PDC

Clear Vision 2020 - Reimagined

On Tuesday, September 15^th Fort Worth PMI hosted the first annual VIRTUAL Professional Development Conference (PDC)!! 

When 2020 began, the PDC core team was well into the planning phase for the highly successful annual in-person conference.  The date, the place, and the keynote speaker had already been secured.  Speaker topics were being submitted and sponsor negotiations had begun.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus (Covid-19) and its associated restrictions initially caused us to delay the conference to September 2020.  However, ultimate the team was forced to cancel the in-person conference altogether.

The world quickly retooled itself to a virtual lifestyle for a semblance of normalcy to carry on meetings, events, happy hours, workouts and so many other social gatherings. The Fort Worth PMI PDC team began to contemplate the idea of a virtual conference but were unsure of where to begin and how to revamp it from the large multi-track conference that was being planned.  The team reached out to PMI and other PMI chapters to collaborate on the alternatives they were considering for their Professional Development Days.   Chapter members were also polled to determine if there was interest in a virtual conference.  From those conversations and the polling, the team felt that this was a possibility and a viable alternative to the conference that was canceled.  The inception of PDC2020Virtual was born!!!

Over the last three months, the team has worked diligently to determine the logistics of an all-day virtual conference. How to rework our registration tool from one track of 6 sessions to 5 tracks/20 sessions, evaluating from the wonderful speakers and topics that had already been gathered and choosing the 6 that would be the best topics and variety for a one day Clear Vision 2020 – Reimagined conference, negotiating with sponsors for electronic giveaway options, and how to make the event cost effective for our attendees.  In addition to all of that, the team had to become Zoom experts – thankfully because most of the PDC speakers are professional speakers they are well versed in the tool and were very gracious in helping the team through the nuances.

A project’s success is dependent on detailed planning and teamwork.  As a result of the last three months of planning, PDC2020Virtual resulted in a well-executed conference filled with a variety of topics and enlightening speakers.  This providing the registrants a cost effective day, opportunity to earn up to seven PDU’s, and participate in a virtual scavenger hunt.  A day well spent!  If you were able to attend this year’s conference we look forward to your feedback.

Stay tuned to 2021 when Fort Worth PMI will be back in person at the Hurst Conference Center on June 10^th!  Thanks to the success of this year’s virtual conference the team will be planning another virtual event in the fall of 2021. 

Special thanks to:

Fort Worth PMI Core PDC Team:  Lance Beaty, Kathy Harvel, Karolyn Knight, Glenn Mizell, Lynn Robbins, Denise Stafford, and Cindy Vandersleen.

Speakers: Sheryl Hardin, Velma Jackman, Maureen Kenney, Sandi Mitchell, Debbie Mrazek, Debbie Saviano, and Roger Wolkoff.

Sponsors: Banyan Group, IIL, Kari Mirabel, Matrix, MCG – Midwest Consulting Group, Sam Brock, Tarrant Roofing, TEKsystems, Texas Star, TWFG Lea Ann Leslie Insurance, and UTD – Project Management Program.