August 2008 Vol 2, Issue 5 - E-newsletter for IABC T&T Members From the President: If anyone had asked me a year ago, if I wanted to be President of the association, I would have said no.  However, my experience with this vibrant association has been so fulfilling over the past two years, that I have the drive and passion to see it flourish and encourage other practitioners to keep it alive.  Volunteerism is not easy, especially when juggling husband, children, other interests, while in a permanent job. However, it gives one a complete feeling of self-satisfaction when a job that you volunteered to do, was successful and appreciated.  We hope that more of our members will join committees and truly become a part of this association to make things happen.  We must do it all together. The next two years will be challenging for the new board as it was for the first one.   I am happy to see that people have been willing to lend themselves to the future development of our industry.  The members of the board promise to work hard to fulfill our vision and aim to continue to provide the content, credibility and community for all our communication members. Be Heard™ Giselle La Ronde-West President, IABC T&T (2008-2009) Your IABC T&T Chapter 2008 - 2009 Board: Giselle La Ronde-West - President Nicole Duke-Westfield - Executive Vice President Judette Coward-Puglisi - Immediate Past President Maria Mc Millan - Conference Chair Heather John - VP, Finance Danielle Jones - VP, Administration Wendy Bishop - VP, Membership Maria Mohammed - VP, Social Media & Web 2.0 Christine Francois - VP, Professional Development Brevard Nelson - VP, Branding & Visual Communication Gina Joseph - VP, Communications Dexter Charles - VP, Sponsorship Roll Out the Welcome Mat During the month of July, IABC T&T welcomed: Kenrick Romain of Trinidad & Tobago Bureau of Standards; Camille Sam, Sandra Lewis, Don La Foucade, and Joy Mapp-Jobity, all of RBTT We are delighted you joined the fastest growing association for professional business communicators. Quick Links IABC T&T Chapter IABC International September is Worldwide Membership Month Don't forget... September 2008 is a Worldwide Membership Month! This means that for new or lapsed members who join or re-join IABC, we'll waive the application fee (US$40/CDN$44 for faxed/mailed/phoned enrollments; US$30/CDN$33 for Internet enrollments). Please remember: applications must be received at the San Francisco Headquarters office during the month of September to qualify. And, once again, there's a bonus...we're hosting an open house of the members-only IABC web site in September. For the month of September, everyone will have free access to: All of our content archives, such as Communication World, CW Bulletin, case studies, and conference presentations.                 MyComm.                 Read-only access to MemberSpeak and the IABC Buzz.                 The Job Centre.                 Communication Commons.                 The IABC Café To try us out, sign up at IABC Free Membership Trial. (Note: This login will not be available before or after the month of September.) IABC T&T Chapter Breakdown of Dues  The dues for Trinidad are as follows:                               International        Chapter        Regional       Application          Total                               Dues                    Dues             Dues             Fee New Member           US $116                55                10                 40                          221 Renewing Member   US $116                55                10                  NA                        181 People who join online receive a US $10 discount off of the application fee so the online joining fee is US $208.  The online renewal price remains the same at US $178.   Any group of 5 or more may bundle their memberships with the same renewal date for group rates and other benefits.  The larger the group the higher the discount.  Groups of 5-15 qualify for Bronze level which offers 5% discount on dues going forward.  Key seminars (Mark the Dates) 27 August - Web seminar: Getting the Boss to Listen: Becoming a Trusted Advisor 3-16 September - Online course: Strategic Planning 3-16 September - Online course: Leadership and Coalition Building 18 September - Teleseminar: The impact of news/editorial on advertising effectiveness, Angela Jeffrey, APR For more information, logon to:  IABC Distance Learning New 2009 IABC World Conference Dates The dates for IABC's 2009 World Conference have been changed to 7-10 June. The change was prompted by a generous offer to IABC by the Marriott San Francisco that will help offset budget increases and keep costs competitive. IABC is also rebranding its international conference to the IABC World Conference to better reflect the program's global emphasis. The World Conference program and registration will be online in December 2008 with the lowest registration rates offered through 31 January. Are you ready to become Accreditated? Are you ready to become Accreditated and take yourself to a globally accepted standard of knowledge and proficiency in Communications? Take this short quiz to find out.