Current Events

A Tribute to H. Cris Collie
Worldwide ERC® CEO Cris Collie is retiring in December 2008, after 36 years of creative and dedicated leadership to the workforce mobility industry. Cris has been guiding Worldwide ERC® since 1972, and has grown the organization from a 300-member U.S.-centric organization to a global community of more than 13,000 members who hail from 65 countries. Under his leadership, Worldwide ERC® has become the recognized authority on global workforce mobility issues; conducted research and provided education on relocation best practices, family issues, and U.S. and global workforce trends; developed industry and global certification programs; brought its meeting programs to multiple countries; established the Coalition-Center for Governmental Issues; introduced the Worldwide ERC® Foundation for Workforce Mobility, and expanded its presence from its Washington, DC headquarters to a European bureau in Brussels, Belgium and an Asia-Pacific office in Shanghai, China. To celebrate and recognize Cris’ exceptional guidance, professional accomplishments, distinguished partnerships, and the warm friendship that he has extended to his colleagues and friends, you are cordially invited to attend “A Tribute to H. Cris Collie” on Saturday, November 1, 2008. Please complete the information below to register for the events you will be attending. (If you have questions about these events, please contact Cici Thompson or Kirk Fabel.)  

Golf Tournament Saturday, November 1, 2008 Stonewall Golf Club Gainesville, VA

Black-tie Dinner Saturday, November 1, 2008 The Marriott Wardman Park Hotel (site of the Worldwide ERC® Global Workforce Symposium, October 29-31, 2008 ) Washington, DC

Foundation Golf Tournament, May 7th Information and Registration
The 5th Annual Fairways for the Foundation golf tournament will take place on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at The Quarry Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, prior to the start of the National Relocation Conference. The Quarry is recognized around the country for its unique setting and character, and offers golfers one of the most distinctive and memorable rounds of golf they will ever play. Registration for players and sponsors is now available. This popular event benefits the Foundation and its selected charities - contact Kirk Fabel at kfabel@worldwideerc.org or +1 703 842 3411 for more information.

Foundation Walk for Charity, May 9th Information and Registration
Please join us on Friday, May 9, 2008 from 7:00 – 8:00 a.m. during the National Relocation Conference for our Foundation walk! The Worldwide ERC® Foundation for Workforce Mobility always gives back to the community in which Worldwide ERC® holds its meetings, and our selected local charity is the Autism Society of Greater San Antonio (ASGSA), which promotes lifelong access and opportunity for all individuals within the autism spectrum and their families to be fully included members in the community. ASGSA offers education and advocacy, and promotes research, public awareness, and collaboration with other organizations. Register online: (just click here!) and tell your friends to sign up, too – early registrants receive a t-shirt! Walkers can bring a check made out to the Worldwide ERC® Foundation in any amount to join the walk (drop it off at the Worldwide ERC® registration desk prior to the walk, or bring it on the morning of the walk). Shirt logo sponsorships are available, too - contact Kirk Fabel at kfabel@worldwideerc.org or +1 703 842 3411.

Scholarship Recipient Announced
The Foundation is pleased to announce that Ernesto Pon, an MBA candidate at the Thunderbird School of Global Management is the first recipient of the Worldwide ERC® Foundation for Workforce Mobility annual scholarship. The Foundation collaborates with top-ranked Thunderbird to administer its annual scholarship program. Ernesto was selected from a group of other Thunderbird students (all of whom are pursuing careers in global business and workforce management) to receive the first $10,000 Foundation scholarship, and told us, “The Worldwide ERC® Foundation scholarship will provide me the opportunity to attend the exchange program at Tsinghua University in China, where I can deepen my understanding of HR issues and opportunities in this rapidly growing economy.”   To contribute to the Foundation Scholarship Program on behalf of — or in memory of — a special friend, family member, or colleague, contact Kirk Fabel at kfabel@worldwideerc.org or +1 703 842 3411.

The Foundation Gives $10,000 in Aid
You donated, bid, and walked. You may not know it, but you helped the Foundation support some remarkable women and provide disaster relief to California fire victims. Your support of the online auction prior to our fall meeting, and the Foundation Walk on October 26 during the Global Workforce Symposium, helped us provide a $5,000 donation to the Women’s Bean Project, to lend a hand to women living in the U.S. who wish to break the cycle of poverty and unemployment by learning job readiness and life skills. (If you’re looking for a gift for family, friends, or business associates, check out the online store at www.womensbeanproject.com for some great ideas!)

We’re also supporting some of the thousands of individuals affected by the California fires through our $5,000 contribution to Father Joe’s Villages, a former Foundation recipient. Father Joe’s Villages are based in San Diego, and as San Diego County was the location of the two biggest fires, we felt that sending our donation to this exceptional charity could offer the most direct help to the community. Father Joe’s Villages was among the first to deliver food, water, cots, blankets and medical help where it was needed most, and Worldwide ERC® members and the Foundation were there in spirit. (To donate directly to Father Joe’s Villages, visit www.fatherjoesvillages.org.)

New for HR Innovators!

Global Mindset Research Released by Thunderbird and Worldwide ERC® Foundation

New research on global work assignments, Global Mindset Defined: Expat Success Strategy , has been released through a collaboration of the Worldwide ERC® Foundation for Workforce Mobility and Thunderbird School of Global Management , the highest-ranked school for international business. Read the full release at “ The Right Qualities for Global Workers: New Study Released by Thunderbird and Worldwide ERC® Foundation ,” and download a copy of Global Mindset Defined: Expat Success Strategy

Foundation Scholarship Award Program
The Worldwide ERC® Foundation for Workforce Mobility has collaborated with top-ranked Thunderbird, the School of Global Management, on research, training seminars, conference presentations, and articles. Now we’re introducing our annual scholarship program, to be administered by Thunderbird on the Foundation’s behalf.

One Foundation scholarship per year in the amount of $10,000 will be given to a student at Thunderbird to further the study of effective global business and leadership. The first Foundation Scholarship Award will be presented in the fall of 2007.

For additional details, or to contribute on behalf of — or in memory of — a special friend, family member, or colleague, contact Kirk Fabel at kfabel@worldwideerc.org or +1 703 842 3411.

Foundation Event Recap: 2007 National Relocation Conference