Volunteering Provides Life-Long Learning Opportunities and Boosts Career Development 

By Christine Sowinski, MBA, CP APMP  Whether it is raising your hand to lead a challenging effort at your company or donating your time to a non-profit organization in your community, volunteering can enhance your career by providing many benefits… no matter where you are in your career progression. If you are new to the proposal profession or changing industries, you can gain new skills....
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Make Every Day Memorial Day

By Jen Borucki  This past weekend, we raised our burgers and lemonade (or other beverages) high and saluted the start of an eagerly anticipated summer season. But our celebrations truly pale in comparison to remembering the people who sacrificed everything.  As I was reflecting on the spirit of Memorial Day, I realized we have an opportunity to celebrate the people who built our c...
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From the Trenches: I’m Not Here to Make **it Pretty 

By Mercedez Thompson, MA, CP APMP, Shipley BDC Note: This article is an adaptation of a piece originally written for the Zweig Letter  In recent years, we’ve finally seen the efforts of national organizations like APMP—as well as the grassroots work of marketers inside their firms—pay off. Marketing professionals are being recognized for the important role they play in brand awareness ...
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Letter from the President

I honestly can’t believe it’s May already. The first few months of 2022 have flown by, and I think we are all holding on for dear life. This year, your board has been busy organizing on the back end and brainstorming new ideas and resources to provide more support to our members. After the last few years, we all agreed we missed out on the member interaction and came up with new ideas to bett...
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After more than two years of adapting to a pandemic, I have developed some poor work habits 

Behaviors are critical to growth and success, no matter what role you play in the proposal industry. For example, business development professionals must understand behaviors of their sales markets. A pursuit manager must know the habits of their clients to best position sales opportunities. Proposal managers must have knowledge of all the behaviors listed above… while also identifying behaviors ...
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Generational trauma and anxiety that won’t just “go away” 

Trigger Warning: This blog post discusses violence and current events regarding war. Read with caution.  Last year, one of our chapter newsletters featured an article about feeling sick due to high workload and stress levels – the “proposal flu.” Stress does have ways of manifesting itself in the body and it’s not always easy to shake. I have a recent example.  Earlier this spring...
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Orange You Glad: A Modest Proposal (as it were) to Help Thrive through Challenging and Normal-ish Times

By: Todd Packer, CF APMP Introduction Forgive me. New to Zen. So, no disrespect intended, a beginner’s draft riddle to spark deep insight – a “koan”: “Before the proposal begins and after it ends, where is your proposal team?” During any proposal effort your team is clear. As outlined in the PMBOK, your allies - including professionals with skills in sales, capture, writing, gra...
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Dear GMC – Tracking procurement portals

Dear GMC, I’m interested in finding help from APMP on sorting through procurement portals. There are so many portals that we, as proposal managers, need to keep track of. It takes time and resources to register, and there are often lengthy online registration forms. We need accurate log-in credentials so that we can submit proposals on time, but my practitioners are making accounts, and nob...
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From Ops to Props

By Sheri Lytle, CF APMP (she/her) 2016 was a transformative year for me. I was in the best shape of my life, I ran my first (and last) half marathon, reached my weight loss goal --- and was diagnosed with breast cancer. I’ll spare you the gory details. A year of surgery, chemo, and radiation later, I was ready to tackle 2017 and make some major life changes. Life was too short and I w...
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