For the last four years, I’ve been privileged to serve on the Steering Committee of the Michigan Simulation User Group (MSUG), the premier organization for simulation professionals in the Mitten State and the Mid-West. The simulation community here has always been strong, led by the Big Three of GM, Ford and Chrysler, as well as the spectrum of automotive supplier industries. Michigan is also a traditional stronghold for the giants of the material handling industry, and has recently seen strong growth in the use of simulation within the healthcare industry. Consequently, Michigan is home to a significantly above-average number of simulation consulting companies (of which Hindsight Consulting ranks among the best). All of these industries are well represented by MSUG.
The highlight of the MSUG calendar each year is our Annual Conference, which is to be held at Michigan State University‘s Management Education Center in Troy, MI, on Wednesday, October 19. (Please review our conference flyer for further information.) Whether you are a student of simulation, a seasoned simulation professional, or merely interested in what simulation technology can do for you, I’m confident that you will find this year’s event of interest. We have a superb range of presentations and speakers, covering the healthcare, automotive and warehousing & distribution industries, updates on popular simulation software products, not to mention unparalleled networking opportunities. The last few weeks have been pretty hectic, as we sought to finalize this year’s conference. Our efforts have not been in vain, and we now have a full program that is shaping up to be one of our best ever! There are still a few finishing touches required, but most of the hard work is done, and we’re all now looking forward eagerly to the event itself.
My role in MSUG this year, as in the past two years, has been Webmaster. I guess once you get assigned a technical role, it can be difficult to escape… However, this year is to be my last in that particular role. As Webmaster, I’ve re-launched and maintained the MSUG web-site, migrated the MSUG domain to the cloud via Google Apps, managed the MSUG LinkedIn Group as well as the MSUG Twitter (@MISimulation) Account, and setup the MSUG Announcement Mailing List. I have also probably done the lion’s share of promotion for our various events in recent years, too! (Hopefully, you haven’t been spammed by me too often!) In saying that, I don’t want to take anything away from my fellow Steering Committee members, who have done a great deal of less visible, selfless work behind the scenes, giving their time, organizing conferences & meetings, drumming up speakers, liaising with simulation vendors and other organizations, assessing venues, managing the books, taking meeting minutes, etc. A lot of hard work has been put into this year’s event, and I think that is reflected by the quality of our efforts.
Overall, I’ve found serving on MSUG a great way to give back to the simulation community, which has given so much to me over the years, and I strongly recommend the experience. We have a number of vacancies for the 2012 Steering Committee that we will need to fill through elections at this year’s conference. Steering Committee members are elected to serve a three year term, after which they can opt to seek re-election to a second three year term. Roles are allocated at the start of each year (you don’t want to miss that meeting!) and then the fun begins. If you’re interested in putting yourself forward for election, please send a brief biography to our President, Virginia Minolli (further details are contained within our conference flyer).
Whether you’re interested in serving on the MSUG Steering Committee or not, I hope you will be able to find time for our Annual Conference in your schedule; I hope to see you there!
Mike AllenPresident, Hindsight Consulting, Inc. & 2011 Webmaster, Michigan Simulation User Group
