GRAND RAPIDS – InfraGard held its National Congress Meeting in June in Washington, DC. Gathering with all the InfraGard Members Alliance (IMA) leadership were top officials from both the FBI and Dept of Homeland Security. What resulted from the meeting was a significant framework from which the organization will quickly grow beyond its 81 chapters (now called IMAs) and 12,500 plus membership.

In addition to solidly positioning InfraGard with both the FBI and DHS as a critical component of Homeland Security, newly revised bylaws and amendments were approved. The changes in bylaws were necessary to accommodate the organizations rapid growth and to standardize its governance across the country for future formal relationships outside of those held presently with the FBI. In addition to bylaw revisions, three new Board members were elected to the InfraGard National Members Alliance Board (the INMA), and a number of national initiatives were named.

This first in a series of reports outlining those proceedings will focus on what InfraGard has become and why the agencies have been so positive and supportive of the new structure. In reports to follow, we will fill in the details of specific initiatives named as well as what plans the agencies have for this public/private partnership.

So what IS InfraGard anyway? InfraGard was formed in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation approximately eight years ago, the first initiative held in Cleveland. The focus of the organization is on protection of our nations critical infrastructures and citizenry. It has since become the largest public/private partnership in the country.

Today there are three components of the organization: the InfraGard Program is the public side of the partnership and is owned by the FBI; the remaining two are the InfraGard Members Alliances (the IMAs), and the Members which make up the private side of the organization. InfraGards structure and operation is similar to that of the Boy Scouts the Members belong to the Program, and interact locally within each IMA.

The InfraGard Program (the Program), is governed and managed by the FBI. Brett Hovington is the National Coordinator for the organization and the chief liaison between it, the IMAs and their membership. The Program vets all members by doing background checks on all who file for membership and by relying on the referrals of other Program members. It also holds ownership of all branding for the Program.

The Members all belong to the Program and interact through their respective local IMAs. They become Members by filling out a form found on the national InfraGard website (www.infragard.net), or supplied to them by their local FBI agent or IMA representative.

At this years national convention, it was decided that all IMAs will become incorporated under Section 501 C3 of the IRSs tax code as non-profit corporations by the end of June 2005. Many are incorporated at this time and those that are not will receive instructions for the incorporation process in the next few months. IMAs are governed nationally by the InfraGard National Members Alliance (the INMA) Board of Directors.

MI InfraGard has incorporated as a Directorship as oppose to a Membership under section 501 c3. The difference is that a Directorship initially votes in its Advisory Board, and the Board elects its successors, whereas a Membership elects the initial board and its subsequent replacements. This process was instituted when the IMA (then a chapter) was formed in 2001.

Board members of the InfraGard Michigan Members Alliance include: John Sheridan (president Sheridan Solutions); Larry Shattuck (vice president – ISG); John Montville (treasurer Nationwide Security); Chris Hogan (Chairman of the Board Daimler Chrysler), Thomas Raupp (Delphi), Dennis Peasley (Herman Miller) and Dan Lohrman (State of MI). Michigans IMA is made up of two Regions (East & West), each with its own leadership: John Sheridan acts as president of the East region and Dennis Peasley as president of the West. Members can keep up on local information via the IMA website at: www.michiganinfragard.org).

Nationally, each of the 81 IMAs also have an affiliation within one of six regions. Michigan is one of seven states within the Midwest Region which also includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Next report we will focus in on why the agencies are taking a liking to InfraGards new structure and answer such questions as: How is this organization different from other professional organizations and specifically what value does it offer its members?; Why are the agencies putting so much hope in this public/private partnership?; What involvement can the organization expect in the year ahead from the FBI and DHS?; and How will national plans and initiatives impact affect the Michigan IMA?

Infragard has demonstrated to its members and its alliances that it is a capable ally in the fight against those who would seek to harm the life we have all come to appreciate here in America. The changes just approved have positioned the organization for a significant place at the table of security stakeholders across the nation, both public and private. With such rapid growth, there will be challenges. Stay tuned . . . theres much more to come.

This article was written by Larry Shattuck, Midwest Regional Council, InfraGard. Infragard members are solely responsible for the content of their articles. Nothing in this publication necessarily expresses the views of Michigan Infragard or any federal agency.

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