws: Be familiar with the local bylaws.
Time commitment: 2-3 days/month.
Benefits
- Leading the world’s largest ISA Section is a significant responsibility and accomplishment
- Visibility for self and employer
- Learning valuable leadership skills
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Membership Director
Purpose/Goals of the Membership Director
Maintain the stability of the existing membership while adding new members. Achieve a positive membership growth over the course of the year.
Responsibilities
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
Background & Experience: While this position does not require previous experience, it does require a “people person” and someone with sales skills. The Membership Director needs to contact members via telephone and e-mail.
The Membership Director is responsible for recruitment and retention of members and for getting new members involved in the Section and Society. The status of the membership needs to be tracked monthly and contact made with new members, those whose membership is up for renewal, and those in the “grace” period. Membership is tracked automatically by headquarters and the database file (which is updated monthly) is available for download.
Set up the membership booth at appropriate Section activities.
Meet with lead engineers and managers at large companies to review the benefits of ISA and to determine a plan for the company to encourage membership and attendance at monthly meetings.
Monthly activities:
- Contact each new member to make sure they understand the opportunities and benefits of membership. Send them the President’s “new member welcome letter”.
- Contact each member in the active grace period to emphasize the benefits of membership and encourage renewal. Note and compile reasons for members dropping and report this information to the Board on a periodic basis.
Time commitment: 1-2 days / month.
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Education Director
Responsibilities:
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
1. Responsible for planning and executing the Section’s educational programs.
A. Survey the educational needs and interests of the Houston Section:
a. Online survey
b. Personal contact with representative sample of members
B. Schedule and execute ISA training classes by working with ISA national. The location and course numbers need to be decided a full quarter ahead of actual class dates and a contract signed.
C. Investigate the use of educational resources available locally (i.e., not through ISA national).
D. Provide the Web Master with updates for the www.houstonisa.org Education Page.
2. Coordinate with Program Chair to secure speakers at monthly meetings that address educational opportunities.
3. Coordinate with the Student Liaison to help interest students in learning about ISA and its courses.
4. Attend Board Meetings and member meetings on a regular basis.
Time commitment: 2 days/month.
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Web Master
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Section Web Master
The Web Master shall maintain the local Section web site.
Responsibilities
- Update the web site monthly. The Web Master is generally not responsible for writing the material, but rather posting and maintaining material provided by the other Board members. Some pages need to be updated each month, such as the monthly meeting and RSVP pages, archived meeting page, and President’s message. Other pages need to be updated on a less frequent basis, such as the education, conferences, and standards pages
Training
- Cross-training at July board meeting with predecessor.
- Assistance from previous position holders currently on the board.
- Attendance at District 7 Leadership Conference (held each summer).
- Books.
Requirements
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
Background & Experience: A good candidate should be familiar with web design and development programs. The Section currently uses FrontPage for web design, however use of this program is not mandatory.
Meeting Attendance: The Web Master should endeavor to attend:
- Monthly Section meetings
- District Leadership Conference
Time commitment: 1-2 days/month.
Benefits
- Visibility for self and employer
- Learning valuable skills
- A better understanding of ISA
- Networking contacts
Length of appointment
One year (July through June). Consecutive terms may be served.
Title: National Delegate
Responsibilities:
This is an elected position with voting privileges.
1. Attend President’s Fall Meeting on behalf of the section.
2. Inform the section of the rules and regulations of the society that will be brought up for vote at the President’s Meeting.
3. Vote on the business of the society according to the wishes of the board.
4. Consider special projects according to the needs of and requests by the Section President.
Requirements:
Must have served as Section President and Past President
Title: Past President
Purpose/Goals of the Section Past President
The Section Past President shall be an advisor to the Section President. He/she will attend section meetings and section events. As a past president he/she possesses vast experience in a variety of roles within the section. Therefore the Past President should be available to any section officer for assistance in planning and executing their tasks.
