I don't think many people know how this Listserv got started so maybe this
is a good time. About three or four years ago, there was a meeting of HEPMs
at one of the Image conferences. Alot of the HEPMs expressed frustration
that we couldn't keep in touch with each other throughout the year. Someone
generated a "list of attendees" with our phone numbers on it and handed it
out to all the members but I knew this was not the way to go. After some
time, I came up with the idea of a listserv but I did not have a clue as to
how to get it off the ground. I knew that it would be hard to convince
anyone to spend money on operating such a system and when I would go to a
particular government office looking for a sponsor, I was treated politely
but the issue of money and support was a giant hurdle. I even tried to be
a one-man lobby at Image conferences but people didn't really understand
what a listserv was so I didn't get very far there either. Many people kept
telling me, the listserv wasn't necessary because they already had a
webpage. A webpage however is not the same thing as what we have today. I
struck gold when I met someone who knew someone else who worked for somebody
in Germany. The person who made it all possible was Mr. Bob Stringfield,
one of our members. He works for the Army in Germany and had a system that
could accomodate us at no charge (What a deal!) He was very patient with me
and helped me to get off the ground. Bob is the Listmaster for HEPM. At
first it was just a few of us and I kept looking for more and more members.
Eventually, I was able to get two organizations, HEPM Inc and NAHFE, to
create a link for us on their website. (Thanks for Pedro DeJesus of HEPM
and Baltazar Luna of NAHFE). This increased new member signup tremendously.
In the past year, our membership is up to almost 70 people and every day or
so I get a new request for membership. Hopefully we will get more members
in the upper echelons of government who will make this more of a widely used
tool. What better way for them to know what is going on than to see all the
message traffice from the troops! I also think it's great that we have DoD
and non-DoD agencies. Talk about Diversity! We all can bring a different
angle to the table and I think we have seen that recently. We are from
different backgrounds yet are made family by our affiliation with HEPM.
This is the spirit of the HEPM Listserv. Thanks to all our members for
being so active and for what you bring to the table. Let's keep this going
and target new members at every opportunity. Think how great it would be if
the HEPM Listserv had the same name recognition in government circles as
Image or LULAC. The first one that can get the President to join, gets a
free drink on me at the next Image Conference.

Will Morales
HEPM Listowner