| Spring
2007 |
| In This Issue |
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Jeff Hamrick's Presidential Philosophy
By: Melanie Kowal
 Incoming Atlanta ALA president Jeff Hamrick has big shoes to fill. Following a string of successful leaders, he approaches his term with high expectations and a bit of trepidation. His philosophy on making it as president?
"Survival," Hamrick states bluntly. "My job is to survive the year without being impeached - or going bankrupt. Part of me is thinking, 'Why am I doing this?'"
Despite his modesty, rumor has it Hamrick is actually qualified for the role. As a successful office administrator, two-time chapter vendor director and current vice president, becoming president was just a matter of time. Hamrick claims that he arrived late to a meeting one day and discovered he'd been elected in his absence. Unlikely.
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President's Message: Carole Morris
 How
time flies! It is now time for me to pass the president's baton
to Jeff Hamrick. Part of me does so gladly; part sadly. It's been
a grand year for AALA; and I have thoroughly enjoyed being such
an integral part of it. Now I will get to sit back and watch Jeff
take over and, I am sure, do an outstanding job.
This is AALA's 30th anniversary and we will be celebrating all year. We have fun events planned throughout the year and a huge Casino Night, which will be a combination Community Challenge/30th Anniversary Event, planned for October. You'll be hearing more about that as the year progresses. Of course, we are already having fun with our "Are You In? You Bet" program and it should be entertaining at our December luncheon to see who has the highest poker hand and wins the $2000 scholarship to the 2008 National Conference in Seattle, Washington. Remember that every event you attend earns you a card and the more involved you are, the better your chances of winning the scholarship.
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Protect Your Firm's Electronic Systems From Malevolent Employees
By: John B. Gamble, Jr. and D. Albert Brannen
 Firms used to be able to protect themselves when terminating employees by changing locks, monitoring the removal of personal items from desks and lockers, and escorting the employee from the premises. Today, computer wise employees can hurt your firm in more serious ways than by simply taking or damaging physical property. In this article, we suggest 10 ways that firms can protect their electronic systems and preserve critical evidence in the unfortunate event that litigation with such employees become necessary.
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Grief
in the Workplace
 Outside
of our families, we spend the greatest number of hours each week
with our coworkers. Some become our friends and we enjoy spending
time together; some become our competitors or a source of stress
and conflict; most are nodding acquaintances or just a familiar
face in an elevator. Regardless of the personal relationships we
have, when death enters the workplace, everyone takes notice.
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Hide
Your Goat: Three Steps to Self-Control
By: Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA
 Many people today want everything yesterday and expect the ultimate in quality. They have unreasonable requests with deadlines that are unrealistic. If we are going to keep airport customers, members and people "delighted with our services," we must develop tremendous self-control.
As customer service oriented employees, we must first look at who is our customer. EVERYONE we touch during the course of a day becomes a customer - not just the people using the services of your group, business or association, but EVERYONE.
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ALA
National Conference - Las Vegas
 It's
not too late to register for ALA's 36th Annual Educational Conference
& Exposition April 30-May 3 in Las Vegas. For more information
on registration and the wonderful educational and networking opportunities
available, please visit www.alanet.org.
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Are
You In? You Bet!
By: Jennifer Brinkley
 By now I am sure you have heard of the Are You In? You Bet! game we are playing this year. If you have participated in anything chapter related, you have received at least one card. Some of you even have close to a full hand.
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From the Editor
 Welcome
to the first issue of our eNewsletter for 2007!
It is my pleasure to introduce Sheri Rowand of Carlton Fields as my new Associate Editor for 2007. Sheri and I look forward to providing our chapter with timely articles to help make our lives and jobs easier, as well as important information about ALA and AALA educational and social networking opportunities.
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