Dear Members,
Fall is here. Can you feel the cooler weather out there? At the Chamberlain household, we put up Halloween decorations this weekend so it must mean that October has started!
SEAOSC had a very busy September despite not having the convention this year. Our State BOD as well as State committees all met in San Diego early in September to continue the business of our association that would have otherwise happened in Hawaii. It was a huge pivot for our State director and Presidents (outgoing Krista Looza and incoming Emily Guglielmo) and they did a tremendous job. Our entire Excom from SEAOSC was in attendance as well as many of our Committee chairs so we were well represented as an MO at the meetings. We held new strategy sessions that will help shape the next year and it was exciting to see the potential in front us! Look for messages from our State President in the next newsletter from SEAOC.
We also had a successful Structured Connections event in Santa Barbara attended by several dozen central coast members as well as a fun Committee Showcase event in Los Angeles. Thanks again to Structural Focus for hosting. We had over 100 members and non-members join in the event to learn what committees are up to and had many show interest in joining a new committee. Our committees are one of the most vital parts of our organization and it was great to see the energy and enthusiasm at the event. If you missed it or possibly attended, but did not sign up for a committee, you can still reach out to the chairs through our website here (https://seaosc.org/Committee-Pages).
Prior to the committee showcase event, we had our monthly BOD meeting in person and discussed a number of topics including strategy sessions for SEAOSC looking forward for the coming two to three years. It was exciting to hear from the Board on their thoughts and feedback they have heard from our members about our direction! We will continue these discussions for the next several months during our board meeting. If you have a topic or vision that you would like to share, please reach out directly to me or another BOD member.
In my monthly message on thoughts and words to work (and live by. Thoughts for leadership), this month’s word I reference on the card on my desk is kindness. It's something I believe is so simple to give yet so easy to ignore at times. It often doesn't take much: Just saying hi to a stranger in the room during a business meeting or job site visit…. A smile when someone needs an ear to listen to their thoughts….. The thank you for anything, small or big, that someone may have done…. These all go a long way to making our collective efforts a bit easier. It doesn't take much to be kind, but the return on that small investment can be amazing! I task everyone reading this to try it out more today than you did yesterday! I bet something good will come right back at you……
We continue our full calendar slate with lots of events coming up. Don't miss these events:
10/11 - Webinar - Building Settlement and Structural Collapse Analysis
10/18 - OC Membership Breakfast Meeting - Topic - Mass Timber
10/21 - Post-Disaster Safety Assessment Evaluator Training
10/25 - Structured Connections - Inland Empire
11/1 - Webinar - Utilizing Fluid Viscous Dampers in Retrofit Applications
11/15 - SEAOSC/AIA joint event - DTLA
November (final date TBD) - YM & Sustainability - Arts District Social event
11/30 - 12/3 - SoCal Gingerbread Challenge
12/13 - Webinar
1/17/24 - Northridge Earthquake Symposium - 30yr Anniversary event
I hope to see you at an event soon.
Best,
Craig Chamberlain, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2023-24
