DAMA-Chicago held a successful DAMA Day 40th Anniversary event that combined education, collaboration, celebration, and exploration into a full day schedule. Three DAMA-International speakers provided educational content. The event was held at beautiful Cantigny Park in Wheaton, IL. The weather looked threatening with more storms forecasted and we experienced a morning thunderstorm but it fortunately cleared before lunch. The audience included past presidents and board members of the chapter. Frank Cerwin, DAMA-Chicago President, kicked off the event with a look back at 1986 when the chapter was formed as well as what it has evolved to today. Marilu Lopez, DAMA-International Secretary and member of DAMA-Mexico gave the first presentation entitled “Data Strategies as a Cornerstone to Using AI in Advanced Analytics” to a receptive audience and later raffled off a copy of her new book. Frank Kadwell, DAMA-International Treasurer and DAMA-Minnesota member then captured our undivided attention with his presentation “Data Privacy in the World of AI”. During the lunch break, attendees were able to explore Cantigny Park’s McCormick Mansion, Tank Park, Military Museum, and gardens. The program in the afternoon continued with an entertaining and fascinating presentation by Peter Aiken, DAMA-International President and member of the Central Virginia chapter. Our sponsor for happy hour, Data AG, gave the final presentation of the day followed by a networking happy hour with a complementary beverage courtesy of Data AG. Past Presidents, Cathy Nolan and Jeff Lawyer, had the honors of cutting the anniversary cake. Many accolades were received from attendees for the overall content and venue of the day’s program. Thank you to everyone who participated and presented at the event. We’re already looking forward to our 50th anniversary.
