Conferences, awards, elections, forums, AGMs, board meetings and RPP

It has been a busy time over the last few weeks with the APM: conferences, awards, elections, forums, AGMs and board meetings.

In line with good practice our elections for the board are run by the Electoral Reform Society, this has the advantage that not only are they independent, but they are run by people who are expert in this. Congratulations to those people you have elected to the board: Mary McKinlay, John Gordon, Jonathan Simcock and Charles Egbu. So a thank you from me for those members and fellows that voted, and a please remember to vote next time as it is your APM.

I was fortunate enough to join the Branch and SIG forum in York over the weekend 4 to 6 November. There was a lot of information sharing, discussion, listening and deciding going on. All of this helped us to move the APM forward, positioning it better to be able to respond to new challenges in project management, and take advantage of new opportunities. I came away from the event not only impressed by the ideas and commitment of all that were there, but energised (even with a dose of 'man flu') by the commitment, passion for the subject and intellect of all those there. By the end of the weekend I had a notebook full of things I had jotted down to discuss with the board and the Ibis House team.

On the following Monday evening we had the AGM at Ibis House. As well as some of the procedural elements of running an AGM, it was a chance to reflect over the past year and to look forward to what the New Year will bring. I am pleased to say that thanks to some prudent planning the APM is still very healthy in these challenging economic times which allows to continue with driving the profession forward and to continue with our vision of "All Projects Succeed" during 2012, our 40th anniversary year. There was some discussion on the exact date the APM was formed but we were fortunate to have a number of the founding fathers present, including the first President Professor Geoffrey Trimble. Our current President, Martin Barnes, gave a very entertaining and thought provoking address and, as always, issued some challenges to all present to spur us on in the next year.

Our board meeting was the following day where we re-elected Mike Nichols as our chairman, and I was fortunate enough to be elected deputy chairman. Among the many topics on the agenda at the meeting were the re-forecast of our financial performance and a discussion of the extensive consultation and progress on the new body of knowledge, including the governance process for its publication in the new year. The last item under AoB was to inform me that after a very nervous couple of weeks I was told I had passed my RPP. I encourage all of you that feel you are able to apply, to go for it. I found the application with its reflection on experience and recent CPD very enlightening and the whole process very rewarding.

So now as a close with some hesitation, as we are still in November, I wish you a Happy Christmas and may all your projects be successful in the New Year.