Responsibilities
1. Continue to be an active participant in section activities
2. Assist the Section President and other officers with planning and execution of their respective roles
3. Perform special tasks as assigned by the Section President
4. Take on a leadership role in the process of submitting nominations for awards
Training and Supervision Plan
The Houston Section Past President has risen through the ranks of the section and possesses a wealth of knowledge regarding section activities. This knowledge can be a tremendous benefit to the section. The Past President must continue to lead by remaining involved in section activities. This starts with the annual planning meeting and concludes with the transition to National Delegate for the following year. The supervision plan should include the following action items:
6. Cross-training at the July Board meeting with their predecessor
7. Board position notebook with instruction sheets, checklists, and lessons learned
8. Provide assistance to fellow board members as necessary
9. Attendand District 7 Leadership Conference (held each summer).
Requirements
Background & Experience: The Past President of the section normally has several years of experience within the section. Positions of increasing responsibility will lead to a four year commitment beginning with the office of Treasurer. Following the Treasurer position the leader will become Vice-President, President, Past President and finally National Delegate for the section.
Benefits
4. Share experiences with others in the section
5. Visibility for self and employer
6. Learning valuable leadership skills
7. Contributing to the success of an outstanding organization lead by volunteers
Restrictions
The Past President needs to lead by example. With that said care must be taken so as not to interfere with the authority and responsibility of the Section President. The Past President will act as a senior advisor to the board and make recommendations to the Section President as those recommendations are appropriate.
Length of appointment
One year (Starting and ending in June).
Title: National Parliamentarian and Historian
Responsibilities:
This is an appointed position without voting privileges.
- Attend monthly Board meetings.
- Advise if actions of the Section may violate Section or Society bylaws.
- Provide interpretation of bylaws that are not clear when requested and guidance on bylaws changes when required.
- Provide historical perspective on section plans to help avoid past mistakes. Advise Board members of the history and reasons for policies and activities when they are questioned.
- Maintain documentation on Section activities for historical purposes.
Requirements:
A long standing member of the local Board.
Title: Standards & Practice Liaison
Responsibilities:
This is an appointed position without voting privileges.
Acts as liaison between National S&P staff (via telephone and e-mail) and Houston Board by performing the following:
· Disseminates current S&P information to all Section members.
- Provides the Newsletter Editor and Web Master with information on S&P activities.
· Promotes the review of draft ISA standards.
- Provides the Newsletter Editor and Web Master with information on S&P draft review announcements.
· Directs members with S&P questions to appropriate national staff personnel.
Time commitment: 5-6 hours per month.
Title: Section/Division Liaison
Responsibilities:
This is an appointed position without voting privileges.
- The S/D Liaison person should be an active Section member who plans to attend most Section Board meetings, as well as monthly Section meetings. The member should be well versed in Section activities whether they are technical or social. In that, he/she should have a good working knowledge of the Section and its benefits to the members.
- The S/D Liaison person should be a member of two or more of the twenty or so technical Divisions of the Society, including one in each of the technical departments, the Industries and Sciences Dept. and the Automation and Technology Dept. In that capacity, the member keeps in tune with the technological advances in his/her field, as well as those of other members.
- The S/D Liaison person should be prepared to attend the President's Spring and Fall meetings as well as the annual conference, and to participate in meetings such as the A&T/I&S Department meeting, Department and Section Workshops and any relevant Division meetings.
- The S/D Liaison person should be prepared to write and submit timely Section/Division newsletters which could be used in the Section webpage or, if the subject is more topical than local, could be distributed through the ISA HQ facilities for publication by many other Sections.
These guidelines could be modified by the S/D Liaison person to suit him/herself and the type of participation and writing that is most comfortable to the writer. There is no question, however that the importance of active Division participation by Section members should be stressed.
Requirements:
A member of at least two Divisions who is able to attend President’s meetings.
Title: Pipeline Subsection Liaison
Goals of the Houston Section
To be the world’s largest, most powerful and innovative ISA Section that provides the greatest benefit for our members.
Purpose/Goals of the Pipeline Subsection Liaison
The Pipeline Subsection Liaison shall represent the subsection at all section meetings and activities, communicate section information and goals to the subsection, and perform such other duties as may be required.
