GMC members,
Summertime in Minnesota is always treasured. Maybe it’s because we’ve successfully escaped months of gray skies and feet of snow… Or maybe it’s because we can finally dip our toes back into the lake water. Either way, it’s a busy time of year that always goes by too fast. I’ve shared some of my Summer 2024 highlights below.
APMP BPC: Summertime felt like it kicked off with the annual APMP Bid & Proposal Con (BPC). This year, the conference took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Key memories from the experience include:
1) Tasting, and falling deeply in love with, my first beignet.
2) Catching fish with friends.
3) Giving my first-ever APMP presentation.
4) Spending time with more than 30 co-workers from my organization (all from different office locations).
5) Spending quality time with many of the GMC board and our amazing chapter members.
6) Gathering with other chapter leaders to discuss how we can improve/offer more to our member base.
7) Attending tons of info-packed sessions/gathering nuggets to take back to my team.
I am so honored to have been selected to present at the conference. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so nervous. Being trusted to stand in front of a room full of my proposal people was easily a career milestone.
Outdoor Weekends: Outside of work, the Ramsey family spends most weekends up north on the lake in a little cabin owned by my in-laws. There is endless paddle boarding, jet skiing, sunbathing and book reading to do. As the parents of two young children, we’re thankful to have a place where our kids can be completely entertained (and energy drained) during the summertime.
Special Projects: At work, this season feels like it’s full of special projects. My days are full of figuring out how to:
1. Manage our marketing and proposal content more efficiently.
2. Updating branding and all pursuit-related templates.
3. Planning an internal training event.
For the last 18 months, I haven’t been an actual proposal manager and instead I’m supporting projects (like the above) which have longer lead times and many more stakeholders. As someone who spent 10 years living by short proposal turnaround times in the construction industry, I’m continually adjusting my mindset to minimal daily progress being normal.
GMC Things: Beyond participating in BPC, our chapter’s key programs remain in full swing. We have active mentor pairs within our Mentorship Program and individuals participating in the Practitioner Certification Study Group. Planning for our 2025 Chapter Symposium is also officially underway (more details forthcoming)!
Getting the Sweetest Gift: The biggest joy of Summer 2024 is easily finding out our family is going to be expanding by one more Ramsey. I’m very excited to announce Baby Ramsey #3 will arriving in January 2025.
I hope you are all having a wonderful summer and can enjoy the last few weeks before school starts/pumpkin spice lattes come back around!
Alexa
In our next Letter from the President, instead of hearing from me, you’ll hear from our Vice President Karin Olson Held. Karin is going to shed some light on plans for the rest of 2024 and what can be anticipated come the new year.
Alexa Ramsey, CP APMP
GMC Chair (President) | 2024
Alexa is a marketing strategist specializing in the development of federal and private sector proposals to maximize revenue generation objectives for architecture, engineering and construction firms. She is a cross-functional partnership facilitator capable of executing qualification and proposal packages for small projects to multi-million dollar programs.
