On November 4, 1982, a group of twenty-eight human resource professionals met at
the Executive Motor Lodge in
Mt. Laurel, NJ to
discuss and explore areas of common interest and concern. The organization was
formed as the Tri-State Personnel Association with Rob Harris as its first
president. Several months later, Tri-State applied to the American Society for
Personnel Administration (ASPA) to be an affiliated chapter when its membership
rolls now included ten national ASPA members. The affiliation was obtained and
Tri-State had its ASPA Charter formally presented at the November 1983 meeting
with the designation of ASPA Chapter 413.
In 1987, Tri-State took a major leap forward when it sponsored its first annual
Human Resource Conference. Today that conference is the largest single human
resource conference in South Jersey with well
over two hundred attendees for the one-day event.
In 1989, ASPA announced that it would change its name to the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM) to reflect the change in the profession from an
administrative emphasis to a more strategic focus. Tri-State followed the same
logic and changed its name to the Tri-State Human Resource Management
Association.
Today, Tri-State Human Resource
Management Association is an affiliated local chapter of SHRM with almost 400
professional members in southern New Jersey,
southeastern Pennsylvania, and northern
Delaware. At its monthly meetings, Tri-State provides
its members with both networking and educational opportunities; each meeting
includes a speaker on a topical issue. Tri-State serves the area’s HR community
in many other ways as well, including providing email alerts of pending State
and Federal legislation of local interest; acting as the conduit for information
between the local HR community and the National SHRM; offering a member discount
on national compensation surveys, maintaining a list of current HR opportunities
in the area as well as providing a support group for members in transition, and
sponsoring the student chapter of SHRM at Rowan University, Tri-State is active
in the legislative and governmental affairs area through its Legislative
Committee that monitors new and pending legislation for the membership.
Each year Tri-State elects its Officers and Board of Directors to lead the
organization for the next business year. Presidents of the organization have
been Rob Harris, SPHR, Marian Wissman, SPHR, Penny Wise, Bob Witkoski, SPHR, Jim
Moran, SPHR, Dan Sell, SPHR, Lauri Ann Plante, SPHR, Jacqueline Lazzaro, SPHR,
Linda L. Parthemer, Esq., SPHR, Wayne Tarken, SPHR, Jack Nestor, SPHR, Monica
McClintock, SPHR and most recently Theresa McGlinchey. In addition, Rob Harris,
Bob Witkoski, and Jim Moran have also served as State Directors for the SHRM New
Jersey State Chapter. Rob Harris also became Area I Vice President of ASPA and
SHRM.