Responsibilities
Leadership: Effectively represent the Pipeline Subsection.
Monthly Meetings: The Pipeline Subsection Liaison participates in each monthly Board, Subsection, and Section meeting. Section meetings are not held in January or July, however, there should still be board meetings during those months to cover training, establish goals and objectives, and carry out performance reviews.
Documentation: Provide an oral report to the President at Board Meetings.
Bylaws: Be familiar with the local bylaws.
Training and Supervision Plan
The Pipeline Subsection Liaison normally rises through the ranks of Subsection leadership by holding the offices of committee chairman, officer, vice chairman, and general chairman (and then serves as Houston Section Liaison). During this time the candidate should have attended numerous meetings with ample training opportunities. This generally provides enough time and experience to understand how to effectively represent a Subsection. However, much can be learned about general leadership and specifically the leadership of volunteers by reading books on both subjects.
There are a variety of leadership resources available on the main ISA web site, such as the OnLine Section Operations Resource Manual, Manual of Organization & Procedures, and the Leaders Brief. In addition, the Pipeline Subsection Liaison can seek assistance from former subsection liaisons, other Section leaders, and ISA staff.
The Pipeline Subsection Liaison should train for his job. This typically consists of:
1. Cross-training at the July Board meeting with his predecessor.
2. Board position notebook with instruction sheets, checklists, and lessons learned.
3. Assistance from previous position holders currently on the Board.
4. Attendance at District 7 Leadership Conference (held each summer).
5. Supervision by Section President.
Requirements
This is a nominated position without voting privileges.
Background & Experience: The role of Pipeline Subsection Liaison requires coordination with a group of volunteers to be effective in serving our Section membership. A good candidate should be familiar with the organization of ISA, both locally and nationally. Attendance at national President’s meetings, as well as serving in other roles on the local Subsection Board (e.g., Subsection committee chairman, vice chairman, and general chairman), will generally demonstrate whether a candidate has the desired characteristics to be an effective leader.
Meeting Attendance: The Pipeline Subsection Liaison should endeavor to attend:
- Monthly Section and Subsection meetings
- National President’s meetings and fall conference
- District Leadership Conference
Time commitment: 3-5 hours/week.
Benefits
1. Representing the Pipeline Subsection is a significant responsibility and accomplishment
2. Visibility for self and employer
3. Learning valuable leadership skills
Restrictions
The Pipeline Subsection Liaison should not act alone, as many issues require concurrence of the President or Board approval.
Length of appointment
One year (July through June).
Title: Host Committee Chair
Lessons Learned:
1) Meet early to set goals, name officers, establish committees, and plot path forward.
2) Form Committees for each responsibility so:
a) Efforts can be spread evenly amongst committee members
b) Alternates are ready to step in
c) Members can be recruited for discrete tasks rather than massive endeavors
3) Keep internal costs down by using vendor members to sponsor meeting space/food
4) Solicit major engineering firms and colleges to fill room monitor requirements using the lure of Professional Development Hours (PDH) for PEs, and PPMs along with credit for students.
5) Have the Insiders Committee do personal follow-up with key local Insiders. At 6 week count-down, re-engage to insure that packages are out and the Insider is fully “armed” and ready. At 2-3 week count-down, conduct “lunch & learns” or other promotion with support of Insider at each key facility.
6) Form Hospitality Committee to create local information package for visiting attendees and spouses. Keep copies at spouses lounge, ISA booth, and post at least one month in advance on ISA Expo site. (We did ours as a link back to a page on our local site. This enabled us to do our own maintenance/updates). Hospitality committee should also consider coordinating local tours; several technical tours will be coordinated by HQ but will require local contacts, and at least one attendee “fun” tour. See attached hospitality package including tour information.
7) Post-mortem Committee activities for incoming Committee – keep this focused on the Committee’s role as ISA HQ will comprehensively post-mortem the actual Expo event.
Co-Chairmanships
Houston attempted to split the duties this year between two chairmen. This seemed to lighten the workload and help us to concentrate more on the insiders program and on advertising the event in Houston.
