Educational Procurement Journal - March 2008 - (Page 4) LETTER F R O M T HE CE O From My Avatar Doreen Murner CEO, NAEP to Yours Greetings Dear Readers, s you can see by my picture, my staff has turned me into an avatar. They told me that my avatar is my persona in cyberspace. The entire national office staff each has his or her own avatar. Hmmm. Apparently my staff sees me as a vertically challenged, stout little creature with a very large head. “Is this how I am to go through life in cyberspace?” I asked. “No knees, no nose, and a big silly hat?” “Yes”, was the reply. “None of us have knees or noses. As far as the hat goes, the higher up on the corporate ladder you are, the bigger your hat gets. And we gave you a bag that says, ‘I am so NOT a plastic bag,’ because we know you are big on sustainability. Pretty cool, huh?” No one sees the immediate internal struggle the word “cool” sets off (my daughter frequently reminds me that I am so NOT cool; wait until she sees my avatar) and so I said, “Yes, that is way cool, just like me. Carry on.” Head down, I walked briskly back to my office and immediately looked up “avatar.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) av·a·tar (av' -tär') n. Computers. A graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet. And I thought, well there must be more to the word “avatar” than that. So I went a bit further and found: American Heritage Dictionary av·a·tar (av' -tär') n. An embodiment, as of a quality or concept; an archetype. Eureka! I get it – just as all of the elements of my avatar – my nonplastic bag, my big hat – provide information on who I am and what I stand for, the NAEP is kind of like an avatar for Procurement. It embodies the principles we all 5523 Research Park Drive Baltimore, MD 21228 Phone: (443) 543-5540 Fax: (443) 543-5550 Web Site: www.naepnet.org 2007-2008 Editorial Board Co-Chairs Cory Harms Iowa State University clharms@iastate.edu A bring to work with us every day, a highly developed sense of professional ethics to protect our own and our institution’s reputation for fair dealing. But there’s more to our NAEP avatar. Our persona must also reflect our keen sense of community, the incredible knowledge-sharing and support all of our members provide to each other. Our avatar needs to clearly demonstrate our ability and strategic value to our institutions, our local communities, and through sustainable practices, our entire planet. Whew. Our avatar would be wearing one very big hat. If you are registered for this year’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas (which both I and my avatar strongly recommend), you’ll be an important participant in this community of ours. The 2008 Annual Meeting will host a gathering of the best minds in Procurement – including your colleagues and suppliers with the products and services that will fuel your next big idea. You’ll discover strategies that will elevate your contributions high up on the value continuum. And you’ll have some fun enjoying some good old-fashioned Texas hospitality. This year’s event is bigger than ever before – with over 150 exhibits, nearly 50 sessions, and a whole host of networking opportunities. Well, you know what they say – “Everything is bigger in Texas,” and I guess it’s true. Especially when it comes to hats. See you in Austin! Michael A. Chmielewski, C.P.M. Law School Admission Council mchmielewski@lsac.org Associate Editor Burr Millsap, CPA, M.B.A. University of Oklahoma burr-millsap@ouhsc.edu Members Linda Collins University of California lcollins@ucsd.edu John Klopp University of Iowa john-klopp@uiowa.edu Martha (Marty) Newman, CPPB University of Maryland-College Park menewman@umd.edu Craig Passey Brigham Young University craigpassey@byu.edu Valerie Rhodes-Sorrelle, M.P.A., C.P.M., A.P.P. Grand Valley State University rhodesv@gvsu.edu Victoria R. Windley University of Delaware tory@udel.edu E&I Liaison Sabra Schell E&I Cooperative Purchasing sschell@eandi.org NAEP Staff Doreen Murner / Chief Executive Officer dmurner@naepnet.org Katie Adair / Financial Services Associate kadair@naepnet.org Jacqueline Harget / Financial Services Associate jharget@naepnet.org Marc Kendig / Web & Electronic Communication Specialist mkendig@naepnet.org Neil D. Markee / Purchasing Link, Editor-in-Chief nmarkee@naepnet.org Paul Ravenscroft / Director, Finance & Admin. pravenscroft@naepnet.org Barbara Torre / Community Resources Manager btorre@naepnet.org Toni Valenti / Director, Member Communications and Marketing tvalenti@naepnet.org Brian Yeoman / Director, Professional Development byeoman@naepnet.org Help us to tell your story, and give yourself and Procurement deserved recognition. Send us your ideas, articles, and thoughts. Contact JournalEditor@naepnet.org. Educating Higher Education 4 EDUCATIONAL PROCUREMENT JOURNAL www.naepnet.org | March 2008 http://www.naepnet.org http://www.naepnet.org http://Dictionary.com http://www.naepnet.org
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