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On March 13, southern California’s Region 13 capped a week of activities with an effective regional workshop at the Harbor Island Travelodge in San Diego. The significance of the workshop following such chapter activities as the Los Angeles chapter’s hosting of the In­ternational Human Relations Award presentation and the Orange Coast chapter’s Manager of the Year Award presentation was that it convincingly demonstrated Region 13’s commitment to growth through hard work and innovation.

The workshop included presentations by presidents of the chapters of the region and candid discussions of chapter progress and problems. Charles Smith, regional vice-president, served as work­shop coordinator; this workshop was the latest in a series of workshops scheduled by Smith to build regional identity and cooperation and help chapters solve mutual problems.

Region 13 Workshop Photo Collage
Region 13 workshop (clockwise from upper left): Workshop attendees came from chapters throughout the region, including (I. to r.) Brian King and Sharon King of the Saddleback chapter and Charles Lane of San Diego; Charles Smith (I.), Region 13 vice-president, and William Biggs, San Diego chapter president, listen to an audience member’s question during discussion on improving membership recruitment; Charles Lacy, Saddleback president, and James Bizzack, San Diego member, take notes dur­ing workshop presentation; and Donald Begosh, S.A.M. executive director, makes a point during his presentation on finances and chapter development.

William Biggs, San Diego president and one of those in attendance at the workshop, commented after the meeting on the direction that his own chapter has taken partly as a result of ideas that have emerged from the workshops. “Essentially, the change the chapter has been undergoing is that we’re becoming more self-sufficient,” he said. “Rather than relying totally on New York all the time, we’ve taken over a lot of responsibility for such matters as billing for membership dues and awarding new member certificates. It’s a decentralization process that saves work for the headquarters staff, provides faster service for new members, and gives us more control over our own future.”

Other areas in which the workshops have helped are member motivation and meeting attendance. “By talking with officers from other chapters,” Biggs noted, “and using a little trial-and-error, we’ve arrived at a series of meeting topics that our members can really benefit from. S.A.M. has to be of true value to today’s managers on the job; if it’s not, then it’s time the members started bringing their chapters up to date.”

In all, more than 20 regional and chapter officers participated in the workshop. Assisting in the program were Belinda Black, Los Angeles chapter president; Cliff Doubek, Orange Coast president; and Charles Lacy, Saddleback president. SAM-NI

This SAM News International article is from our historical archive, information provided is for reference and archival research about the activities and developments of the Society.