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APICS Article
Redwood Empire Chapter Narrative
2005 - 2006
Introduction
The Redwood Empire Chapter of APICS is centered approximately
50 miles north of San Francisco, CA, in beautiful Sonoma County.
We are world-renowned for our luscious wines, bounteous seafood
and picturesque rolling hills. All this is a superb backdrop for
many movies filmed here.
Our chapter was chartered on April 22, 1978 and we serve the
Northern Coastal Counties of California from the Golden Gate to
Oregon State. With a typical membership range of 90-100 members,
the Redwood Empire Chapter represents approximately 20-30 local,
national and international companies. The chapter’s strategic
plan outlines our vision and mission:
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Our Vision |
To inspire individuals and organizations toward
lifelong learning and to enhance individual and organizational
success.
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Our Mission |
To add value to individuals and organizations
by continually providing educational opportunities to resource
management practitioners. |
Integration of Functions
The year started with a transition meeting for the Board of
Directors (BOD). Our new BOD consisted of a team of 6 elected
officers and 3 appointed members. At the transition BOD meeting
it was agreed we hold the previous BODs schedule for BOD meeting
frequency (2nd Thursday, monthly). We decided mid-term to suspend
the Queue, the newsletter due to high mailing and printing costs.
We used colorful postcards and flyers to highlight PDM’s and classes.
We like to think that we have a very informative web-site, http://www.apics-redwood.org
that is open to everyone. All BOD members can be reached via email
and all contact information is listed clearly on the site.
CPIM Education
Interest for these courses has slowed down. We had 3 classes
this year. It seems the trend is going towards individual company
on-site training. In fact, our largest source of income during
this term was garnered in this manner.
Correspondence with the local junior college (Santa Rosa Junior
College) and university (Sonoma State University) about the possibility
of setting up student chapters have not been as fruitful/timely
as desired.
Other Chapter Deliverables
The Redwood Empire Chapter is committed to betterment of its
membership by providing certification review courses, PDM’s, seminars
and BOD member training and regional training meeting opportunities.
Performance Measurements/ Re-planning for improvement
Throughout the course of the past year, BOD members tracked certain
performance levels. The information was used both in making meeting-to-meeting
decisions as well as providing food for thought for future strategic
planning and continuous improvement efforts.
During the 2005- 2006 term we recorded the following:
- Income vs. expense
- Membership level
- BOD and Region meeting attendance
- PDM attendance
- CPIM certification review course attendance
CPIM certification review courses are concluded with participants
completing evaluation questionnaires. These results are recorded
for BOD continuous improvement efforts, as well as passed along
to the instructors for their own use.
Financial Responsibilities
Regular BOD member discussion and review of income vs. expense
at BOD meetings. Independent, third party audit and review of
our financial records by CPA each year.
Community Involvement
We are a member of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce and have
implemented the Employment Referral Program there to assist APICS
members and local companies in need. Job openings are listed on
our website as well.We also encourage our members to post their
“Job wanted” needs, this is free of charge.
Customer Recognition
The Redwood Empire Chapter has continued the tradition in our
chapter of recognizing a ‘Company of the Year’ and ‘Member of
the Year’. These awards go to the company and individual the majority
of the BOD feel best demonstrate APICS values and are strong supporters
of our local chapter. Conclusion The Redwood Empire Chapter of
APICS continues to be a vital chapter. Our membership has decreased
over the years, this seems the trend with many chapters in an
unknown economy like we have been experiencing.
Our BOD has been smaller than usual this term; however BOD members
were exceptionally dedicated and worked well together.
We are looking forward to another year of increased visibility
in the business community, remaining financially sound and supporting
an updated strategic plan.
Respectfully submitted by,
Conny Soares,
President June 8, 2006
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