President's Letter

January 2006

Welcome to Dallas HR 2006!

2005 was a banner year, culminating in the achievement of a SHRM Pinnacle Award for our Community Relations initiatives led by Debi Dault and her team of volunteers. Special thanks go to Carla Williams, our 2005 President, for her dedication and unflagging leadership of the organization – and to the many volunteer leaders, committee members and staff who made the year such a resounding success. We have much to celebrate!

Those of you who were able to attend our December luncheon know that we had the honor of hosting many of our former leaders – Dallas HR Presidents and HR Southwest Conference Directors - who have contributed their time and talents over the years to make DHRMA, Inc. what it is today. They deserve our utmost appreciation for the contributions they made to the organization.

As we enter the New Year, I hope we can take the time to remember and honor those who have gone before us, not only in Dallas HR but in our profession. We’ve come a long way from the days when we answered the phones “Personnel” and spent our time processing paperwork the old fashioned way. Anyone remember carbon paper?

Who could have guessed then that we’d be faced with the challenges of massive downsizings, outsourcing/off-shoring, corporate misdeeds, terrorist attacks and even threats from Mother Nature? Yet, as a profession, we’ve not only learned and adapted as these challenges were thrown our way, but grown in our ability to provide real value to the organizations we serve.

In 2006, we can’t predict what new challenges will come our way, although we hope the year will bring the kinds of positive changes inherent in a healthy global economy.

Dallas HR’s role will be to build on the initiatives you saw in 2005 – growing our networking, programming and educational offerings so that our members will be well prepared to take on whatever comes – thriving as individuals and as members of a vital profession.

And our role, as volunteer leaders is to be of service to you, our members. We welcome your feedback, ideas, and even honest criticism. Without you, we have no reason to be here. So let us hear from you – and best wishes for a bright and successful 2006!

Carol Hollen, SPHR
President, Dallas HR

Honor the past – celebrate today – embrace the future!

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