President's Message - August 2022
President’s Message – August 2022
I was pleased to attend this year’s SMPS Amplify conference. The co-hosts Danielle Gray, MBA and Brande Elise were outstanding, and their energy certainly amped me up! I had an AHA! moment that was set in motion the week before during our Chapter’s Volunteer Appreciation event.
Our Workshop Leader, Ta Lynn Mitchell, coached us on personal branding and one of the key parts of excelling at this is being authentic. To be authentic, the person must display honesty, vulnerability, and trustworthiness. At Amplify, Danielle spoke on how our constant need to always prove ourselves capable, etc., gets in the way of us being authentic despite our best intentions. Aha! That can be a missing piece for a lot of us.
As our Chapter year ends on August 31, it’s a time of reflection for me. I couldn’t be prouder of the achievements that our hardworking and dedicated Board and volunteers accomplished over the past year to provide meaningful opportunities for our members and future members.
You can hear more about this at our Annual Business Meeting on Wednesday August 24 in downtown San Francisco. This is a great opportunity to learn about happenings within our Chapter, meet the new Board, and network! I hope to see you there. In the meantime, here’s a summary of our Chapter’s progress over the past year.
Rebranding our Awards program this year was ambitious and a gamble, but we did it! The Topaz Awards night in June was a success, and we received great feedback in our post-event survey on how to make next year’s even better. It was gratifying to see how invested people are.
We also brought back in-person events with the Sponsor Appreciation Lunch, Holiday Party, Wellness Workshop, and a happy hour in May, while still hosting our education programs virtually (check out our August Market Share here). We made improvements in our DEI efforts internally by focusing on how the Board can do more in creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable chapter. We surpassed our sponsorship goal and increased membership with strong messaging on member benefits over the past year despite the Great Resignation.
We raised funds for our philanthropic partner, Common Vision, and will be hosting our member Volunteer Day this Sunday at Ruby Bridges Elementary School in Alameda to transform the faculty outdoor garden in time for the new school year.
One of the positive aspects of the pandemic has been the increased partnership with other chapters. West Coast Chapters joined forces this year to host the Pacific Regional CPSM Study Group. Another example is that we were able to piggyback on the salary survey that the Oregon and Seattle chapters put together so we weren’t reinventing the wheel.
Speaking of which, did you participate in our Chapter’s Salary Survey? If you haven’t, now is the time. Deadline to participate is tomorrow. All participants will receive the results for FREE. We are asking members and nonmembers to provide their salary data, and yes, this is anonymous (just be sure to click on the link on the “Thank you for participating” page to enter your name and email).
As I come to the end of my term as Chapter President, I want to thank the Board, volunteers, sponsors, and members for your hard work and support. Best wishes to President Elect Laurie Lumish for an exciting year ahead!
Shannon Daggett, CPSM
Marketing Manager, Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, Inc.
[email protected]
President, SMPS SF Bay Area Chapter
