Professional Development Day Volunteering

 

Last week, the PMI Pittsburgh Chapter held its annual Professional Development Day (PDD). The volunteer organizing committee rallied around the theme of "Adaptive Delivery", which served as a common thread woven though our speaker's topics and presentations.

The PDD is our chapter's largest event of the year and after staging it in the city's suburbs for the past 5 years, the event returned to downtown Pittsburgh. We found the central location boosted attendance and we actually had to cut off registration in advance of the event.

I played the role of both volunteer organizer and session speaker, so I had the unique vantage of what was going on behind the scenes as well as on stage at the PDD. 

Here are some observations that I made leading up to and during the day of the PDD:

• It takes a lot of planning and volunteer hours to pull together an event like PDD or PM symposium - but it is well worth it!
• Having a clear chain of command and defined roles and responsibilities keeps things moving along.
• Having a balance of "thinkers" and "doers" on the volunteer committee is key. Too many of one type would cause issues.
• The networking opportunities were awesome! I am now closer to my fellow committee members and had the chance to network with sponsor companies and well-known speakers. 
• While it sometimes seemed like a second job, we could have fun too!
• Spending social time with the speakers the day before the PDD made them feel more connected to our chapter. 
• Reading survey feedback from attendees is both very humbling and rewarding.
• Lastly, volunteering the PDD is a great way to become immersed in your local chapter's activities and recognize by the chapter leadership team.

Looking forward to an event bigger Professional Development Day (PDD) in November 2019!