WID Installas New Office for 2001-2002.

WID held its annual meeting and dinner on April 3. The guest speaker was Rear Adm. Kathleen Paige, chief engineer, office of the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition.

As the immediate past president, I would like to introduce WID's new officers

* President--Norma Byron, of The Ash-lawn Group, LLC.

* Vice President-Julie Alford, of SAIC.

* Treasurer-Ella Schiralli, of 3M Company.

* Secretary-Heather Owens, of Versar, Inc.

* HORIZONS Director-Marie Danco, of TRW.

The 2000-2001 Distinguished WID Member of the Year Award went to Ella Schiralli, of 3M Company.

Chapter Highlights: Iowa/Illinois

The Iowa/Illinois chapter of WID has begun planning the formation of its Quad Cities chapter. The purpose of the first planning meeting was to begin organizing the chapter as specified in the WID Chapter Guidance document and to present the nominees for chapter offices.

Member Spotlight

Sue Crisp is director of contract support for the Acquisition Center at the U.S. Army Operations Support Command. She entered government service as an intern at the U.S. Army Aviation Systems Command (AVS-COM) in St. Louis. Since then, she has held a variety of positions at Army commands around the world, including the offices of the assistant secretary of the Army for installations and environment and the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology.

Sue received a bachelor's degree in accounting from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., and a master's degree in management from the Naval Postgraduate School, at Monterey, Calif. In addition, she graduated from the Logistics and Acquisition Management Program and completed the Defense Systems Management College's Program Manager Course. She received her Level III certification in contracting in 1995 and has been a member of the Army Acquisition Corps since 1991.

During her career, she has received numerous citations, including the Secretary Of the Army Award for Professionalism in Contracting and the Superior Civilian Service Award. She is a member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), past president of NCMA's Monterey Bay chapter and a member of the Association of the U.S. Army. She also serves on the Board of directors of the Iowa/Illinois Chapter of NDIA and is listed in the Who's Who is Midwestern Women.

Knowledge Management Series

WID's second Knowledge Management Network Breakfast Series event--held in mid-March at NDIA headquarters in Arlington, Va.--was a complete success, reports Programs Director Jan Menker.

The subject was: "PPBS--What is it? A Basic overview of the Department of Defense's Planning, Programming and Budgeting System." The featured speaker was Siobhan Tack, department chair of the Funds Management Department at the Defense Systems Management College (DSMC). Tack provided an overview of the Pentagon's budget process, including a complete description of each budget phase and the dynamics between the planning, programming and budgeting process. She also summarized this year's review process during the transition from the clinton administration to that of President Bush.

WID developed this informal breakfast series to foster professional education, career development and networking. We are encouraged by the level of interest and enthusiasm for the breakfast series, and we plan to hold additional events approximately every 6-8 weeks, accommodating other scheduled WID events. The next breakfast meeting is scheduled for May, and features "Government Contracting: the Basics." If you have additional ideas for future topics and speakers, please contact WID Programs Director Jan Menker, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, at menkerj@ctc.com.