GRAND RAPIDS ? GLIMAWest has appointed a new president and vice president that hope to lead the technology networking group back to its roots ? getting members networked so they can do more business together.

New GLIMAWest President Jeff Meyers, a senior applications engineer at Steelcase, said he was appointed to replace elected President Judy Joppie was stepped down because a new job left her with little time for GLIMAWest, Meyers said. New Vice President is Michelle Farhat of Perrigo. Farhat replaces founding board member and vice president Tonya Wilholt, who had twins.

Other board members include Adam Fenstermaker of Cadence Solutions, Steve Fritz of Steelcase, Valerie Kozikowski of BDO Seidman, Ryan McGrath of Lambert, Edwards & Associates and Jim Scott of Warner Norcross & Judd. Board Chairman Darren Brown of Arivium, who was the president prior to Joppie, also remains on the board.

?We need to get back to what the initial goal of this organization was – a networking organization,?? Meyers said. ?Education is great, but we need to have more of a focused effort on networking. We want to create more opportunities to have our members interact with other folks they can get plugged into for business opportunities.

“Additionally, there will be an effort by the board of directors to balance the membership of the organization so that large and small organizations are represented more equally,?? he said.

Reflecting this change, GLIMAWest also announced new fall and winter programs. Those include:

November 18 – Tech 5:01 networking event at 5 pm at The Stack (889 Broadway Ave NW, Grand Rapids, 616.458.0870). This event will feature a short presentation by Mary Tornga of Life Cycle Operations LLC. Tech 5:01+ are an opportunity to network with peers and for individuals and companies to introduce their capabilities to the GLIMA audience.

December 2 – A networking and education event titled Email: From Novelty to Workflow Tool. Email has gone from a novelty to a workflow tool. This change brings forth a lot of issues such as spam, appropriate uses, and also compliance in light of Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPPA, etc. Experts in the field will explore this topic through presentations and a panel discussion.

January 20 – A networking and education event titled Technology Trends for 2005, which will include a presentation by Keith Brophy, president of Sagestone.

GLIMAWest is currently looking for future Tech 5:01+ presenters. There?s no charge for this marketing opportunity. If you?d like to discuss your company at a Tech 5:01 event, email [email protected].