Insider’s Program
Houston began a marketing strategy last year to assign an “insider” to each of our major engineering accounts. We tried to get someone as high up on the food chain as possible. This person received marketing material from HQ and disseminated it throughout their company via posters in the lobby, company intranet, emails, etc. To improve this program in ’04, we identified major end user accounts and added insiders where possible. HQ helped in this capacity by cross referencing our list and finding ISA members in many of the accounts. We also improved their gifts for serving as insiders. During the last two weeks prior to the show, we called each insider personally to thank them and to ensure that they received their information and put it out. We also set up a table top display at several of the engineering firms over lunch and handed out candy bars along with the attendance forms. Lesson: We inadvertently disturbed some of the insiders by doing this as they thought it reflected badly in their work. Next year we should tell them we are going to do this up front.
Room Monitors
Houston has a history of providing volunteers to serve as room monitors at the technical conference. This saves HQ a ton of money for temporary workers. It also helps to get many of our engineers involved on a personal basis. We approached the top I&E engineer at the E&C’s and asked them to send out a call for volunteers to their staff. By volunteering, they received free admission to the conference they monitored plus a certificate to attend one more session for free.
Spouse / Leisure Lounge
Houston helps to propagate information about things to do by placing brochures in the spouse’s lounge. We get these from the Chamber of Commerce and this year added a tour of a historic church compete with concert and lunch. We coordinated it by finding a function that was already planned and had folks sign up with a flyer. At the time of this report, the event had not occurred yet so I am unsure of how successful it will be.
Hospitality Committee
Often during the Expo, folks ask us what to do while they are in Our Town. This year we formed a Hospitality Committee to publish local entertainment. We placed a hot button on the ISA Expo website entitled “What’s Happening in Houston” and linked to our local website. Lesson: In this manner, we were able to make last minute changes and additions to the site without bothering HQ. This committee found a variety of activities and placed the links on the site. Some activities included theater, symphonies, sports, local area restaurants and watering holes, areas of interest such as Kemah and Galveston, etc. We also published flyers and placed in strategic locales such as in the spouse’s lounge, the membership booth, show floor, etc.
International Lounge
We provide a space where our international guests can congregate and try to develop a list of volunteers who speak different languages so we can help answer questions. Since many who gather here speak little or no English, we find them to be shy and reserved. They will often walk away if they do not feel comfortable entering the room. Lesson: We try to make the room oversized so they are not too close to others. We try to make several individual comfort zones where small meetings can take place. We also try to keep the Chamber of Commerce personnel well inside the room so as not to scare them from entering.
Plant Tours
The international group has asked for tours in the past to provide them with something to do before and after the show. We planned several very entertaining tours including Anheuser Busch, EIM Controls and PBV-USA manufacturing. Unfortunately, the response was very poor and we canceled all tours. We felt we needed 20-25 attendees to justify the cost of the bus. Lesson: We either need to advertise this better or open up to the entire ISA attendees to make it more successful.
Membership Booth
We use current board members of the ISA Houston Section and Sister Sections to man the membership booth during show hours. We also have information about the city readily available and will answer a variety of questions at the membership booth.
Title: Communication Liaison
Goals of the Communication Liaison
Recruit and promote ISA to interested technical and process measurement control individuals at engineering firms. Present ISA to company managers (pulling from the Insiders List) and invite them to support their employee participation in this worthwhile organization. ISA would help their employees keep up with the latest technologies and in the long run help the company.
Responsibilities
- Target Engineering firms – Insiders. Learn about the firm and see how ISA can help them.
- Give presentations and try to include help from local level leaders with the presentation to the firm.
- Invite managers to monthly meetings and recognize them at the meetings.
- Put a recognition piece in monthly newsletter – free promotion for their company.
- Measure progress of activity.
