Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to all,
      Well we are half way through my second term as Chair of the Hartford Section. We have accomplished many things and still have more to do before I pass the gavel on to someone else who is yet to be determined. We have positions open for this year and next year as well. So if anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer member leader in our section please let me or any other current Executive Committee member know your intentions.
    I want to thank Dr Ron Blank for a very interesting evening on the 13th of November.
His presentation is posted on the website. In December we do not have a general meeting but the Executive Committee does meet. The January 8th meeting will be Aerospace Component Manufacturers (ACM) with Paul Murphy as speaker. The February 12th meeting should be Medical Device Quality Systems ISO 13485 21-CFR-820 with Aaron Snyder of Covidien. March will be a special month for us as once again we will be running a seminar with the North East Quality Council in which the Hartford Section is a proud founding member. Jay Patel Past Chair of NEQC will be the presenter/facilitator of a seminar on Design for Six Sigma and Lean process. Jay will also be the evening speaker. Last year we merged both events into one. This year we will separate the two. The day event will be handled by NEQC for signing up and the evening event we will take care of through our system. More information will be forthcoming by email, post card and by the Chair’s monthly message. Stay tuned as this should be a great learning experience for all who attend. April will be everyone’s favorite subject NADCAP Registration Process and the speaker will be David Michaud. This might change as time goes on as we are still working on the details of this event. This year’s plant tour will not be a plant per say but a tour of the Bradley Air Museum with some details that  still need to be worked out as far as speakers or possibly a joint event with a couple of other non-profit organizations in our area. More information as the Executive Committee makes progress after the holidays.
    I want to wish all those who are planning to take the December 6th exam offerings good luck. Study hard as our exams are extensive and I have found personally draining but well worth the effort in the long run. We the Executive Committee would like to see a perfect session with 100% of the participants passing the various exams.
    The last item I want to mention is to wish a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas as well as happy holidays to everyone.                                                                                                                                                                   
Thank you for a great calendar year as we close off 2008 and head for 2009.

Bob Dembkoski ASQ-CQA, CQIA
ASQ Hartford Section Chair 2007/2008
ASQ Deputy Regional Director (Region 1) 2008/2009