50th Anniversary Activities

The Nebraska Chapter of ARMA International, Inc. is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this program year (1961-2011). Last spring, I assembled a committee to begin planning special events and projects to commemorate this occasion. Over the summer, the list was finalized and I am pleased to announce the following projects/events:

ARMA Cow Photo Project:

We have 20 stuffed cows like the one shown to the right. At each chapter meeting, you will have the opportunity to take a cow home. Your assignment is to take photos of the cow in various places. We’d love to have photos of the cow in your office, your records center, with your staff, etc. If you’re planning a vacation, please take a cow with you. So far, the cow has been spotted at Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court, College World Series, ARMA Regional Leadership Conference, Special Olympics, Underground Vault and Storage Salt Mine, Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At the end of the year, we will assemble a gigantic collection of ARMA cow photos.

50th Anniversary Historical Book:

Throughout the years, we have accumulated countless historical data and artifacts. We have established a committee to dig through the history of the chapter and publish a book that captures the chapter’s first 50 years.

NE State Archives Community Service Project:

We have partnered with the NE State Historical Society Foundation to assist the State Archives with a new collection of historical veterans’ records. Volunteers from the chapter will help with this project on various dates through the fall.

State/City Proclamations:

The chapter will be requesting special congratulatory proclamation from the State of Nebraska and potentially some cities in our area. This may include a photo opportunity for chapter members.

Chapter Shirts:

At the September chapter meeting, we will be taking orders for polo shirts with an embroidered ARMA Nebraska logo. Shirts will be delivered at the October 20th meeting.

50th Anniversary Party (Save the Date):

We will be holding a 50th Anniversary party on Saturday, June 4, 2011. More details will be coming soon.

LOST?

As we wrap up another year of ARMA programs, I think of all the questions that went unanswered this year.

• How can I utilize the Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles in my organization?
  
• What strategies can I use to restructure and review my company's retention schedule?
  
• My company wants to start a new Records Management Program from scratch. How do I get started?
  
• Did everyone on Oceanic Flight 815 die in the crash and the whole series is just some sort of afterlife?
  
• Since the finale stated that some people died before Jack and some died after, is it reasonable to assume the Island is real after all?
  
• What was the deal with the sideways reality? It seems like it was just smokescreen (no pun intended).
  
• Why was Sayid reunited with Shannon and not Nadia?
  
• Why couldn't children be born on the island?
  
• Why did the "Others" kidnap children?
  

I'm sure you can think of other questions that went unanswered this year. The Board of Directors will soon be selecting programs for the 2010-11 program year. Our goal is to help you reach your goals in the field of records and information management, so we would like to get your input for topics and/or speakers that you would like to see.

Please email mark.graves@nngco.com to provide your input.

Namaste

Mark Graves
President, Nebraska Chapter of ARMA International, Inc.

E-Discovery Has Me Seeing Red (and Blonde and Blue)

Her long blonde hair was like warm rays of sunshine on a late spring afternoon. Her soft, yet majestic blue eyes were highlighted by lashes that fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. She wore a simple, youthful dress that embodied her playful, carefree personality. She was perfect...and completely out of his league.

He had always been a nerdy person. As a child, while his friends were playing sports and hanging out at the mall, he was reading comics and playing computer games. In high school, some of his friends gave him the nickname, "Brainy." He never really liked the nickname, but it stuck with him and now everyone had long since forgotten his real name.

Brainy's technical prowess came in handy in adult life. He quickly established himself as THE computer guru and he quickly landed a job as a senior information technology analyst at one of the town's largest companies. But now he found himself in a difficult situation. While he was really great with computers, he was terribly awkward with women.

The company's general counsel had paired up Brainy and Smurfette (that's right, they're Smurfs) to work on a big e-discovery project. The Smurfs' sworn enemy, Gargamel, was suing the Smurfs and now they found themselves digging through endless information repositories looking for relevant company records. As Brainy Smurf scoured network shares and email servers and Smurfette dug through endless stacks of paper, it became apparent that they would not be able to complete the task by the court-mandated deadline. Brainy relented, "When Papa Smurf finds out the mess we're in, the Smurf is going to hit the fan!"

--

The harsh reality of 21st Century America is that nearly all organizations are susceptible to lawsuits. There is extensive case law describing situations of "discovery gone wrong," subjecting organizations to summary judgments, sanctions, adverse inference instructions or fines. Organizations need to proactively prepare for preservation and discovery ahead of time to prevent these costly situations.

The Nebraska Chapter of ARMA International, Inc. will be holding their annual Spring Seminar on April 14th, 2010 from 7:30AM to 4:00PM at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Omaha.

Phil Droege, Director of the White House Office of Records Management will be the keynote speaker. He will talk about the unique challenges of managing White House records during a Presidential transition.

Brian Foster, PMP will spend the remaining time discussing E-Discovery planning, policy and process. His seminar will provide IT, records management, and litigation professionals with practical tools they need to improve their response to a discovery event in a compliant and cost-effective manner. For more information and registration, please visit http://www.armanebraska.com/SpringConference.php.

I hope to see you there. Have a Smurfy day!