Important Notes

Chapter Leader Exchange (CLE) Overview

The year’s CLE was a major success! Thank you to all the chapter leaders and chapter advocates who joined us at the HIMSS Innovation and Conference Center July 17-18.

• We were very pleased to have 120 volunteer leaders together to learn from each other and share ideas.
• HIMSS staff are actively looking for new tools and resources to ensure Chapter Leaders are successful and easy the workload of volunteers. We received some great best practices during the workgroup sessions at CLE and will be adding the material to the CLRA soon, so please check back for additional documents.
• HIMSS staff will be working with the Chapters Task Force (CTF) to discuss the feasibility of implementing the great suggestions from Chapter Leaders during the sessions.
• A special thanks to our excellent M.C.’s Lorna Waggoner, Chair, Chapters Task Force and Pam Varhol, Chair, Chapter Advocacy Roundtable.
• The agenda and slide presentations are posted on the Chapter Leader Resource Area in the Chapter Leader Exchange tab.

Election Complete, Board Kick-off Tips

Welcome new Chapter Board volunteers! Please reach out to HIMSS staff with any questions as you begin your tenure as a HIMSS Chapter Leader.

First and foremost, thank you to all volunteers for your time, energy, talent, and dedication to your local Chapter and the HIMSS mission. Please pass the ‘thank you’ along to your local volunteers for their continued support; those two short words can be your biggest motivator.

• Please send your updated FY19 Board list to chapters@himss.org as soon as possible.
• All board members must be members of both HIMSS and a HIMSS Chapter.
• Get to know your board! This is your local support system as a HIMSS volunteer. We’ve included some ideas below:
  • Board retreat
  • Create a FY19 plan and goals
  • Meet for lunch
  • Happy hour
  • Team building
  • Volunteer locally together
  • Phone conversations 
  • Review materials on CLRA together

Spotlighting the FY19 Chapters Task Force

The Chapters Task Force is responsible for providing support and guidance to HIMSS Chapters. The Task Force assists HIMSS in achieving specific chapter-related goals and provides additional training and guidance to chapter leaders. The Chapters Task Force values and encourages diverse perspectives and viewpoints, facilitated through a respectful exchange of ideas to achieve Task Force goals.

We are pleased to announce the FY19 Chapters Task Force:

• Lorna Waggoner, Chair, Iowa
• Alan Thriffiley, Vice Chair, Louisiana
• Scott Smiser, Past Chair, Kentucky Bluegrass
• Sherry de Cuba, Central and Northern Florida
• Mark Anderson, Houston, Texas
• Lee Lavergne, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
• Denise Mainquist, Nebraska
• Kevin Nortrup, Indiana
• Marty Lupinetti, Delaware Valley, Delaware
• Jennifer D'Angelo, New Jersey
• Raymond Gunn, Greater Illinois
• Barb Bungard, Northern Ohio
• Nicholas Christiano Jr., New York State

Chapter of the Year and Chapter Leader of the Year Awards

Chapter award nominations are open until July 30. Chapter awards are a great way to honor all the hard work of your chapter volunteers and the successes of your chapter and leadership. If you’re interested in reviewing the awards criteria, check it out on the CLRA under Awards.

2018 Annual Standards Report

The 2018 version of the Annual Standards Report is now available on the Chapter Leader Resource Area. As always, the Annual Standards Report is due on July 31! Please include the entire board in the process of completing the report and read more about our Annual Standards Webinar below. Angie and LaVerne are always happy to answer questions.

Chapter Sponsored Scholarship Opportunities

Is your chapter interested in giving back to the healthcare community?  Check out two great opportunities available for chapters to offer HIMSS Scholarships to their members.  In the past chapters have been very generous participating in these longstanding programs, and so we hope that others will consider this opportunity to recognize student and veteran members by supporting their career development! The scholarship call for applications will open on August 2. 

If you are interested in participating, please contact Maggie Van Vossen ASAP!

HIMSS+1 program: Extend Membership to a Colleague

Buy one regular individual membership ($199) and give the gift of one membership to a colleague — totally free for one year, no strings attached — with the HIMSS+1 program.

Current HIMSS individual members who purchased Regular Individual Membership are eligible to give a free membership. 

Please note that online-only, chapter-only, student, organizational affiliate members, non-profit partner members and corporate members of HIMSS are ineligible for the promotion at this time.

Invite your HIMSS+1 in three easy steps:

1. Log in to your account here.
2. Once you are on the "My Account — Dashboard," you can find the invitation for HIMSS+1 in the Membership Summary area, or select HIMSS+1 from the My Involvement tab drop-down.
3. Enter your colleague's email address, and we'll send them a message with complimentary HIMSS membership.

Questions? Contact membersupport@himss.org