At the beginning of the year we need to identify what we would like to accomplish in 2019. In my opinion, providing value to our Membership should be the top priority. Doing this will help us to retain existing members and attract new members. As I write this Chair’s Message, 654 of the 1874 Long Island Section members have not yet renewed for 2019 and are in arrears. To me this is a clear indication that we need to do things differently in 2019. We need to continue to provide technical lectures, symposia, and conferences. I remind each of the Societies of the requirement for a minimum of two technical lectures.

One way to serve and retain the LI Section members is by providing member-only benefits such as:
• Member-only invitations to the bi-monthly networking events. These have been well attended and will continue in 2019 on “even” months. The next Networking Event will be held on February 4th at Houlihan’s in Farmingdale.
• Providing CEU Credits for technical lectures which are only free for members.
• Recognizing the achievements of our members at our annual Awards Banquet. Our 2019 Awards Banquet will be held on March 28th at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

In order to recruit new members, we need to make the Long Island Engineering community aware of the benefits of joining IEEE. Our Membership Development Committee plans to continue the industry outreach effort that was started in 2018.

Students are the future of the IEEE. Our Student Activities Committee has been planning events with our four student chapters to encourage student membership.

Another of my main concerns is the vitality of the Section beyond 2019. The Section Chair may appoint ad-hoc committees to serve the Section. I have decided to create a Strategic Advisory ad-hoc Committee. The committee will review the organization and operation of the Section. The LI Section Bylaws that were developed in 2001 need to be replaced with a LI Section Operations Manual. The IEEE MGA Operations Manual contains requirements that all Sections must adhere to. One purpose of the committee will be to come up with recommendations that will be presented to the Section and used for the development of the LI Section Operations Manual.

I have appointed Lorenzo Lomonte to be the Chair of this committee. Because of his experience as an Officer of the LI Section, Region 1 Young Professionals chair, as well as the Chair of the Dayton, Ohio Section, I believe that he is very well qualified to serve the LI Section in this capacity. Please join me in supporting Lorenzo in this important effort. I welcome your thoughts on the priorities for the Section in 2019 and beyond. Your support of the Section is greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Louis D’Onofrio, PE, SM IEEE
IEEE Long Island Section 2019 Chair