We Did It! SITE SoCal is Officially Chapter of the Year 2015

Our goal and tagline this year was “Elevate the Experience” and I think we can safely say we delivered on our promise! I am proud, honored and beyond thrilled to announce that SITE SoCal has won the Chapter of the Year Award for 2015.

Recognition and grateful thanks goes to the entire board, each member of which has spent countless volunteer hours in collaborating, co-creating and executing the plans that we developed at our initial board retreat held in November, 2014. Our goal was to create more excitement, enthusiasm and energy into our chapter offerings, while at the same time offering higher quality education and improving our member value proposition. Many thanks goes too to Darrell Benning, 2014 President and his board, who provided a successful platform upon which to build and enabled the 2015 Board to hit the ground running.

Some of the existing board positions were revised and new ones added in 2015. This was done with a view to encourage teamwork and promoting more engagement. The board this year consists of a complementary balance of seasoned and younger professionals, including four Young Leaders, who together have achieved remarkable results in their first six months. Here are just some of the achievements to date:

• Creation and implementation of a mentor program
• Creation and implementation of a membership perks program
• Development and implementation of a brand new website
• Introduction of a blog
• Creation and implementation of a strategic social media campaign for the chapter and sponsors
• In recognition of NAMID (North American Meetings Industry Day 2015) produced a podcast, through Grass Shack Media, interviewing local CVB’s for updates on their region
• Also in support of NAMID, SITE Socal teamed up with SPIN (Senior Planners Industry Networking) to offer a webinar that comprised four different topics.
• Developed a professional video of board members for use as a recruitment and sponsorship tool
• Added a technology educational component at each luncheon
• Elevating the level of Young Leader education by co-opting the services of the main luncheon speakers

During the same time frame, Debbie Hawkins, our Executive Director retired and we were fortunate enough to secure the services of James Vertovec as her replacement. James had worked with Debbie and so was perfectly positioned to step in, providing us with a seamless transition and allowing us to move forward with no slow-down in our efforts. Thanks are due to him for helping us “elevate the experience.”

I could not be more proud of being President of the SITE SoCal chapter. It is a privilege and an honor to lead the talented, committed, caring and dynamic group of professionals that make up the 2015 Board of SITE SoCal. Come and celebrate your chapter’s success with us at the educational luncheon November 12 at the Omni La Costa.