Client Success

An Update from the AMS Advantage Steering Committee Chair

I am providing this update as I serve a second term as your Steering Committee Chair. I look forward to an exciting and productive year, but, before discussing what is in store from your Steering Committee this year, I want to thank the outgoing members and welcome the incoming members.

Leaving the Committee at the end of 2010, were Robin Morgan, Southwest Florida Water Management District, Florida, Leslie Randall, Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland, and Jerry Gearhart, State of Utah. On behalf of the Steering Committee, thanks Robin, Leslie and Jerry for your time, commitment and participation in all activities. Your insight will be missed. I will particularly miss Robin's updates on Florida weather, especially when they are provided in the middle of a blizzard in Iowa!  And a special thanks to Jerry Gearhart, who served as your Chair for 2010. Each Chair is faced with different issues and needs and Jerry's year was no exception. He handled everything with professionalism and with the user community's best interests in mind. Jerry definitely left a positive mark on the AMS Advantage ERP product. 

At this point I want to welcome the new Steering Committee members. In December, the following individuals were elected to serve three-year terms:

• Johnna Rogers, Wake County, North Carolina: Financial Management Functional Seat
• Roxanne Hoover, Baltimore County Public Schools, Maryland: Payroll Functional Seat
• Bob Davis, Los Angeles County, California: Materials Management Seat
• Janet  Laszlo, City of Anaheim, California: Employee Benefits Functional Seat (serving a second term)

In addition, in January, Kathie Still from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts resigned from her seat as Financial Functional representative. After nearly 35 years in State government, Kathie has decided to retire. Kathie worked tirelessly toward continually improving the AMS Advantage ERP product in order to meet the needs of the user community. My guess is that Kathie has reached out to almost every client site or you to her, for assistance. Kathie, we thank you for your contributions and for being a voice for the client community. You will be missed and we wish you the very best in retirement. The Steering Committee voted to replace Kathie with Joan Shea from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to represent the Financial Functional seat. Welcome Joan!
In addition to the new members, I also want to remind you of the other Steering Committee members:

• Truycnda Hawkins, City of Tuscon, Arizona: Budget Seat
• JuneMarie Perkowski (Secretary), Baltimore County, Maryland: HR/Functional Seat
• Fran Pinkston, Commonwealth of Kentucky: Procurement Seat
• Scott Waldman (Vice Chair), Oakland Intermediate School District, Michigan: HR/Technical Seat
• Mason Campbell, City of Roanoke, Virginia: AMS infoAdvantage

I look forward to working with old and new members of the Steering Committee. If you have any issues, problems or comments, please feel free to reach out to any of us. 
Each year the Chair defines a focus for the year. This year, my focus is on communication. I truly believe the best way to improve the AMS Advantage ERP product and make our jobs easier is through effective communication of our needs, both as individual sites and as a community. I believe we need to continue to identify better ways for peer-to-peer communication and better ways to communicate to CGI what problems we are encountering and what enhancements are important to us.

The Discussion Gateway is one way CGI and the Steering Committee are helping to promote this type of communication, and this issue of the Insights Newsletter provides an excellent example of how it can help. We have launched some additional initiatives this year to further enhance communication. Please stay tuned for more information as these initiatives develop and are ready for unveiling!

Last, by not least, I want to remind you to register for CGI Forum 2011 Online, May 17, 18 and 19. We have a number of useful sessions on tap for you this year, including product direction, what is new with Release 3.9 and best practices for working efficiently and getting the most out of your AMS Advantage ERP product.

I look forward to serving as your Chair, and I do invite you to contact me anytime.