By Mary Ann W. Lewis, FSAVE – President, SAVE International
May was an active month for value professionals!
The energy exuded by more than a dozen professionals, and spearheaded by Dr. Jacqueline Fahmy, has resulted in the creation of the new Eastern Mediterranean & Africa (EMA) Chapter of SAVE International. Coincidentally, the chapter’s new acronym, EMA, means Value in Arabic. This must be a sign of great things to come! Congratulations to the new chapter members!
The VDI Wissensforum, Value Management Practice 2017 conference was held in St. Georgen, Germany in the glorious Black Forest. Approximately 100 value professionals joined together from many countries and other value societies to celebrate 70 years of value management and learn new applications from one another. Many thanks to Dr.-Ing. Marc Pauwels and the conference committee who created such as welcoming atmosphere for all of us! The most revolutionary Wissensforum presentation, in my mind, is reprinted in this issue of Value World by Dr. Bahia Behar-Ghadhab. What an inspiring story Bahia has to tell us of how Function Analysis has been applied to change women’s lives!
And speaking of VDI, SAVE International and VDI joined together formally in an Inter-society Cooperative Agreement. The formal name is the Society Product and Process Design within the Association of German Engineers. Our two societies have worked together for many years. This agreement allows us to recognize areas of common interest and activities so we may take advantage of each other’s expertise. We are delighted with this new phase of our relationship!
In May, I had the privilege of visiting with General Todd Semonite, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and SAVE Certification Board Member, Jeffrey Hooghouse, AIA, CVS, the Corps’ Chief, Value Engineering. It was a jam-packed meeting, which will hopefully enable the Corps’ VE Program to sustain its long and honored place as the most successful Value Program in the U.S. Federal Government; and to continue as a model for other agencies.
With our own 2017 Value Summit now three months away, many committees are working at breakneck speed to ensure that the presenters have been notified, the keynote speakers are energized, the agenda is finalized, the honors & awards have been determined, and the party is ready to begin! So, register by June 30th to grab that early-bird special!
On that June to-do list, please also add your VOTE! You should have received a ballot via email to vote on our slate of generous, new, volunteer SAVE officers. Please take that few minutes to read each candidate’s message to us and cast your vote. And, as you read their thoughts on each office, think of how you would like to contribute. SAVE’s officers are always looking for volunteers to assist us with our functions, and to act as directors to each vice president. This is a wonderful way to learn the workings of the board and decide if you would like to be a candidate in the future.
So, happy June! Please let me know if you need anything.
Print 
PDF