September Luncheon - Economic Development Update: Growth and Opportunities in Austin's Neighboring Cities

Join us on September 11th for a panel discussion with Economic Development leaders from Hutto, Cedar Park, Pflugerville and Leander. We’ve all seen the recent news articles about growth in the surrounding areas, including new mixed-use developments, data centers, and new industrial and retail projects. Our panelists will discuss potential new projects currently being tracked within their communities, and how each EDC is working to attract new businesses to their respective cities.

Panel:
Scott Martinez, Hutto Economic Development Director
Phil Brewer, Cedar Park Economic Development Director
Kirk Clennan, Leander Economic Development Director
Trey Fletcher, Pflugerville Assistant City Manager

Seating is limited, so register early.

THE DISCOUNTED PRICE ENDS AFTER WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH!!

When: Tuesday, September 11, 201211:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: University of Texas Club - President's Room
2108 E. Robert Dedman Drive, Austin, TX 78712

Attire: Business Attire

Event Registration Fee:
Member: $35.00 for a limited time ($45.00 original price)
Non-Member: $50.00 for a limited time ($60.00 original price)

RSVP Monday, September 10, 2012

August Luncheon: Colony Park Revitalization: Creating a Model for Sustainable Mixed-Use, Mixed-Income Development

In early 2012, The City of Austin was awarded $3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Sustainable Communities Community Challenge Grant to assist with development of 208 acres of publicly-owned land in the Colony Park neighborhood of East Austin. This federal grant initiative is designed to support planning for a model pilot sustainable and livable mixed-use, mixed-income community that incorporates best practice strategies for energy-efficient building design, water conservation and zero waste technology. Join SMPS for a panel presentation by City officials to discuss the grant initiative and a future RFQ solicitation (expected Fall 2012) for an interdisciplinary Sustainable Design Team to work closely the City and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation in development of the mixed-use neighborhood Master Plan. The Master Plan is expected to address rezoning, engineering for subdivision and site planning, infrastructure construction plans and architectural design for a mix of new, sustainable residential and commercial development.

Presenters:
Betsy Spencer, Director
Kelly Nichols, Policy and Planning Manager
City of Austin Neighborhood Planning and Community Development Office
Michael Personett, Assistant Director
City of Austin Watershed Protection Department

Seating is limited, so register early.

THE DISCOUNTED PRICE ENDS AFTER WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8TH!!

When: Tuesday, August 14, 2012 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: University of Texas Club - President's Room
2108 E. Robert Dedman Drive
Austin, TX 78712

Attire: Business Attire

Event Registration Fees:
Member $35.00 for a limited time ($45.00 original price)
Non-Member $45.00 for a limited time ($55.00 original price)

RSVP Monday, August 13, 2012

President’s Quarterly Note

Erika Passailaigue, CPSM
Datum Engineers


Where has the time gone? Just one short month from now, August 31 will mark both the end of the fiscal SMPS year and my tenure as President. It has been a whirlwind of activity since last September, which has made this year speed by like a blur on the F1 Race Track.

The Chapter is stronger than ever and has grown significantly in the past ten months. We started out with our membership at 71 last September and we are currently at 91 members! This is a significant increase in less than a year. SMPS National monitors the growth of all SMPS chapters on a monthly basis. The Austin Chapter had the highest growth of all the SMPS Chapters at 8.75%, in April. So we are not only making strides locally, but nationally as well.

Our luncheon programs have been especially timely and relevant this year. Luncheon programs in February (P3) and June (Texas A&M) both sold out, as did our April Tour (Federal Courthouse). Many other luncheons have brought in 90-plus attendees. This is a good indicator for us to gauge the effectiveness of our programming.

Programming has also helped us to have healthy sponsorship numbers this year. Because of the support of our sponsors, we were able to keep our luncheon program prices at the same rate as last year, even though our costs went up significantly in January.

We held our first golf tournament in April, which was a blast! Sponsorships from the golf tournament helped us make a contribution of over $800 to the National SMPS Foundation.

We also held our first round table information sharing event just last month. The topic was CRM systems. Since this is a new format for us, we’d like to hear from those who attended (as well as other members) if this is something you would like to see us continue to offer.

In addition to our firsts for the year, we’ve continued to build on some other important programs that were new last year, including our Mentor Protégé Class and our Communications Awards Program. Internally, we set up procedures to make sure that there is a plan in place to be able to continue to do these each year. That plan starts with assigning a champion to lead each of these efforts, along with a written guideline to have them easily transition from year to year.

Our communications committee has continued to make sure that we stay abreast of the latest in social media and started real-time tweeting this year during our June luncheon. They have also put out a fantastic newsletter throughout the year on quarterly intervals, in addition to keeping our website, communications, and marketing materials updated and professional.

I’ve met so many wonderful people and learned so much by serving as the Austin Chapter President for the past two years. I am excited about the new leaders that are coming up in the organization and eager to see what great new ideas they come up with. If I could leave you with one piece of advice from my experiences it would be share the love. I learned that by working together we are able to achieve success many times over what we can achieve on our own.

Thank you to our members, our volunteers, the chapter leaders and the national staff for the unforgettable experiences and the lasting friendships. I wish you all the best and hope to see you at an SMPS event soon!