BITPRO

October Dinner Meeting Tuesday, October 25, 2005 ~ Jim 'n' Nicks ~ 220 Oxmoor Rd. in Homewood ~ 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
John Halbert Assistant Director Jefferson County Department of Information Technologies John Halbert is the Assistant Director of the Department of Information Technologies for Jefferson County, Alabama. Along with other duties, he has served as the Geographic Information Systems Manager for Jefferson County’s Department of Information Technology, Birmingham, Alabama since 1994. He has served in other GIS positions for Jefferson County since 1985. Jefferson County encompasses close to 300,000 parcels and over 1112 square miles. The system John manages serves multiple jurisdictions, regional organizations, the State of Alabama, Federal Government agencies, over 200 private firms and over 500 GIS users within 12 internal departments. John manages a highly professional and technical staff of 10 and multiple consulting groups with varied educational backgrounds, experiences and disciplines. The GIS staff develops computer applications, coordinates the development of all GIS data for County agencies and develops procedures, processes and standards for clients departments and outside agencies. John’s team is a regional leader in the development of database standards and procedures for the collection of and normalization of GIS data. Jefferson County is also involved at the State and National level for the GIS data standards. John is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Regional and Urban Planning and Geography. He has a strong educational background in economics, finance, computer science and remote sensing. He has continued his education at the University of Alabama in Birmingham as well as the University of Georgia in Athens with concentrations in economics and finance. John is an instructor for Samford University’s keystone course in their Certificate in GIS program, Applied Geographic Information Systems. He serves on the Bessemer State Technical College Advisory Committee for Drafting and Design and the Samford University Advisory Committee for Certificate in GIS. He is the president of Landover Systems, a GIS consulting company providing GIS solutions to jurisdictions, public and private organizations since 1988. John is also a founding member and past chairperson for the Alabama Chapter of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association and has served in elected positions or as a member of Alabama ESRI User Group, American Planning Association and the Association of American Geographers. His department won the Environmental Systems Research Institute’s Special Achievement Award in GIS for 2003 for “extraordinary contributions to our society, they have set new precedents throughout the GIS community”. Daniel Thomas II Geographic Information Systems {GIS} Specialist Jefferson County Department of Information Technology Mr. Daniel Thomas has been a GIS Specialist for Jefferson County Department of Information Technology since 2003. As GIS Specialist, he is responsible for overseeing GIS and Information Technology projects in several key areas for Jefferson County and its municipalities. Mr. Thomas possesses an extensive background in engineering and construction management. Mr. Thomas began his Jefferson County civil service career in 1989 with the Department of Roads and Transportation. In mid 2000, he joined the Department of Information Technology‘s GIS Division. Mr. Thomas plays an active role with numerous professional planning committees. He also holds membership in the newly formed Alabama Chapter of Urban and Regional Information Systems Association {URISA}. In 2003, Mr. Thomas was an Environmental Systems Research Institute’s Special Achievements in GIS recipient for his role in the Woodlawn Housing Initiative, a pilot project focusing on increasing housing choices for low-income residents. Mr. Thomas holds a degree from Jefferson State Community College, Birmingham, Alabama in Computer Information Systems. He has studied undergraduate engineering course work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mr. Thomas has completed numerous workshops and specialized training sessions conducted by both Jefferson County Emergency Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Headquarter News
During October, AITP will sponsor a discount-based program similar to the one in March 2005. People submitting applications postmarked during October will receive a $25 discount from the regular $105 rate on national dues. In addition, for those joining online, the $15 one-time processing fee will be waived.
Contest News
The Birmingham Chapter has won second place in the recently completed Region 7 Membership Contest and will receive and award of $200.00 at the October 16th Region Board of Directors meeting if they have a chapter representative present.
President's Message	return to top
Well, after an exhausting weekend, I can proudly say we’ve done it. Our Student conference was a huge success. We had 11 colleges from the Southeast with a total of 45 students participating in the contest held at UAB. Thank You to the following Murray State University, Murray Kentucky College of Business – University of Montevallo Alabama Gwinnett Technical College Georgia Middle Tennessee State University Chattanooga State Technical Community College Tennessee High Tech Institute Nashville, Tennessee Chattahoochee Technical College Georgia Dekalb Tech Georgia Delta State University Cleveland Mississippi ABAC, Tifton, Georgia Middle Georgia Technical College I can’t say it went off without a hitch, but the hitches were fixed quickly. I sincerely appreciate all members that participated and lent their time and relentless effort. Ryan Reeves, Dr. Rivera and all the students and professors at UAB are to be commended. I heard nothing but praise for the way things were prepared, executed and completed. Thank you guys. Chapter President
Minutes	return to top
No minutes available

Board of Directors
President Barbara Shook - bshook@regionsbank.com Past President Steve Romine - sromine@mdicareers.com Regional Director / Liaison Ted Hagler - ted.hagler@motion-ind.com Publicity Maurice Myers - mmyers@amsouth.com	Secretary/Treasurer John Barnhart - jbarnhart@acipco.com Student Chapter Ryan Reeves -- need email Program Chair Natalie Nixon -- nanixon@accis.edu Membership Attendance/Acquisitions Charlie Cook - ccook@uwa.edu

Deadline for articles submitted for the next BITPRO is the first of each month. The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity, accuracy, and length. All entries for publication should be submitted to by email.

AITP Region/Association

October is AITP Membership Promotion Month. A new professional member joining during October will save $40 from the registration fees. Let’s encourage our local professionals to take advantage of this promotion. This will be a benefit to our Chapter as well as increase our membership.
The AITP National Conference, scheduled in New Orleans, was changed to Columbus, Ohio due to disastrous consequences in New Orleans arising from Katrina. The election results were announced for the newest Board Members at this Conference. Welcome the new members and give them your support.

Vice President – President Elect Teresa Hickerson
Secretary / Treasurer Mark Kleine
Eastern District Director Darlene Gerber
Central District Director Bob Grenier
Southern District Director David Stovall
Western District Director Beth Pirrie

     A new discussion forum has been created in the Forum section of the AITP web portal. You can share experiences, offer assistance and request assistance based on the tragedy of Katrina. If you know anyone or a need in South Alabama, Mississippi, or Louisiana, Please use this site that AITP has provided. It might make a difference for someone. Get on the web with AITP.org.
     The Region 7 Student Conference was held at the Embassy Suites in Birmingham this past weekend, October 13 – 14. The theme “Bring It On Home” was in its highlights and was seen everywhere. We should be proud; the conference did bring it on home. I did not here one negative and everyone had a good time, learning and the hospitality was shown where ever the students went. The speakers were outstanding and if you missed the conference, you missed a good one; after the conference was held, the PEID (President Elect) and the Region Board meet Saturday and Sunday respectfully. I will give more details in next month newsletter. We need to give a special THANK YOU to, Chairpersons Maurice Myers and Barbara Shook for their long hours put into making the conference a success, also to; Natalie Nixon, Andrea Simmons, Paul Stewart. A special Thanks to The University of Alabama, Birmingham Julio Rivera, Ryan Reeves and the student chapter for holding the contest and opening their campus to the students.
     Hope to see each one at Jim N' Nicks, October 25 for a little barbecue. Bring a guest this month.

Chapter Liaison


A newsletter of the Birmingham Chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals