Social Impact

 Recognition Announcement
We are excited to announce that Wellingtone, one of Palmetto PMI's collaboration partners, has won the global 2025 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Project and Portfolio Management (PPM). Wellingtone recently gave a valuable educational talk at our monthly meeting covering advancements in Project Management technology. Here is the link to the press announcement.

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Upcoming Events

Join us Virtually on January 5 for 

PMs in the PM!

PM in the PM (Virtual)
Monday January 5, 2026 from 6PM - 7PM EST

Please join Deeksha Pai Basti, Chapter Volunteer, in the next virtual PM in the PM networking session on Monday, January 6, 2026 from 6PM - 7PM EST.           Register today!  

40th Anniversary Celebration - Event Postponed until March!

This March, PMI Palmetto proudly celebrates 40 years of connecting project management professionals across the Upstate! Since 1985, our chapter has been a community where project leaders learn, grow, and make lasting connections — and now it’s time to celebrate that legacy in style.

NEW DATE: Join us for a special evening of celebration on:
Thursday, March 12, 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Crowne Plaza, 851 Congaree Road, Greenville, SC  29607

Enjoy an unforgettable night featuring:
            A professional photo booth (Dress for Success / Business Casual)
           Interactive games with opportunities to win prizes
           Music, dancing, and great company

While the date has changed, the purpose of the event remains the same—to honor and celebrate our chapter’s rich legacy, recognize the incredible professionals who make up our community, and reflect on 40 years of excellence in the Upstate.

All current registrants will receive a full refund. You will receive a separate notification once that refund has been processed.

We will send another email once ticket sales reopen for the March 12th celebration. For now, please save the date—we look forward to celebrating this milestone with you in the spring.

We sincerely apologize for the late notice and appreciate your understanding and continued support.

For questions, email anniversary.co@pmipalmetto.org

Register for all events through the Events tab of the Palmetto Chapter website.

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Symposium

2026 Symposium Planning is Underway

We're excited to share that planning is in full swing for our upcoming Symposium! The team is onboarding staff, for those who volunteered as helpers be alert to emails / notifications for upcoming meetings.

CALLING ALL LEADERS - this is a fantastic opportunity to join a dynamic team and make a lasting impact on our PMI Community!

2026 Symposium Helper https://volunteer.pmi.org/opportunities/59407 

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Non PMI Palmetto Events

Don't Get Scammed: Protecting Yourself from Fake Job Offers

Finding a new job should be exciting, but scammers often take advantage of people who are searching for work. Job-hunting scams are growing every year and knowing how they work can help protect your money, your identity, and your peace of mind.

What is a Job-Hunting Scam?

A job-hunting scam is when someone pretends to offer you a real job but is actually trying to steal something from you -- usually money or personal information. Scammers may pose as recruiters, hiring managers, or well-known companies in order to gain your trust.

Their goal is simple: to get you to pay for something, share sensitive information, or do work that benefits them without ever receiving the job you were promised.

How Common Is It?

These scams are more widespread than many people realize:

• Recent surveys from employment researchers show that more than 40% of job seekers have interacted with a fake job posting or scam recruiter.
• The U.S. Federal Trade Commission reported that Americans lost hundreds of millions of dollars to job-related fraud in the last year -- one of the fastest-growing categories of online scams.
• Many victims never report the scam because they feel embarrassed, which means the real number is likely even higher.

The impact can be serious: financial loss, identity theft, emotional stress, and lost time during an already challenging job search.

Examples of Job-Hunting Scams

• Training-fee scams: You're told you must pay for onboarding, certification, or equipment before starting.
• Fake recruiter messages: Someone contacts you on LinkedIn, email, or text with an offer that seems rushed or too good to be true.
• Check-deposit scams: You're sent a "hiring bonus" or equipment check and told to deposit it and send part of the money back -- then the check bounces.
• Free-work scams: You're asked to complete "sample assignments" or full projects but never hear from them again.

• Impersonation scams: Scammers copy job listings from real companies but replace the contact information with their own.

