Dear Friends,

First of all, I hope that you and your families are staying healthy and engaging in good social distancing practices. With a little community effort and individual responsibility, we can soon move forward and return to our normal lives - and that includes getting back to face-to-face professional development activities.

However, for now we're all getting adjusted to working, socializing, and learning through our computer monitors and web cameras. ATD Detroit is still here to provide you many opportunities to grow and develop your skills as talent development professionals. I wanted to take a minute and share with you some important resources available to you right now.

Midwestern ATD Virtual Collaboration

We've teamed up with ATD chapters all over the Midwest to bring you as many FREE online learning activities as we could find. Detroit, Ann Arbor, St.Louis, Chicago, Central Ohio, and several other chapters are opening online events to any ATD chapter member no matter what chapter they belong to.

This means that ATD Detroit members have FREE access to more than ten webinars and learning events throughout the month of April. Check out the full list of awesome activities on our website HERE. We're adding new events as other chapters plan them, so check back frequently!

Unemployment Benefits for Freelancers and Self-Employed

As many of you know, the federal government recently implemented a widespread package that includes stimulus checks to individuals, interest-free loans to small businesses, and the extension of state unemployment benefits to freelancers and the self-employed. 

We know many of you are likely to be eligible for unemployment benefits for the first time, as independent consultants, freelancers, and general "one-person show" shops are traditionally exempt from receiving unemployment payments.

 The State of Michigan will soon issue guidance about the application process and requirements for these extended unemployment benefits. Follow the state's Unemployment Insurance Agency's website - michigan.gov/uia - for important information. 

Small Business Loans under the CARES Act

There are interest-free small business loans available for employers with fewer than 500 employees. This also includes self-employed individuals, freelancers, sole proprietorships, and other groups not traditionally eligible for SBA loan programs. Eligible entities and persons can borrow up to 2.5 times their monthly payroll amount, and loans can be forgiven if the money is used to pay employees and other qualifying expenses (including mortgage, rent, and utilities that keep the office space going).

You can also visit the Michigan Paycheck Protection Program's website HERE to find out more about application processes, requirements, and timelines. HERE is a Forbes article published April 2, 2020 with some additional helpful general information about the loan program  

Social Distancing Doesn't Mean Social Disengagement

Looking for ways to interact with others during all this "work at home" time? We're setting up frequent virtual networking sessions to help keep everyone engaged in our community.

The first one is next week's "distance lunch" on Tuesday, April 7th at Noon. Grab your lunch, turn on your webcam, and join us on Zoom for some light conversation. Talk about what you're doing to keep busy, share some resources with each other, and break up your day with a little fun. Register now on our website. 

On Demand Member Resources and Benefits

Looking for something do right now? Check out some of our always-available member tools and benefits: 

• Watch our full library of past webinar recordings. Simply log on to detroitatd.org and select “Webinar Recordings” from the Members Only menu.
  
  
• View past meeting and event materials, including slide decks and resource documents. Select “Past Meetings Presentations” from the Members Only menu.
  
  
• Engage with other members on our new Discussion Forum, found under the Resources menu on detroitatd.org. New topics are posted each week, but you can also start your own threads on any issue!
  
  
• Join us in our weekly conversation starters on our LinkedIn page!
  
  
• National ATD offers many free articles, videos, and reports on td.org, such as these resources on virtual training design and facilitation. 

Please contact me at president@detroitatd.org if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for activities we can provide during this “online only” effort. I'm also happy to set up some group Zoom chats if you just need someone to talk to during the chaos.

On behalf of the ATD Detroit Board of Directors, thank you for your continued participation in our chapter. We miss seeing you all at events, but we're making sure you're not missing out on learning.

Please continue to take care of yourself, your family, and each other.

Sincerely,

Michael Haynes
Chapter President
president@detroitatd.org  

For more information about COVID-19 and related economic support programs:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

State of Michigan - https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus

Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency - http://www.michigan.gov/uia

United States Small Business Administration - http://www.sba.gov

Dear ATD Detroit Members,

Over the last week, concern for the COVID-19 Coronavirus has escalated here in Metro Detroit. We understand that many employers are implementing restrictive policies, and government and health officials have recommended that everyone practice social distancing.

