Chairman's Corner

 February 2001

It's funny, even when we watch and learn things close to us, there is always the cautious first step we take when occupying a new position or taking on a new task. But like so many things in life, once we understand how things work and how well things run once they are set in motion, "new" does not need to equal "impossible."

We kicked-off the New Year with an excellent location at Cisco Systems in January; the attendance exceeded our expectations, our speaker David Walters did a superb job and we all had a good time. Armed with some very nice compliments and with this great new formula established, sit down, strap in, hold on and enjoy the ride…we're off and running for 2001!

Welcome President Bush - Best wishes go to President George W. Bush and Vice President Cheney. May they provide for all of us Americans the leadership and integrity worthy of their positions.

"Why Did You Come To Today's ASIS Meeting?" - "Why Did You Come To Today's ASIS Meeting" was the question at the top of the survey sheet I handed out during our first meeting for the year. With a record crowd of 64 attendees for a "regular" meeting, I had to find out why so many SFBA Chapter members decided to come. The survey included serious questions as well as a couple of "for fun" questions. You'll be interested to see the results in the article enclosed elsewhere in the newsletter.

15 February at Novell - Thanks to Ms. Connie Vaughn's efforts, we'll be meeting at the Novell Corporation for our second meeting of the year. Mr. Jim Serrano CPP, Security Manager, has been kind enough to round up his top network security folks who will share some of their "secret sauce" with us. This will be another great presentation you'll want to see. Plan to attend yourself, and bring a friend.

Stage 3 Power Alert - We've been under a Stage 3 Power Alert in California for over three weeks now. We have also recently experienced a couple of "significant" earthquakes in the bay area. Earthquakes and other natural disasters have always been with us, but I feel the newest challenge to modern life is the lack of reliable power. The snow pack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains indicates the water content is 50% below normal. This means that hydro-generated power will be in question this summer. While we must continue to prepare for the myriad of natural disasters, it appears that a man-made disaster is looming in all of our futures. The wise security manager is not just planning for the natural disasters, but he/she is also planning to help his/her company negotiate through potential brownouts and other possible energy related issues.

39th Annual St. Patrick's Day Luncheon - Put Friday, 16 March 2001 on your calendar for the 39th Annual ASIS SFBA St. Patrick's Law Enforcement Appreciation Day Luncheon. Just like last year, we'll be at the Four Points Hotel (formerly the Sunnyvale Hilton) for another great event. Look for a special guest speaker. Plan for it today!

19 April at Agilent Technologies - Mr. Gary Sepulveda CPP will be our host for the April meeting at Agilent Technologies in Santa Clara. Ms. Kris Rennett has rounded up Mr. Ray O'Hara CPP, Work Place Violence Expert, and Consulting & Investigative Division of Pinkerton, as our speaker in April. Put this one on your calendar today.

New Ways - I am really looking forward to working with the new chapter officer core of Ms. Connie Vaughn, Vice-Chair; Ms. Kris Rennett, Secretary; and Mr. Brad Minnis CPP, Treasurer. We're doing things a little differently this year when it comes to conducting our meetings. In the past, only the chair conducted the chapter meetings. To help cut down on the learning curve, especially for the future chapter chair, I've decided to have each officer conduct at least one meeting during the year. Come to our February meeting and support Connie as she conducts her first ASIS meeting. Look for Kris and Brad to make their "debuts" in the near future.

10% Membership Increase - Some of our goals for the year include a 10% increase in chapter membership. At just over 700 members, we only need to find 70 or so new ASIS members to meet this very reasonable goal. We encourage each of you to share with your friends and associates the excellent benefits of being an ASIS member. Help us meet our goal by mid-year! If you have any ideas to increase our membership or can encourage a good number of memberships, please contact Ms. Cindy Doyle at cdoyle@hirschelectronics.com or (650) 298-8056. Cindy loves to pass out those new member certificates.

Need A Job? - I understand that there are dozens of responsible security positions open in our area. Many are listed in our Placement Committee section. However, let's get those "missing" positions into our arena where we can help get them filled with ASIS members. If you know of an open position contact our Placement Committee Chair Mr. John Suhr at jwsuhr@aol.com or (408) 945-9756 or use our online form.

21 June at AMD - We've got a tentative confirmation from Mr. Mark Tyrrell, Security Manager, AMD, to be the host for our June meeting. A special thanks also goes to one of our long-time SFBA members Mr. Pete Costner CPP, Director Global Security, AMD, for lending his support to the chapter.

Need New Meeting Places - If your company can provide a conference room for 50-75 people from 9 a.m. to noon on typically the third Thursday of the month, we want to hear from you. We're currently looking for company hosts for July, September and November.

45th SFBA Chapter Anniversary - The chapter was chartered on 24 September 1956. We will continue to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the chapter at each of our monthly meetings. In a special way, we'll recognize those who formed the foundation for what we've gotten to know and appreciate so well today as the SFBA of ASIS. During the business meeting, the five SFBA members with the "oldest" ASIS membership numbers will be recognized with special "thank you" prizes.

Who was recognized in January's meeting? They were: Scott Jenkins CPP, Mike Pinelli, Patrick Sharkey CPP, Connie Vaughn, and Dan Wachtler. Let's see who is going to be the "oldest" recognized ASIS member recognized in February!

ASIS Life Memberships - If you've been a member of ASIS in good standing for at least 20 years and are now retired (or will be contemplating retirement this year), let us know. I want to make sure this year that all eligible ASIS SFBA members receive their ASIS "Life" Memberships. It takes at least 30 days to process the application; so get your paperwork into me ASAP.

Most Meetings Recognition - Are you going to be the SFBA member (non-committee and officer member) that attended the most meetings during the year? Is your company going to be the most "represented" throughout the year at our ASIS meetings? I can promise you that persons who qualify for the "Chairman's Award" and the "Committee Chairman of the Year" will be very impressed at the "thank you" gifts they will receive next December. Don't be surprised if you see some "goodies" dropped on currently participating chapter members…stay tuned!

Need CPP Re-Certification Points? - Now is the time to get those CPP re-certification points. If your current CPP certification runs out in December 2001, then you've got enough time to gather those points. The easiest way to get those points is to be part of the action in the chapter. It doesn't take much…

Need Key Committee Volunteers - If you have always wanted to be on a committee that was critical to the success of something great, then we need you! Contact me, or the other officers, immediately to help us identify serious members who want to make a small contribution of time to this great chapter. Remember, CPP points are given for these assignments, so start "collecting" them today.

Speakers & Press Bureau - To help us spread our ASIS wings of knowledge in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am initiating a Speakers & Press Bureau. The purpose of the bureau will be to offer our experienced ASIS members the opportunity to fill speaking engagements in the area, and to be a resource for security and business continuity related issues to the news media. If you'd like to be considered as a speaker and/or a security oriented spokesperson, please send me a letter of introduction and biography today. Of course, CPP members will be considered first.

Ron Sathre CPP
Chapter Chair- Year 2001