Warning Signs to Watch For

• The company asks you to pay money up front.
• Communications comes from a free email address (like Gmail or Yahoo).
• The job promises high pay for very little work.
• The recruiter pressures you to move quickly or avoid asking questions.
• You're asked for banking info, SSN, or IDs before your officially hired.
• The interview happens only by text or chat with no video metting.

• The job description has poor grammar, vague details, or unrealistic claims.

How to Protect Yourself

Trust your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is.

What to Do If You Suspect a Scam

• Stop communicating with the scammer.
• Contact your bank immediately if you sent money or account details.
• Change any passwords you shared.
• Consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with major credit bureaus.
• Report the scam to reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the job board where it appeared.

• Save screenshots and documents -- you may need later.

Final Thoughts

Job hunting is challenging enough without scams getting in the way. By staying alert and knowing the warning signs, you can protect yourself and help others in our PMI Palmetto Community stay safe too.

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Membership

Total Chapter Membership: 908

Valerie Welbourn – VP Membership 

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Share Your Journey with Us!

Become Our Next Featured Member!

Would you like to share how PMI has made a positive impact on your life?  Do you have advice for others in the project management field?  Would you like to nominate someone to share their story? 

Why Share Your Story?

Inspire Others: Your story could be the motivation someone else needs.

Connect: Sharing experiences brings our community closer together.

Highlight Your Achievements: Let's celebrate your successes and milestones.

Don't miss this chance to be in the spotlight and make a difference in our community. Your story is important, and we can't wait to hear it!

Email VP Membership, Valerie Welbourn , for more information.

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Professional Development

PMI Introduces a new certification: PMI-CPMAI

No Experience Required:  Your license to lead AI. With PMI-CPMAI, you'll gain the tools to build with AI effectively, giving you the playbook to secure AI success. For additional information follow THIS LINK..

Tools of the Trade will be held quarterly.
The sessions are free to chapter members and offer 1.5 PDUs. Location is to be
announced. We are looking for PM professionals to share tools, tips and tricks that are useful in their jobs. If you have an idea for tools of the trade and would like to present contact [email protected] (or) [email protected] for more details.

Sekar Parasurman - VP Professional Development

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Volunteers

Volunteers Committee

The success of the chapter and our ability to provide high-quality activities is only
achievable with the help of our members as volunteers. By volunteering you will help build a bigger and better chapter through specialized projects (Symposium, 40th Anniversary Celebration, etc.), day-to-day operations (finance management, building organizational structure, etc.), and community outreach. As a volunteer servant leader, you will have the opportunity to expand your professional internal network, enhance your leadership skills, earn PDUs, and much more.

Volunteer roles are open to ANY chapter member in good standing.

Current Open Volunteer Positions:  (CRUCIAL POSITIONS BOLDED BELOW)

Please welcome our Newest Volunteers:

Nicole Walton: In-Person PM in the PM Host

Claire Pfeiffer: 2026 Symposium Director

.

Please contact the VP of Volunteers at the following email address for more information: [email protected].

Dr. Detra German - VP Volunteers

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Programs

Programs Update:

Monthly Speakers:

Stay tuned to this space as the lineup of 2026 speakers is being put together.  Look for another exciting years with interesting speakers and PDU gaining opportunities.

Free Project Bites

To register for FREE to Project Bites, log into the Member Area on PMI Palmetto website and follow the instructions in the ProjectBites Sign-Up form under Member Documents. An individual subscription would normally cost you $90 per year, but it is now FREE for our members!!

•    ProjectBites presents project management education and inspiration in 20-minute videos from speakers around the world.
•    New content is being added weekly.
•    Each video comes with a downloadable “Take-Away” PDF available after viewing.
•    All the time spent viewing these videos qualifies towards your collection of PDUs.  Project Bites tracks your PDU’s for you.

Free PMBOK® Guide

Did you know your PMI® membership enables you to receive a free copy of the PMBOK® Guide?

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Social Media

Social Media Success & Monthly Giveaway!

What a difference a year makes! When Reggie took over our social media in December, 2024, our platforms were just getting started -- and now look at us grow!

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Feedback

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