Greetings to all Region 8 chapter members!

I am writing to provide you all with a 3rd quarter update on our region and from ASHHRA.

ASHHRA Annual Conference Updates

In September the ASHHRA annual conference was held in Tampa Bay, Florida. The conference offered some excellent presentations from Onboarding to How to Become a Strategic HR Business Partner. There were many region 8 members in attendance which provided a great opportunity to network with one another. The regional breakfast was combined with region 9 and was a great success with updates from all the chapter leaders and an informative update from our advocacy representatives. Additionally, we handed out a number of awards for 2009 chapter successes.

Congratulations to the following recipients:

Outstanding Leadership and Service- Dan Zuhlke, Utah

Outstanding Chapter Achievement- Lori Johnson, New Mexico; Drew Krempin, Arizona; Greg Thress, Colorado; Gary Willis, Montana;

Outstanding Chapter Officers- Susan Catt, Montana; Cheryl Ebner, New Mexico; Joseph Marquart, Arizona; Ellen Rehmar, Colorado;

Communication Award- Carolyn Chapman, Utah

Chapter Management Recognition-Montana Society of Healthcare Human Resources Administration- TWO STAR; New Mexico Healthcare Human Resources Association- TWO STAR; Arizona Healthcare Human Resources Association- TWO STAR; Colorado Healthcare Association for Human Resources Management- FOUR STAR

In 2011 the conference will be held in Phoenix, Arizona and Denver, Colorado in 2012. If you have never attended a conference before, we invite you to come in 2011 where you will find presentations that offer healthcare specific solutions and best practices.

ASHHRA Website Updated

ASHHRA launched a new version of their website . It is much easier to navigate and just looks more user- friendly. If you have any suggestions for updates or changes please let us know as it is a tool for our members to use as a resource.

Chapter Management

ASHHRA Listened!!!! Representatives from many chapters came together this year in Chicago at the Chapter Leader Conference (CLC) and discussed Chapter Management. There was a lot of feedback provided by the leaders and was taken to heart. Many revisions to the guidelines have been made as a result with the intention to help your chapters operate successfully and submission of your results much simpler. The new guidelines are posted on the ASHHRA website at

Chapter Updates

Arizona- No update at this time

Colorado-Just held a successful fall conference in Englewood. Topics covered were: “The Magic of Engagement”—A New Leadership Blueprint For Healthcare Transformation, Presenter: Brian Lee, Custom Learning Systems; A Campaign No Employer Wants: A Case Study of St. Mary Corwin Hospitaland the California Nurse Association (CAN) Presenter: Michelle Lucero, Vice President Employee Relations for Centura Health; “Accountability Protocol” Brian Lee, Custom Learning Systems—To Hardwire for Successful Service Culture Transformation, Presenter: Brian Lee, Custom Learning Systems; and “Coaching/Mentoring at the Executive Level” Dave Angus, Legacy Alliance

Montana- The fall conference was held on September 22-24, 2010 in conjunction with MHA in Billings, Montana. Additionally, they have hosted a series of free Webinars for Region 8 chapter members. They are very excited about a new opportunity they are currently exploring with ASHHRA to design a chapter logo template. This will be for ASHHRA affiliated chapters which will better reflect the relationship of the state chapter with national ASHHRA and provide recognition for members to assist in promoting benefits of membership in both organizations.

New Mexico-Held a meeting in October and the speaker provided an update on Health Care Reform.The guest speaker was Charles Archuleta, an attorney with Keleher & McLeod. He also provided a sample social networking policy. In addition,we collected items for Michael Nez, a soldier in Afghanistan that has never received a care package in his tour of duty.

Utah-USHHRA had a very successful fall business conference in partnership with UHA. We are getting ready to provide some employment law training to our members via a networking conference call. Membership looks up and we are getting ready for our annual membership drive as well.