In respect for public health and the safety of our members, ATD Detroit is canceling all face-to-face activities events through the end of May. Our next scheduled in-person event is our annual Top Trainer Throwdown on June 9th, although we will continue to monitor the local situation and make appropriate decisions.

In the meantime, your learning and growth as talent development professionals is not going to stop during this time of uncertainty. Your ATD Detroit Board Members are hard at work planning a variety of virtual learning opportunities for the upcoming months. We will be featuring webinars with topics on distance learning tactics, comparisons of teleconference tools, strategies for training during crisis, and more relevant issues. Look for our promotional emails in the upcoming weeks to find out more.

There are also several great web-based member benefits available to you now:

• Watch any of our full library of past webinar recordings. Simply log on to detroitatd.org and select “Webinar Recordings” from the Members Only menu.
  
  
• View past meeting and event materials, including slide decks and resource documents. Select “Past Meetings Presentations” from the Members Only menu.
  
  
• Engage with other members on our new Discussion Forum, found under the Resources menu on detroitatd.org
  
  
• We will be posting weekly conversation starters on our LinkedIn page, starting with today’s question – “How is your organization addressing learning during the coronavirus situation?” Come chat with us on these weekly social media threads.
  
  
• National ATD offers many free articles, videos, and reports on td.org, such as these resources on virtual training design and facilitation. National members get access to even more great documents and tools. ATD Detroit members save $30 on national membership, so consider joining if you haven’t already. Catch up on some reading and learn something new.

Thank you for your understanding as we shift our programming approach. Please contact me at president@detroitatd.org if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for activities we can provide during this “online only” effort.

On behalf of the ATD Detroit Board of Directors, thank you for your continued participation in our chapter. Please take care of yourself, your family, and each other.

Sincerely,

Michael Haynes
Chapter President
president@detroitatd.org  

For more information about COVID-19:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

State of Michigan - https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus

It happens to us all from time to time. There is a project or task that you are working on where a second, third, or fifteenth opinion would be helpful. Or, you want to know what your peers think about a specific topic.

Good News! ATD Detroit has a place for you to ask these questions, discuss the next big idea in talent development, and learn from your peers.

If you have any questions about the discussion forum, contact Eric Nalian, VP Communications, at communications@detroitatd.org.

Be sure to check out our member stories from our Tell Us Your Story competition! Congratulations, Laurie Zeller, for winning a free attendance at Empower U and thank you to all of our runners up and everyone who share with us how ATD Detroit made a difference in your life! Find the winning stories as we spotlight them here: Tell Us Your Story.

From ATD:

ATD Awards the Detroit Chapter
Chapter of the Month Honor

Detroit, Michigan – The Detroit Chapter of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), formerly ASTD, was named an ATD Chapter of the Month (COM) for July, 2019. The COM is national recognition for ATD local chapters that have demonstrated strength, growth, and innovation in managing their chapter.

Elizabeth Beckham, chair of ATD’s Chapter Recognition Committee, which awards the Chapter of the Month, said, ‘‘This distinguished award recognizes ATD Detroit for demonstrating unique approaches that provide value to their members, other ATD chapter, and professionals within the talent development industry. ATD Detroit is a leader in providing development opportunities to their members and other ATD chapter leaders by sharing best practices and encouraging leaders to learn and grow from each other. We are honored to recognize the chapter with ATD’s Chapter of the Month award.”

At their June meeting, the ATD Detroit Board of Directors unanimously voted on a set of proposed changes to the chapter Bylaws.

The new Bylaws must first be approved by the membership in an online vote before they can take effect next year. Under the current Bylaws, members must be given 30 days to review any proposed changes to the Bylaws before an online vote can be held. 

Chapter Members can find the current and proposed Bylaws in the Members Only section, under "2019 Chapter Bylaws Proposal." Note: this page will require a member log in.

The member vote will take place online during the week of July 15th. More details will be provided closer to the vote. 

For any questions about the proposed Bylaws or related action taken by the Board of Directors, contact Michael Haynes, chapter President Elect, presidentelect@detroitatd.org.

ATD Detroit President Esther Jackson and the chapter Board of Directors are excited to reveal to you our brand new, fully-renovated website! 