Title: Multimedia Chair and Assistant
Goals of the Multimedia Chair & Assistant
Provide live broadcast and archived recordings of monthly meetings for members unable to attend live and in person. Allow members to:
- See presentation slides and live video - via the Internet
- Hear high quality audio of the presentation - via teleconference
- Participate in questions and answers at the end of presentation - via internet chat and via teleconference
- Hear general messages from the Section Board to the membership.
- Access the presentation slides and audio after the presentation - via the online meeting archive
Responsibilities
The duties of the Multimedia Chair may be shared with an assistant. Changing technology means that the exact method of accomplishing the tasks may change over time. For example, the way the Section first broadcast our meetings is not the same as described here. Also, use of the technologies, service providers, and fee structure described here is not mandated.
Multimedia Chair
Pre-meeting Duties - One week prior to meeting
- Confirm those remote sites who wish to participate in the meeting.
Obtain $25 commitment from remote sites to participate.
Schedule online data conference with Microsoft Live Meeting at $0.35 / minute / participant.
E-mail meeting announcement with description of remote participant options:
- Start - End times
Webcast connection instructions
Teleconference - 1-800 telephone number and meeting access code
(See Multimedia Assistant duties for scheduling of teleconference).
Confirm with the meeting site host (H.E.S.S or other) that a high speed Ethernet connection is available and scheduled.
- Confirm 120V connection for laptop is available and scheduled.
Meeting Duties - Approximately 30 To 45 minutes prior to the presentation:
- Arrive at meeting prior to scheduled start of webcast to set up, connect, and test webcast equipment.
Give presenter the lapel microphone and remote transmitter.
Instruct presenter to:
- Firmly affix lapel microphone so it does not rub against anything.
Turn on remote transmitter power prior to start of presentation.
- At the end of the presentation:
- Repeat questions from audience before giving an answer so the answer may be heard and understood by current and future (archive) audiences.
- Request questions from remote audience.
Connect to Internet Live Meeting 15 minutes prior to start of presentation.
Broadcast lead slide of presentation so remote audience can confirm connection.
During presentation synchronize the slide being broadcast with that displayed by presenter.
Monitor and confirm remote audience connections via chat window.
Try to catch a bite to eat ;-)
Forward remote audience questions received via chat to the presenter.
End Live Meeting promptly at end of webcast to minimize charges.
- Collect lapel microphone from presenter, thank the presenter, and indicate that the audio of the presentation should be available on Houston ISA Section Monthly Meeting web page in a few days.
Post Meeting Duties
Solicit feedback via e-mail from webcast participants.
- Write up a periodic article for Electro-Pneus monthly news letter summarizing webcast experience and inviting others to join in for upcoming meetings.
Multimedia Assistant
Pre-meeting Duties - One week prior to meeting:
Schedule teleconference with Freeconference.com with premium rates ($ 0.10 / minute / participant) using personal credit card.
- Forward teleconference 1-800 telephone number and meeting access code to Multimedia Chair.
Meeting Duties - Approximately 30 minutes prior to presentation:
Arrive at meeting prior to scheduled start of webcast to set up, connect, and test teleconference and audio recording equipment.
Monitor and confirm:
- Audio recording.
- Remote audience teleconference connections. Record names and numbers of participants at each remote site.
Forward remote audience questions to the presenter.
- End teleconference promptly at end of webcast to minimize charges.
Post Meeting Duties
Download presenter audio to computer - save as .wav file for editing.
Edit out extraneous audio.
Convert to .wma file for posting on website.
Forward .wma file to webmaster for posting to website.
- Forward teleconference bill to Houston Section Treasurer for reimbursement.
Title: Educational Committee Appointee
Purpose/Goals of the Educational Appointee
To assist ISA Houston Section in accomplishing educational goals. The Section Educational Appointee shall work in conjunction with the ISA Education Chair.
Responsibilities
Coordinate with and assist the ISA Education Chair.
Attend ISA monthly Board and general meetings as possible.
Requirements
This is a nominated position without voting privileges.
The Educational appointee should have ample experience in the Automation and Control / Instrumentation field. Knowledge of industrial, academic and business areas are a plus.
Length of appointment
One year (July though June). This position can be renewed.
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