2011 Year End Report

Greetings,

As the 2012 SIM Minnesota Board of Directors prepares for a great 2012, I thought I would reflect on the outstanding year we had in 2011. The 2011 Board accomplished several strategic projects that started a revitalization process for our chapter. Here is a summary of some of our successes:

SIM Minnesota Brand: Developing local brand recognition is critical for the vitality of our chapter. In our effort to establish a stronger brand for MN SIM, we accomplished several things.

First, we partnered with Premier Event Management to establish an annual CIO Forum & Executive Summit for the state of Minnesota. Our first annual forum will take place May 3-4 of 2012. We expect around 300 IT executives to participate in a two day event. Find more information at www.pemconferences.com/minn12home.htm.

Second, we forged a partnership with the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal where we sponsored their CIO of the Year event this fall. Third, we revitalized the golf event, which was sponsored by over twenty-one sponsors who helped us raise over $3000 for a local charity.

Last but not least, we once again raised the bar on our programs, including bringing in well-known national speakers like General Wesley Clark.

Increased and retained members: 2011 saw the largest increase in members since at least 2004, finishing the year out with 56 members. While we are very pleased with the progress, we will continue to strengthen the organization by adding members each year with a goal of around 100 members.

During 2011, the board concentrated on decreasing costs while increasing the quality of programs. For example, the board did an outstanding job of re-evaluating our venue and program cost structure. By moving our primary meeting location to the Minnesota Valley Country Club, we not only raised the quality and professionalism of our meetings, but also substantially decreased our costs. These efforts and other cost saving actions contributed to lowering membership dues from $850 to $550.

We will continue to look for ways to increase the value of your membership.

Refined succession planning process: The long-term health of the organization also requires a succession plan for the Board of Directors. This year we created a plan to start to address the needs of SIM MN in 2012 and 2013.

SIM MN is run by volunteer members. I highly encourage you to get involved with a committee in 2012 to help make SIM MN "YOUR” organization, ensuring its future success.The most important thing that makes SIM MN special is the quality of its members.

I thank all of you for making SIM MN the outstanding organization that it is and look forward to seeing you each month in 2012!

For those of you who still need to renew your membership, please be sure to log into www.simmn.org and renew now. 2012 is going to be another banner year and you don’t want to miss it!!

Best wishes,

Mark Hoekstra

President, SIM Minnesota