WEST REGION CORNER

July, 2008

Janet Piccola, CSI, President
Duane Johnson, CSI, CDT, Vice President

Region News:

I had the privilege of installing the new Boards of Directors for the Fresno, Los Angeles, Santa Clara Valley and the San Diego Chapters during the month of June. It was wonderful seeing our Chapters in action. Duane attended the Redwood Empire LR Planning Meeting, the Sacramento Awards and Installation Dinner and the East Bay Oakland Monthly Meeting. June was a busy month for both of us.

We have many members of our Region who have donated their time to make sure that their Chapter members receive great newsletters, educational programs, certification training and so much more. It was a real treat to watch while our Chapters recognized these special members for their efforts and time. Congratulations to all of our Awards Recipients.

Congratulations to our Incoming Chapter Presidents: Michael Morris, East Bay-Oakland, David Willis, Fresno, Keith Tanaka, Honolulu, Kathy Greenway, Los Angeles, Jim Balboni, Monterey Bay, Michael Baker, Orange County, James Daniel, Redwood Empire, Charlie Grundy, Reno, James O’Keefe, Santa Clara Valley, Dennis Hall, San Diego, Laura Streibich, Sacramento and Michael Wolfe, San Francisco.

The first of four (4) quarterly Chapter President’s Webinars will be held on Wednesday, July 16th. We urge all of our new Chapter Presidents to attend each Webinar. You will have a unique opportunity to connect with Institute Officers and Chapter Presidents from across the United States. Find out the latest news from Institute and more about your role as President of your Chapter. More information on the Webinar will be sent to you shortly.

A reminder to all West Region Chapters; start thinking about your nominations for WR Awards. Ed Buch and the WR Awards Committee will be sending a reminder to all of you. Let’s be thinking about those who have done exemplary jobs to further the mission of our Chapters and Region and see that they are recognized.

The West Region Conference, set for September 18-21st in Monterey, is fast-approaching. The Program Flyers for Conference Sponsors has been posted on the WR Website. The Conference attendee brochure will be issued on or about August lst. We urge all who plan to attend the Conference to make reservations now at https://resweb.passkey.com/go/csiwestregion. Our Conference is the same weekend as the Monterey Jazz Festival and once our block on rooms is reserved, there will be no vacancies. If you have questions, please contact one of our conference Co-Chairs: Valarie Harris or Paulette Salisbury.

Membership must continue to be a major focus of our WR Chapters. We urge all Chapter Membership Chairs to attend the WR Conference. YOUR attendance is crucial to further discuss membership retention and growth. Those Chapters that are most successful will share their ‘must do’s’ and offer guidance to those Chapters that have experienced a drop in membership.

Mentoring new member volunteers goes hand-in-hand with active Chapter membership and membership retention. Bryan Varner of our Redwood Empire Chapter and Craig Mount of our Los Angeles Chapter are adept at mentoring new members into active rolls in Chapter activities. I also noted some new, active members in San Diego at their Awards and Installation Dinner. This is an area of vital importance to the growth of our chapters. We need long-term members of each Chapter who are willing to step to the plate and work closely with their Membership Chair to assist with this important task. We encourage dialogue on the issue and look for volunteers. Please ‘e’ mail me if you are interested in serving your Chapter in this vitally important role. Who will replace YOU when your term as chair of YOUR committee is over? Have you trained your replacement?

Future West Region Governance will be a large part of a group discussion planned for the West Region Conference. Stephen Nash and our WR Governance Documents Special Committee (GDSC) have done an exemplary job of pulling together a series of thought-provoking questions about how we might wish to see our Region governed in the future. All Chapter Presidents and West Region Board Members now have their questionnaires. We have urged your Chapter Presidents to review these documents with their Boards and their members. All should have input should they wish it. Should you wish to review the questionnaires, they will be posted on the GDSC Forum at csinet.org/forums. We welcome your comments. The questionnaires are due back to Stephen no later than August 15, 2008.

INSTITUTE NEWS

Gilman Hu of our Honolulu Chapter is now, officially, our Institute President. All who have been members of the West Region have known Gilman for many years. Gilman served the Honolulu Chapter in numerous capacities over many years. He also served as Director of the West Region. He has seen CSI go through many transitions over the years.

Gilman is most interested exploring ways on how we might enhance the CSI ‘Membership Experience’. The Institute Board will have much dialogue over the course of the next year, to identify ways in which we might make CSI membership not just a good experience, but a truly GREAT experience for all members. If any of you have ideas on this subject, I ask that you write me a note at jpiccola@frazee.com . We are interested in any thoughts and ideas you might have.

Remember: JAZZIN WITH CSI – Sept. 18-21, 2008. Reserve your room now!