Turning the Kaleidoscope

GMP TEA, Inc.

Summer 2008 Newsletter

Message from the Board of Directors:

Solution Solved – Announcing our LinkedIn Group     Bernice Marshall as Group Manager is the only authorized person to grant permission based on Active status.

Benefits?  No Spam, It’s Free, and No special passwords to remember.  Approved members can search the group directory for LinkedIn Members.  You set the privacy levels that you are comfortable with.  The choice is still yours; you are NOT required to join but it’s really fun to see who is LinkedIn.  Currently, we have over 50 members already and the list grows everyday.  Even our newest West Coast Members are already joining, so be part of the networking magic!

CHAPTER NEWS:

Announcing the Launch of our West Coast Chapter and thanks to David Talmage,  Adam Cain, Michelle Rozman and Lisa Walls  for helping GMP TEA, Inc. achieve this great milestone in our history.

WEST Coast – August 7th

·   Agenda covered benefits and challenges of E-learning and Inspection Preparation for Training.  In particular, the session highlighted developing a process to address requests for training records and conducting a dry run to ensure everything is according to plan

·   Next Chapter Meeting: FEB 2009 – Call for Speakers ends Nov. 30th. Contact David Talmage for more information.

BETA (New England Chapter)  – June 20th  

·   Agenda covered Needs Assessment by a panel of BETA members and later on small group discussions were held to explore how Training Development is being handled currently.

·         Next Chapter Meeting: Contact Sharon Wood or Tara Turnas.

Thank you to Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Bayer for hosting our Summer Chapter meetings! And to all our members who attended these great events.

Mid-Atlantic (formerly East Coast)

·   BALLOT – Election is Underway:  Only ACTIVE members from the Mid-Atlantic chapter will be accepted.  Contact Bernice at gmptea@yahoo.com to confirm status and/or chapter affiliation.

·   Next Chapter Meeting: Oct 17th – Merck, West Point, PA Facility   Interested Speakers Please Contact Gmptea@Yahoo.Com Re: Oct 17th Meeting

Mid-West – Save the Date:

October 24th – Pfizer – Kalamazoo, MI

PLANNED TOPICS: Reducing Human Errors, SOPS: Read & sign vs. FDA Expectations, Qualifying Instructors.  Interested Speakers should contact Tammy Cullen or Dennis Walker.

Southeast – Save the Date:

October 3rd – Eisai – RTP, NC.   Kudos to Joe Fiore and Rick Bennett ,who have volunteered to launch the first meeting of this new Chapter.   If you are interested in speaking, they would love to hear from you.  Contact GMPTEA@yahoo.com  RE: Joe Fiore – SE Chapter.   Agenda to follow shortly.  They are still looking for anyone else interested in supporting this milestone.  Contact gmptea@yahoo.com – RE: chapter launch support.

‘09 CONFERENCE  SAVE THE DATE!

Disney – Orlando, Florida Nov 1 – 5,  2009.

If you are interested in attending, now is the time to request that this event be included in your 2009 budget.   As we get closer, more marketing materials will become available.

Call for Speakers and Facilitators is now under way.  A separate mailing was sent out.  Tracks include but are not limited to:  

The Member Presenter Committee is particularly interested in submissions for interactive games/simulations; regulatory updates including part 820, 600 series, ISO and global regulations; and incorporating training techniques into Quality Systems.  Submission Due Date is November 1, 2008.

Committee Updates:

The following committees are still looking for volunteers: 

Contact gmptea@yahoo.com RE: Committees for more information on how you can join or get a new committee launched!

Announcing Our New HISTORIAN: 

Monica Anderson has volunteered to assist with archiving our history.  If you have any GMP TEA materials or other artifacts worthy of archiving, please contact gmptea@yahoo.com RE: HISTORIAN.

Related Training a/o Meeting Announcements:

§  PDA-TRI New Brunswick Series – Oct 21 – 23, 2008

§  ASQ BioMedical Fall Conference  - Oct 6 – 7, 2008 Contact: qualmeyer@gmail.com

CONTINUING MEMBER STATUS: 

If you become separated from your employer, you are still eligible to continue your membership with us.  The By-Laws were updated to add Continuing Member status.  The BoD knows personally how important it is to stay connected and GMP TEA, Inc. is an ideal venue to support you during times of transition.  We care about our members and want to provide the support when and where we can.  So, if you are in transition, planning a move, or your email address has changed, please send an email to gmptea@yahoo.com to confirm and to remain on the ACTIVES mailing list.  You might want to consider providing an alternate email now.

From the Editor’s Desk –

As the summer is fast coming to a close and “back to school” will soon be a reality, it’s time for GMP TEA members to start thinking about their own learning and development plans.   There is still plenty of time to answer the Call for 09 Disney Speakers.   You may be wondering what’s the connection between presenting at a conference and an L & D plan?  It’s called Thought Leadership and it is becoming an increasingly vital driver of business success.

Its aim is to engage people within companies through innovative ideas. The term was first coined in 1994, by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the magazine, Strategy & Business.  Since that time, the term has spread from business to other disciplines and has come to mean someone who enlivens old processes with new ideas.   A thought leader is a cutting edge, forward thinking person who is recognized among their peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas by moving a group or discipline in a direction not previously experienced.  What better venue than a GMPTEA Conference to showcase new best practices!

In the October 2004, ASTD Infoline on Developing Thought Leaders, author Susan J. Thomas explains that in the training organization, thought leaders use their knowledge of industry trends to shape the future of learning.  They stay at the edge of current practice, using a variety of techniques to stay abreast—and often lead—the thinking about learning innovation.  Thought leaders connect concepts cross-functionally, so that elements of

their solutions often come from different sources. By welding ideas together in different ways, they achieve totally new perspectives.  They participate

in professional conferences and other events

where people like themselves gather.   Maintaining a vast personal network, they proactively connect with learning leaders.

Why not get recognized by your Industry Peers as an emerging “training” thought leader?  So shake off the summer sand and develop a proposal that really portrays the depth of your knowledge, breadth of experience and share your implementation stories with us!   I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing from all of you.

Cheers Everyone,

Vivian Bringslimark