January 2024 Chair’s Message
Greetings Valued ASQ Phoenix Section Members –
Happy New Year; we made it to 2024! I hope that the holidays were safe and festive for you and that ringing in the new year felt like a breath of fresh air. I celebrated it cozy at home and fell asleep to my favorite shows on Netflix well before midnight (Top Chef is currently in my top five). New Year’s Day, I woke up ready to tackle the goals and resolutions I set for myself for the year ahead. What about you? Did you stay up late enough to watch the ball drop in New York City? Did you go out to celebrate with friends? Or did you head to bed early like me to dream of all the things you wish to accomplish in this fresh chapter?
Prior to the turn of the year, your ASQ Phoenix Section leadership set its own resolutions and goals for 2024. These goals were encouraged by the successful execution of monthly member meetings, outreach events, and networking opportunities in 2023. As a result of this planning, several events are already in the works for the first quarter of the year. A handful of our section leadership will be participating as society judges in the Future Cities Competition. We are also well into planning networking events for members in the valley as well as a networking event for a potential student section in Flagstaff. We will also begin planning for PHXCON, which we hope will be the result of combined efforts of the ASQ Phoenix Section as well as a sister organization this year, thus promoting additional growth and encouraging increased opportunities for learning.
Future Cities is a STEM competition involving small teams of junior high school students who compete to create the most innovative global city of the future. The themes and objectives of the competition vary each year. This year’s theme, ‘electrifying our future’, will encourage students to create cities of the future that use clean and sustainable energy. Students are judged on three criteria: the model they create with recycled materials, an essay explaining how their city meets the objective for the year, and a presentation the day of the event. Members of the ASQ Phoenix Section leadership team have participated as society judges for the past several years, awarding a scholarship of $300 to the team whose efforts clearly meet the objectives of the competition and do so in a manner that promotes quality and sustainability. We are looking forward to encouraging these young minds again this year in their endeavors to become the scientists and engineers of the future.
The Phoenix Section leadership team is also planning a local networking event for section members (likely at a winery in town or similar venue) as well as a student networking event in Flagstaff. The couple of networking events the section organized in town last year were well received and it is our goal to offer a variety of similar activities again this year (outreach events as well as engaging social events). The networking event in Flagstaff will likely be exclusively for students to introduce them to ASQ and encourage the formation of a student chapter. This could lead to section growth and increased opportunities for students to find internships as a result of networking within the Phoenix Section.
Finally, it is the intention of the Phoenix Section leadership team to begin planning for this year’s PHXCON (quality conference) early in the first quarter of the year to ensure we can effectively partner with a similar organization. We received such great reviews and feedback from the survey sent post conference this past year, that we are hopeful a conference in November of this year will have greater attendance and a wider variety of presentations to reach a more varied audience. We are excited for the possibilities and hope that you will save the date for early November!
I am looking forward to all of the great things to come in the ASQ Phoenix Section this year, and hope that you will join us for many of the activities we are excitedly planning for you.
Until we meet again, I bid you happiness, health, and connectedness.
Cheers!
Hilary Werner