Michigan Wetlands Meeting

Friday, March 12, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.

Hosted by the Michigan Wetlands Association, Agriculture and Natural Resources Week

Kellogg Center, Michigan State University

Are You Interested in Wetland Science, Policy and Stewardship?

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2010 Michigan Townships Association Educational Conference Session

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent session on regulating small wind turbines at the recent Michigan Townships Association conference in Grand Rapids. Click here to view our PowerPoint presentation, and to download the handout materials. Click here to contact Mr. Nanney directly with any additional questions.

Paul Zucker, FAICP of Zucker Systems, Inc. just sent out an excellent “Management Doctor” message (excerpt below):

Dear Management Doctor,

I attended your 2-day seminar for Planning Directors a couple of years ago and found it to be quite informative.  Some of the staff I now directly or indirectly supervise are not planners but are trained building inspectors or maintenance staff.  I imagine that many Community Development Directors find themselves now having supervisory responsibilities over … engineers, inspectors, operations/maintenance, information technologies or administrative support to name a few.

Their respective skill-sets can be widely varying and can pose interesting supervisory challenges, particularly if the Director is not an expert in “their field.”  I believe there would be a significant amount of interest in future sessions on specifically supervising or directing non-planner municipal staffs.

- “Non-Planner Challenged”

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About Zucker Systems, Inc.

“Zucker Systems takes its lead from the Japanese word ‘kaizen‘ (’a constant search for a better way’). We continually search for a more effective and efficient way to do things. These better ways produce greater service to our clients, as well as helping to create better communities. … We see ourselves as agents of change.

To our knowledge, Zucker Systems is the only consulting firm in the United States that specializes in the analysis of planning, building and community development functions and related departments. Organization, management and process consultation is primarily completed for city and county government and non-profit clients.”

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Dear Non-Planner Challenged,

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Author’s Note:  With students back at colleges and universities across the U.S., this seemed like a good time to repeat our free advice for new planning students:

In his book What Your Planning Professor Forgot to Tell You, Paul Zucker, FAICP offers practical advice for new professional planners. Reading it inspired me to reflect on the experiences that have helped me to be successful in this field, both before and after receiving my degree.

I’d like to offer some “words of wisdom” to new urban and regional planning students, which are based upon my experience and the collective wisdom of the many professional planners and others I’ve come into contact with since I started down this career path:

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The Michigan Association of Planning (MAP) has several excellent educational opportunities coming up:

Transforming Transportation

November 4, 2009 (8:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.)
Lansing, MI - Radisson Hotel

6.5 or 8 AICP CM credits (pending approval)

MAP is bringing together state and national experts to showcase how successful communities link health, land use, and innovative transportation solutions, such as:

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From the Planning and Zoning Center at Michigan State University:

Registration for the Fall 2009 Michigan Zoning Administrator Certificate Program offered by the Planning and Zoning Center at MSU is now open.  There are eight modules included in each training program leading to a certificate of completion for those that pass an exam associated with each module. Each module is about three hours of instruction (24 hours total).

Dates and locations:

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In his book What Your Planning Professor Forgot to Tell You, Paul Zucker, FAICP offers practical advice for new professional planners.  Reading it inspired me to reflect on the experiences that have helped me to be successful in this field, both before and after receiving my degree.

I’d like to offer some “words of wisdom” to new urban and regional planning students, which are based upon my experience and the collective wisdom of the many professional planners and others I’ve come into contact with since I started down this career path:

(more…)