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Hello ISPE Boston Area Chapter Members,

Having just returned from the ISPE Tampa Conference, I am writing this President's Message after listening to the weather report of another snow storm on the way. I should have stayed in Tampa a few more days! I'm sure all of you are looking for warmer and sunnier days but in case you like the cold weather, you still have time to sign up for our Annual Ski Trip on Friday, March 5th. This year we'll be heading up to Sunday River in Maine and would love to have you join us.

We have a lot to report on for this newsletter but I want to make a few announcements of upcoming events. Most of you are aware that INTERPHEX is in April in NYC. You may not know that the Boston Area Chapter has brought back the Bus to INTERPHEX. We understand travel budgets may be limited due to these hard economic times, so this will offer our Members an opportunity to attend one of the largest pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing conferences at a fraction of the air/train travel costs. The bus will leave early on Wednesday, April 21st from Boston and stop along the way to NYC. We will leave NYC around 6pm on the same day. More information will be coming soon.

On March 27th, the Chapter is Sponsoring the CEO Free Throw at the Bio-Ball event benefiting the Special Olympics. Please see Marita King's article, "BioBall Needs Volunteers - A Slam Dunk for Chapter Members," for information on how you can volunteer to assist at the event.

Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback received by many of our valued Chapter Members, as well as non-Members, the Board of Directors has voted to once again host a Summer Social. Please reserve June 16th for a night of "Improv Magic", a unique, creative and entertaining experience! Sure to be a memorable experience, the event will be hosted at the Hard Rock Café in Boston with heavy appetizers and a spectacular show that will capture the essence of the pharmaceutical industry while leaving you laughing. Don't miss it!

One thing I keep hearing over and over from our Members is how important ISPE has been in their career. In the latest Spotlight Interview, Paige Kane of Pfizer describes the role that ISPE has played in her 20-year career in biotech. Another article of interest is from Allan MacDonald, who recently earned the credentials of CPIP - Certified Pharmaceutical Industry Professional^TM. Read his article to learn how Allan and Past President Doyle Johnson are teaming up to help interested Chapter Members qualify for the CPIP. Lastly, we sponsored a great Career Development Workshop in January - see Bob Urbanowski's article for more info. The workshop was so well received we will be having another Career Development event in the spring.

Membership Stats
In order for us, the Board of Directors and Committees, to properly manage and provide education to our members, we need to understand who are members are. Based on a quick review of the Chapter's membership profiles, I found the following: as of January, we had 1188 members. Out of these, 984 are men and 204 are women; 86 are from our Student Chapter membership.

The profiles also include areas for age, company type, and the role you play in your company. Unfortunately, many Members have left these areas blank. So that we can truly understand our Members and offer benefits best suited to their needs, we need these profiles updated to include all of the requested information. Please take a moment and go to www.ISPE.org. Log in and choose Access Your Profile. At the top of the page you will see My Profile (Page 2) - click on that and update your information. I plan to do another review in two months and hope to have more information to work with at that time. In addition, we will be sending a Membership Survey to all members soon. Please take some time to answer these questions - we need to hear how we can make your membership even more worthwhile by offering the benefits that are valuable to you.

ISPE Products and Services
Are you aware of all the products and services offered to you as members of ISPE? Check out the International Website at www.ISPE.org and see the list of journals and technical publications including Baseline® Guides and ISPE Good Practice Guides. Also available are recorded Webinars and Podcasts. Go to www.ispe.org/cs/online_learning/program. There is a wealth of information to be found there. It may not always be easy to find what you're looking for (International agrees and is working on improvements) but don't let that stop you from taking full advantage of your membership.
Well I think that is enough information for now, you still have the rest of the newsletter to read. I look forward to seeing you at upcoming events or hearing from you via email.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Beaulieu
President, ISPE Boston Area Chapter