We are almost here! The 2010 Annual Region 4 Leadership Meeting (R4LM) will begin on Friday, June 11. This year, the Rochester, NY Chapter is hosting the meeting. It promises to be a very informative and fun weekend for all of the attendees as we hear about the latest news and information about Region 4 and PMI and listen and learn from a number of excellent speakers.

Meesage from Suketu Nagrecha, MBA, PMP – PMI Region-4

Introduction to PMI Regions

As a PMI Component Mentor I am often asked about my role and activities within region 4. The following is a brief introduction.

PMI Regions
PMI has four macro regions to serve PMI members around the world – North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA); Latin America and Asia Pacific. In order to better serve the component (chapter) leaders, these macro regions are further divided into 15 micro regions. These regions are determined by the size of the country and proximity to other countries/continents; time zones; language and communication commonalities; and the number of existing chapters in the region.

PMI Component Mentorship
Component mentors (previously called “regional mentors”) serve as advisors and information resources helping PMI component leaders and staff to build leadership skills. Mentors work as liaisons between component leaders and PMI, helping to facilitate collaboration, encourage networking and foster two-way communication. Their other responsibilities include: assisting component leaders with strategic and transition planning; ensuring component’s strategic plans align with PMI’s strategic plan; ensuring components follow PMI policies and directives. (Source: pmi.org)

The component mentor program was managed by volunteers until 2004. In 2004, the program was officially integrated into PMI operations with a full-time staff administrator in the Component & Community Relations department. In 2007 the program was enhanced to include reinforcement from the Component Mentor Program Member Advisory Group (CMP MAG). The program has also instituted a formal communication plan, mentor progress review, mentor training plan, and region budget.

As of 2008, there are 20 volunteer Component Mentors globally. PMI follows a formal process to select the mentors. Some of the eligibility criteria include minimum ten years of professional experience, PMI member in good standing, served as an elected leader with a PMI chapter, SIG or college etc. The component mentor charter is available on PMI’s website at http://www.pmi.org/AboutUs/Pages/Governance.aspx.

About PMI Region 4 – East Central North America
PMI region 4 (also known as East Central North America) covers six states in North America – Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. There are 24 PMI chapters in this region and approximately 23,000 members. Of the 15 PMI geographical regions worldwide, region-4 is the world’s largest PMI region in membership.

Region 4 holds various activities to provide an opportunity for component leaders to build leadership skills, share best practices and network. Following are some of the main region 4 activities.

• Annual regional leadership meeting – 1.5-day meeting for chapter leaders to learn and share their experiences.
• Bi-monthly regional leadership teleconference
• Chapter strategic alignment initiative – ensuring components’ strategic plans align with PMI’s strategic plan
• Development and maintenance of Region 4 website – www.pmiregion4.org
• Chapter activities summary – activities conducted by the chapters
• Support component events in the region

This article is a brief introduction to PMI regions and region 4 activities. For more information please contact me at suketu.nagrecha@yahoo.com

Welcome to new PMI Region 4 website. Thanks to Kulveer Virk of PMI Great Lakes Chapter for creating this website in a short timeframe.