View from the Chair

Brad Minnis, CPP

View from the Chair

Fellow members of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter:

There are a number of things to talk about this month, and the first is a recap on the May Seminar. We had an outstanding program this year, and the exhibit hall was one of the best we ever had. Almost 300 people attended the luncheon, where we had a great meal, and a wonderful presentation on leadership, by Bonnie Michelman, CPP, CHPA.

R. Douglas Nunes, our Chapter’s newest CPP, and May Seminar Chairman, along with the entire Seminar committee, did an outstanding job on the program, so please join me in thanking them for a job well done.

I was disappointed in the turnout however. The final numbers are not in yet, but I did notice that we had a significantly lower turnout than we did last year. Many of our exhibitors noticed this as well. This seems to follow a pattern that occurred at the ISC Expo in Las Vegas as well, where there was approximately a 10% decline in attendance at that event as well. I will assume that some of this is due to the slow economy, but I would also appreciate hearing other feedback from the membership on the event, and what we can do better next year to get the attendance back up, so we make sure this event is beneficial for our exhibitors, who invested a significant amount of resources to bring their products and services to you at the event.

All in all, we expect the seminar will be a great success in terms of Chapter revenue, and look forward to being able to continue to provide quality programs and services to the membership.

ASIS International introduced “Virtual Forums” this month, and the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter is pleased to be able to sponsor these training programs free for our membership. The first forum was presented yesterday, hosted by Juniper Networks. The session was titled, “Identity Theft” and was presented by Chris Wright, CPP. Nine Chapter members attended the session and the feedback was very positive. Additional sessions are scheduled almost on a weekly basis, so check the website for topics, dates and times, and be sure to register for one or more of these programs. It would be nice to fill up the rooms for these programs as well, and admission is free, so please tell your co-workers about these programs as well.

We are looking for host sites to present the virtual forums. The needs are a room for 15-20 people, an overhead projector, internet access and a speakerphone. If you are able to host one of these meetings, check the schedule in the members only area of the website for dates, and please contact me with availability. We encourage our host sites to offer bag lunches for these sessions, but it is not required.

This month, for the first time this year, we will venture into San Francisco to hold our monthly meeting at Wells Fargo Bank. This month’s meeting will start early at 8:00 a.m., with a breakfast hosted by Wells Fargo Bank, and we will then conduct our business, culminating in a presentation titled “Today’s Security Manager and the War on Terrorism”, presented by Bill Wipprecht, CPP, SVP and Director of Security for Wells Fargo. This promises to be an excellent presentation, and space will be limited, so please register for this event on the web site. It is also a FREE event. (Ever stop to think about how many FREE things are available in this Chapter? – We need more people to take advantage of these opportunities).

We will be back in the City two more times this year, first with a SPECTACULAR Security Officer Appreciation Luncheon at PACIFIC BELL PARK in October, then we will hold our annual holiday luncheon in December at BECHTEL’s World Headquarters downtown. Who knows, if the Giants make it to the World Series again, the S/O Appreciation event could well be the event of the year! Look for nomination information soon for this event.

Backing up a little though, this year is the 10th Annual Larry Marshall Memorial Golf Tournament, which will be held again in August at the Spring Valley Golf Course in Milpitas. For those of you that were there last year, you will remember that this was one of the most enjoyable events we have put on, and this year promises to exceed that experience. New prizes and great fun, food and drink at a really enjoyable location ensure that this will again sell out, so make sure to register your foursome early. Sponsorships are still available, contact Kris Rennett (kris_rennet@bartonsolutions.com) to sponsor this event.

It’s been a very satisfying year overall for me personally, and I appreciate having the opportunity to serve the Chapter. As always, feedback and suggestions are welcome. Please email me any time at chair@sfasis.org.

Sincerely,
Brad Minnis, CPP
Chapter Chairman