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Greetings!
In cities around the world, April, May and June are often months full of large regional events such as film festivals, horse derbies, parades and concerts. Whether national or local, each of these festivities can be identified as a project. Are there upcoming events in your local community that could use project and program management? PMIEF encourages you to reach out to your local planning committee (maybe you are even a member of one) to introduce them to the benefits of project management, perhaps conducting a training and/or pointing them to PMIEF's no-cost educational resources. Continue reading to learn about how a PMI member is using project and program management to help plan a multi-faceted bike event in his local community. Sincerely, Your friends at the PMI Educational Foundation
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PM at Community Bike Event
PMI member Brian Grafsgaard, PMP®, PgMP® is merging the world of program and project management with the world of biking in his local community.
He is coaching a team of staff and volunteers, some of whom are teenagers, on program and project management techniques to help ensure the success of the Minnetonka Community Education's (MCE) annual Tour de Tonka bike ride.
The Tour de Tonka, which is held each August in Minnetonka, MN, USA (near Minneapolis) and boasts a roster of over 2,500 participants, offers five different routes that vary from 16 to 100 miles (26 to 161 km). The Tour de Tonka also fosters a sense of community by collecting canned food and funds for a local charity while promoting and celebrating healthy lifestyles.
The routes take bikers alongside and around the community's multiple lakes via a series of roads and bike trials. Due to the complexity of the routes and rest stops, the event team must interact with multiple jurisdictions (state, county, and local) regarding construction schedules, rest area locations, safety needs and police patrol. They must also coordinate over 300 MCE staff and volunteers as part of their year-long planning process.
This multifaceted program, like any major event, could easily result in chaos without a clear plan in place. Fortunately, Brian  makes sure the team takes advantage of the benefits of program and project management in every way possible using PMIEF's PM Skills for LifeSM.
Per Brian, "The materials provided by PMIEF distill the essentials in a way that is easily understandable. Staff and volunteers now have a name for what they do and an understanding of the principles. They have embraced both program and project management disciplines to guide the planning and organization effort required to successfully run such a large event."
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Student volunteers point bikers to the finish line |
Brian knows that this training will extend far beyond this year's event. The team's high school-aged volunteers will be able to leverage the skills they have acquired in their future studies and future careers while adult volunteers will be able to incorporate them into other community work and their everyday lives.
With the help of program and project management, this year's Tour de Tonka promises to be a smooth ride to the finish line! |
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PMIEF Educational Resources | |
To Use for Community Event Planning
- PM Skills for LifeSM
 - Used for The Tour de Tonka
- PowerPoint® with notes, participant handbook
- Basic introduction to PM
- English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese (presentation availble in Japanese)
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PMI Educational Foundation
14 Campus Boulevard
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Phone: +1-610-356-4600
Fax: +1-610-356-0357
E-mail: pmief@pmi.org
Website: www.pmief.org |
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