"I am so impressed with the Two Rivers Chapter. Your programs, communications and leadership are highly professional and really make an impact on improving admin development. Congratulations! I would like to join your chapter." --M. Milliken

The International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) is the world’s largest association for administrative support staff, with almost 600 chapters and 40,000 members and affiliates worldwide. For more than 60 years, IAAP has provided up-to-date research on office trends, cutting-edge publications, outstanding seminars and conferences, and top-notch resources to help administrative professionals enhance their skills and become more effective contributors to their employers.

The Two Rivers Chapter of IAAP was chartered in April 2004 and covers Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove, Wheaton, Warrenville, and surrounding communities. We have grown to over 160 members representing dozens of companies. Our chapter focuses on education, networking, and professional development.

We meet on the second Tuesday (note new meeting night!) of the month from September through June. Our meetings consist of a networking portion, dinner, a brief business meeting, and an educational seminar. We actively pursue CAP/CPS recertification points and anticipate offering 25-30 points during our fiscal year. View our 2008-2009 program calendar here.

In our quest to enhance our members' technical expertise, we offer free computer classes. IAAP members who do not belong to the Two Rivers Chapter and non-IAAP guests can attend for a small fee. Classes that were held this year include Making Your Own Web Pages; Virtually There - Holding Meetings Using Web Conferencing; and Sharing Data Between Office Programs (Making MS Office play nice in the sandbox). Our last computer class of the 2008-2009 program year was held May 16 at Edward Hospital with the topic of Excel Pivot Tables.

We have a special new offering this year - study groups for Microsoft Office. We held multi-week study groups for Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, and Outlook 2007. We will be offering a study group for Access 2007 beginning in June (see sidebar). All groups are designed to help attendees prepare for the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist exams.

The Two Rivers Chapter hosted the Illinois Divison Professional Enrichment Program on October 4, 2008 at the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville. This phenomenal full day of educational workshops gave our attendees the opportunity to enhance their professional development and improve their skills. We held a free half day workshop "Developing The Leader Within" on Saturday, March 14, 2009.

We offer periodic networking lunches for our members to get to know each other and keep in touch. This is just one more way in which we try to be a resource for our members. Our last networking event was truly unique! We had a progressive restaurant tour and tasting at Morton's Steakhouse, White Chocolate Grill and Maggianos in Naperville. The entire evening was free! Our next outing will be a progressive tasting at Sullivan's, La Sorella di Francesca and Hugo's in downtown Naperville in June.

Please visit the Two Rivers Chapter's Blog http://iaap-tworivers.blogspot.com/ to learn more about the inner workings of our chapter as well as additional information about upcoming events. We update our blog regularly to keep our members and guests up to date on all the exciting things happening in our chapter.

Next Regular Meeting! June 9, 2009

Our June program includes the topic of "From Boas to Weiner Whistles: Tools to Beat Burnout and Fire Up Your Life!". This fabulous program will feature Joyce Smith and promises to be entertaining. This special meeting will include installation of officers and is being hosted very graciously by Hotel Arista. Please be sure to arrive early to tour this brand new property. Dinner is being donated by the hotel. Please contact our treasurer Catherine Peters CAP/CPS to sign up at treasurer@iaap-tworivers.org.

Next Networking Event! June 2009

The Two Rivers Chapter is finalizing a networking event for June involving tastings at downtown Naperville restaurants. Please watch this space for details to be posted shortly.

Microsoft Office Access 2007 Study Group! June 11-July 16, 2009

The Two Rivers Chapter will run an Access 2007 Study Group to prepare for Microsoft Certified Application Specialist certification, beginning on June 11 and continuing through July 16 (six Thursdays) at Edward Hospital in the Education Center. Cost will be $10 total for Two Rivers Chapter members ($20 for non-members) and attendees are also required to purchase a study book and their own test voucher (voucher is optional if they don't wish to pursue certification). This study group would be submitted for 12 CAP/CPS recertification points, as well as 1.2 CEUs. Please contact our treasurer Catherine Peters CAP/CPS at treasurer@iaap-tworivers.org to sign up.