The new website is more accessible, more functional, and more fun for all members and visitors!

We hope you'll look around at all the many new resources available and enjoy the new way to explore the great ATD Detroit content!

For any questions or concerns about the website, contact VP of Technology Johnnie Thayer at vptechnology@detroitatd.org.

Dr. Esther Jackson, our chapter President wanted to share some notes from ICE in Washington DC this year! 

ATD ICE 2019 soared to new heights this year with Oprah Winfrey, Seth Godin and Eric Whitacre as back-to-back keynotes for three days during the conference in Washington DC. Oprah reminded us about a few life mini-lessons:

• Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.
• Decisions drive by your ego will land you in trouble: Ask yourself, "Would I be doing this if my name was not on it?"
• You can't use money to change and improve the lives of people: You must change the way a person thinks, the way a person sees themselves, and the way they choose to move forward.
• Change the paradigm of whatever your talent is to look at what and how you're offering to be of service beyond you - in your relationships, in your work, etc. 

Each keynote highlighted a different theme that resonated with me as they all connected to create an "AHA Moment" which was the central theme for the conference.

Looking forward to ATD taking it back to Denver as we wonder how they will top 2019's line-up! 

Dr. Esther Jackson, President, ATD Detroit Chapter

The following post is by Diane Fox (ATD Detroit President Elect), sent live from the ATD International Conference and Expo (ICE) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Day 3 started on a positive note by participants learning the upside of stress. It might have been pouring outside, butit didn't stop anyone from pushing through to get to the convention hall.

In the second keynote session, Dr. Kelly McGonigal - famous for her Ted Talk about how stress is actually good for people -expanded on the notion that there is really no such thing as bad stress. Kelly's research suggests that in stressful moments people can accept and harness the stress, let it bring out our best selves, and learn and grow from it. What talent development professional doesn't want to learn and grow from their experiences? Kelly also noted positively that stress makes us kinder, more social, and makes us want to help others.  Her charge for us - turn stress into energy that we can use.

Concurrent sessions continued today with the longest day of the conference and literally hundreds of options to choose from.  The big buzz around today's sessions came from Bob Pike and Becky Pike Pluth, who in separate sessions demonstrated a great trainer's toolkit and used UMU.com for interactivity in sessions. 

 Several board members attended the #leadlikeagirl session lead by Tacy Byham, CEO of DDI.  Tacy inspired the women (and men) who attended the session to understand that there is a confidence/competence link and gave four action steps for women to continue to lead strongly. It was truly inspiring and I'm charged up to bring these lessons back home!

Tonight, about a quarter of the 10,000 attending the conference will expand their professional network in the brand new Georgia Aquarium. They will mix and mingle with each other, and perhaps some new exotic friends! They will have access to over 500 exhibits and there will be no shortage of food, fun, and dancing!   

The following post is by Diane Fox (ATD Detroit President Elect), sent live from the ATD International Conference and Expo (ICE) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Day 2 started with such passion and excitement. Thousands of Talent Development professionals waited in line to get into a crowded theater to hear first from Tony Bingham, ATD President. 

Tony's key message was for organizations to continue to embrace micro-learning. We need to rethink how we are delivering micro-learning so that it's more than a "just in time" learning solution.  

The buzz moved through Tony and into the anticipated opening keynote speakers: Mark and Scott Kelly (you might have heard of them - they're the only twin brothers who ever traveled into space!). Their funny, entertaining and informative session kept the audience intrigued as we learned about space travel and how they became successful. The key takeaways were that we should compartmentalize what we can control, and separate that from what we can't control in order to stay focused on achievable goals. They also talked about how we must always strive to take risks and work hard to achieve real success.  "If we don't take risks, we don't go anywhere."  It's an incredibly valuable message in this world!

After the keynote sessions, the expo opened this morning. The expo holds an endless supply of vendors to help Talent Development professionals meet their needs and provide critical solutions needed.  It doesn't hurt to have a bottomless supply of giveaways as well, in order to make the experience interactive and fun. We love free stuff! Concurrent sessions continue to provide us with knowledge and key takeaways that we'll surely be able to apply back home in our organizations.

ICE is awesome! You gotta come with us next year!