Presidents Letter August 2004

I have asked our Diversity Director, Karen Adams, PHR to guest write this month’s column. Her committee, under her excellent direction, has put together a top notch conference.

A large thank you is in order to all who attended this year’s second networking Happy Hour on Thursday, July 22, 2004. It is our desire to serve the needs of the HR professionals in our community and we hope you found the evening of networking to be not only fun but also very beneficial.

Beth Monson, PHR, CPC, CTS
President

Although the term “multiculturalism” is defined as ‘the practice of acknowledging and respecting the various cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, attitudes and opinions within an environment’, it has different meanings and evokes different emotions based on your own cultural identity.

On, Tuesday, August 10, 2004, Dallas HR will host its 3rd annual Diversity Conference. This year’s theme is “2004 & Beyond: The Strategic Reality of Multiculturalism.” We are very excited about this year’s conference because it has been designed to offer workshops for HR professionals, operating management and anyone who has a desire to understand how to recruit, retain, engage and manage a multicultural workforce.

We will begin the morning with a roundtable discussion during breakfast for our senior level Dallas HR members. Throughout the day we will offer informative workshops and a host of dynamic speakers who will discuss topics, such as: cross-cultural communications, generational differences and multicultural business strategies.

As an added bonus, we will offer a morning and afternoon workshop designed especially for healthcare professionals. The DFW metroplex has thousands of healthcare professionals who are responsible for the care and management of an ever-growing multicultural community. To prepare our healthcare professionals with the tools and competencies necessary for this emerging market, we will offer workshops that will specifically address patient care and managing a multicultural healthcare staff. We will conclude this year’s conference by giving you an opportunity to seek advice from our panel of experts on “Overcoming the Glass Ceiling.” We sincerely hope you will attend this conference. We are confident you will walk away with a better understanding of how to handle the day-to-day challenges that you may face in our multicultural society. Please use our website at www.dallashr.org to register.

On another note, On, Wednesday, July 28, 2004, Dallas HR was a proud partner at the Dallas Morning News Diversity Career Fair at the Richardson Center. We provided subject matter experts who spoke to the exhibitors on recruiting; and, who spoke to the candidates on networking and positively positioning themselves in a competitive marketplace. The career fair was a resounding success.

Warm regards,
Karen Adams, PHR
Diversity Director

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