To:          The Project Management Institute

From:       Chris Lovasco, Regional Executive Director, YMCA of the North Shore

Subject:   Volunteer Assistance from PMI Mass Bay Chapter’s Community Service Team

Date:       January 19, 2004

The YMCA of the North Shore would like to thank the PMI Mass Bay Chapter and its Community Service Team composed of Greg Woo, Willie Rich, Ron Ferrara, Kirsten Barton, Bette Jenkins, Keith Laidley, Frank Petrucci, Byron Garcia, and William Hayes for the guidance, coaching, training, and research work that they provided to our YMCA on our recent Sterling Center Expansion project.

This project was an enormous undertaking for our organization and we were struggling to organize the project and to get the momentum needed for a successful outcome.  Without the enormous commitment and professional assistance that the PMI team provided to us, we would not have been able to complete this project in such an efficient manner nor would we have been likely to achieve the level of satisfaction that resulted at the project’s completion.

We struggled to find the time and focus needed to launch this project for six years before the PMI team came aboard.  Under their guidance, and with their dedication and help, we made more progress in getting the project launched and executed over the course of six months than we had on our own for the prior six years.  We’ve also learned an enormous amount about organized project management practices and are now able to utilize that new knowledge on our other projects and work activities.  The training and facilitation that we received from the PMI team was priceless.  We also now know that there is an organization for project-oriented professionals called PMI.

Your community service team listened to our project situation discussions, issues lists, and work activities on a regular basis – once a week for several hours at our peak time of need – and helped us understand the project management options, tools, and techniques that might help us do better with the management of the project.  They also facilitated meetings, trained us on several valuable tools and techniques, and coached us through the definition, launch, and execution of this project.  This knowledge and assistance enabled us not only to complete the project in a manner that met our expectations, but it also helped us avoid a number of problems that could have severely impacted our ability to serve our members while the project was underway.  It was a particularly challenging and complex project because we tripled the size of the facility while keeping it open and operational for use by our members.

The outcome has our membership and the community in awe.  Our newly expanded facilities enable us to serve the North Shore community of Greater Boston more thoroughly and effectively in a large variety of areas too numerous to describe here.  This facility will be enjoyed by many thousands of people of all ages and with diverse needs for generations to come.

We are looking forward to continued assistance from the PMI team as we begin our next expansion project at the Sterling Center.  Thanks so much.

Sincerely,

Chris Lovasco

Regional Executive Director

YMCA of the North Shore