I had passed on answering the original post a couple of weeks ago but now that Carol has brought it up again, I'll take a shot. I am all for ARMA becoming "International" and think it is a great goal. But until we as a records management community (especially in the U.S.) get our act together, I just can't see this happening any time soon. I often (fairly or unfairly) compare ARMA with another organization I belong to, the Project Management Institute (PMI)(www.pmi.org). PMI is truly an international association, with over 100K members in over 129 countries. PMI has an excellent chapter support structure and many of them dwarf our largest chapter. For example, I was the Secretary for the KC PMI Chapter; when I left last November, our membership alone was over 700 and growing. PMI has a lot of things going for it, including a strong marketing program (focusing on "branding"), partnerships with universities for graduate level PM programs, excellent publications including a quarterly scholarly journal (I heard rumors that this idea was proposed to ARMA some time back but was turned down because it wouldn't generate much $$), established PM competencies and a base of knowledge (also known as the PMBOK) that is recognized throughout the world. PMI has even made inroads within the U.S. Federal Government, where project management now has its own career path and most projects now require a skilled, and in some cases credentialed, project manager. I could go on but hopefully you've gotten the picture. Some will argue that PMI has significant resources available and yes they do. But they started from humble beginnings just like ARMA. And just like ARMA they depend upon volunteers. Now I am not saying that ARMA should be like PMI. But I do believe we could learn some lessons from them. First, though, we really need to first figure out as a profession who we are, spell out what records management is, what we can bring to the table and then market to the public. I've posted some ideas in the past so won't reiterate them. I say this because, at times it seems that some of us (I would include myself in that group at times) are ashamed of our profession. Some records managers I know are afraid to admit, that well, they are records managers. Most project managers are willing to share what they do. In addition, I suspect many company executives have at least some understanding of project management. Most, though probably have little clue of is meant by records management or, for that matter, what a records manager really does. With all of that said, I have noticed a positive change in ARMA over the past couple of years, giving me hope. Susan McKinney's post a few weeks ago seeking input for the strategic planning meeting (along with other recent initiatives) was extremely positive and provides me a level of confidence that I didn't have, say two years ago. I've been associated with ARMA for years now and this is the first time I can remember a Board Member truly soliciting input from the membership on the direction ARMA should be taking. I've also been acquainted with Susan for years and know she means it. So I encourage everyone to review all the documents on ARMA's website and provide comments to Susan or other board members. This is our best opportunity to step up to the plate and make our opinions known one way or another. I did it a few weeks ago - I hope others do as well. Well, enough ranting for one evening - time to go home and enjoy a margarita on the back porch. Bruce L. White, MBA, CRM, PMP Manager, Records Management Sempra Global 619-696-4671 619-696-2534 (Fax) 619-952-7145 (Cell) "While you're at it, you might as well add discovery to death and taxes." Nicholas Ralph Baum "Sempra Global is not the same company as the utility SDG&E or SoCal Gas, and Sempra Global is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission." List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance