Inside NIRMA Fall 2020

Technology Leads the
NIRMA 2020 Conference
Janice Hoerber, Vice President
W
hat a unique experience that
the NIRMA conference
attendees signed up for! Most
participated remotely via the
internet using Webex for the 44 th
Nuclear Information Management
Conference from the comfort of their
home or from a quiet space at work. A
few ventured to the JW Marriott Las
Vegas Resort to join in person. Either
way, we knew this was going to be an
immersion into the audio visual tools
and virtual technology that NIRMA had
never done before!
The survey feedback has been
positive and will help guide ongoing
improvements to the conference
proceedings for next year. Our sincere
appreciation goes out to all the
attendees, the distinguished speakers,
and the dedicated vendors & sponsors
who helped make the conference
feasible. I truly enjoyed watching the
conference unfold online, as we were
able to listen together (be it virtually) to
the sessions, ask questions in the chat
function, and exchange ideas within the
Webex platform that the PSAV audio
visual team supported for NIRMA.
We recognize your feedback that the
interactive benchmarking sessions were
again very popular and more engaging
(maybe even fun?) using the online
tools. Our minds were opened to new
possibilities using the virtual technology
such as for international keynote
speakers to be able to present from
across the world without requiring the
burden of travel.
Our thoughts have already begun for
next year. The 45 th NIRMA anniversary
conference has a great ring to it, and
will arrive with great pride for those
who have been with the NIRMA
organization over the years. Many
special people have volunteered their
time and talents to serve NIRMA's
purpose. It is with pleasure that we
celebrate the anniversary milestones to
remember the great NIRMA
achievements and to pass the torch to
the next gen of NIRMA members!
Professional Development
Business Unit (PDBU) News
Tammy Cutts, PDBU Director
I
t was exciting to get to take part in
the hybrid NIRMA Conference
this past August. In addition to
meshing the virtual portion of the
conference with the in-person pieces,
there are a few new additions from
PDBU.
The first of these is the development
of the new mentorship program by my
co-director Lou Rofrano of AMS Store
and Shred. Lou put an incredible
amount of time and effort into
preparing the program and finding both
mentors and mentees to participate.
This program is in the early stages, but
I’m very excited to see the level of
participation we have so far and I’m
looking forward to seeing this program
grow and become established in
NIRMA.
Another development is a series of
webinars. We had a test webinar in
June and have incorporated lessons
learned from that. We’re going forward
with these webinars this Fall. Be on the
lookout for a survey of topics you
would like to see addressed in this
manner. We’re also looking for
individuals who would be interested in
developing and presenting a webinar to
As your NIRMA Vice President, I have
thoroughly enjoyed planning the past three years
of conferences. I will soon hand off the
conference planning for 2021 to Bruce Walters
who will bring great new ideas and experience
to this role. I am honored to become the 2021
NIRMA President and look forward to
working alongside the membership and a strong
Board of Directors to advance NIRMA's
goals. Thank you for the opportunity!
the industry as well.
Please feel free to contact me
(tammy.cutts@pge.com) with any ideas
you may have.
Finally, the ICRM announced that
they will be presenting the CRA/CRM
exams online starting this Fall, so be
watching for more information on that.
Those of you who are interested in
obtaining one of these professional
certifications will be able to do so from
your home computers. I’m looking
forward to taking advantage of this
myself.
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