President's Message
12 Ways to Increase Your Job Security
As your SMPS Chapter President, I receive daily emails from Ronald D. Worth, CAE, FSMPS, CPSM, Chief Executive Officer of SMPS National. One of his recent emails was particularly interesting, and in this challenging market, I would like to pass it on to you.
Fellow employees are falling like flies in the midst of corporate downsizing. You love your job and want to make sure you’ll keep it. Can you take out an insurance policy for job security? Maybe not…but continue to count on SMPS to support you any way we can and some other options for your consideration are:
1. “Choose a job in an occupation where rapid growth is projected in the coming years. (The national job center rates marketing and business development as number one.)
2. Go to work for a smaller company. Financial adversity is less likely to trigger layoffs in a mom-and-pop shop than in a corporate behemoth.
3. Become the best at what you do, and indispensable.
4. Be seen as a team player who seeks to promote the company more than yourself. Be willing to move laterally as well as vertically to benefit the firm.
5. Work for the unit in your company that contributes the most to the bottom line or is most vital to the company’s mission.
6. Make your unit more successful and therefore more vital to the company.
7. Find out what’s hot in your field and become an expert at it. Stay on top of new development.
8. Find out what’s important to the CEO and become the most reliable supplier of it. Recommend cost-saving or income-producing measures.
9. Work for a powerful and respected boss who is not likely to receive the largest staffing hits.
10. Make your boss look good—continually.
11. Make no enemies. A scorned coworker might be in a position someday to engineer your demise.
12. Be a good friend. A close colleague might be in the position to give higher-ups an opinion of your value to the firm”
- Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman
SMPS-OC Holiday Cruise
SMPS/OC would like to give a big “thank you!” to all who attended our first annual Holiday Harbor Cruise. We had over 65 people in attendance, raffled off some fantastic prizes, and most importantly, we raised $1,500 for our chapter charity group, South Orange County Outreach, which could not have been done without your support. Thank you again, and we’re looking forward to an even bigger and better event next year!
SMPS-OC Membership Appreciation Event
Our members enjoyed a fun-filled morning event at the Renaissance ClubSport Marriott Hotel in Aliso Viejo. With a great turnout of close to 60 attendees, SMPS Orange County members were treated to a full breakfast buffet followed by interactive training from Sue Blankenhagen, Corporate Trainer / Wellness Coach, Kim Maxwell, The Etiquette Lady and Dan Levin, Elite Fitness Trainer
Our chapter is grateful to our members for their support, ongoing participation and for rolling up their sleeves to make this chapter a dynamic resource for our industry. Thank you to our members. As we grow, so do you!
2010 Conference
The Pacific Regional SMPS Conference is scheduled to be held on the 25th and 26th of March 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Sacramento, California.
The Participating Chapters, parties to this agreement, are:
Hawaii Chapter of SMPS
Los Angeles Chapter of SMPS
Orange County Chapter of SMPS
Portland Chapter of SMPS
Sacramento Chapter of SMPS
San Diego Chapter of SMPS
San Francisco Chapter of SMPS
For more details, please contact Lindsay Wiggins who is on the Programs Committee for conference information, at (949) 675-8273, Ext 4 or lwiggins@aiaoc.org.
Membership
At 95 members within one year of its inception, SMPS-OC strives to perform on your behalf to provide relevant benefits to its members. Please welcome our newest member: Steven Riggs, Executive Director, Project Development, Bayley Construction!
SMPS-OC is full of great networking and professional development opportunities. The following is a list of the key benefits of joining SMPS-OC:
- Significant savings on every local and national event
- Significant savings on the CPSM certification
- Eligibility to serve on the Chapter board
- Access to Members-Only events )
- Access to over 6,900 member contacts nationwide
If you are interested in becoming a member or finding out how to maximize your membership benefits, please contact Jenny Seaver, Membership Chair, at (949) 330-4184, or jseaver@rbf.com.
SMPS-OC Sponsor Highlight
As of January 2009, SMPS-OC is offering a 15% discount for current sponsors to renew and new sponsorship benefits for anyone else interested.
Gold Sponsors: $2,000
Silver Sponsors: $1,500
Bronze Sponsors: $1,000
Event Sponsor: $250
Please contact Jami Pollard at (949) 221-4179 or pollardj@hswconstructors.com for Sponsorship opportunities and details.
We would like to thank the following firms for becoming new sponsors and for supporting the SMPS-OC.
PERC Water
PERC Water is a water quality and risk management firm providing clients with a Total Solution™ for water recycling needs. Our Total Solution™ guarantees water of the highest quality, a small footprint, guaranteed time and cost, and project scalability in harmony with the area’s specific needs. PERC Water, in partnership with Alinda Capital Partners, was awarded the Design/Build/Operate/Finance for a 4.2 million gallons per day (MGD) water recycling facility (WRF) servicing the City of Santa Paula, California. PERC commenced construction in July 2008 and scheduled completion is June 2010. The WRF has a unique design whereby all treatment of wastewater occurs in below ground, covered tanks with 12,000 square feet of aesthetically pleasing operations buildings built above the tanks (view: www.santapaulawater.com) resulting in reduced land use, noise, and odors. PERC also recently completed the construction of 1.8 MGD WRF for the Special Planning Area Three (SPA-3) servicing the City of Surprise, Arizona.
PERC’s recent awards include the Highly Commended Award from Global Water Intelligence “Water/Wastewater Project of the Year” for the Mountain House facility near Tracy, CA and the “Environmental Excellence Award” from the Valley Forward Association for the Palm Valley facility in Goodyear, AZ. PERC has completed 19 water recycling facilities in California, Arizona and New Mexico, and has three more in development and construction. PERC is headquartered in Costa Mesa, CA. See www.percwater.com for more information.
Weiland Accoustics, Inc.
Weiland Acoustics, Inc., founded in February 1998, quickly established a reputation for the competent, cost-effective resolution of noise issues by providing high quality consulting services. We’re proud to sponsor SMPS-OC, to support and be a part of the local A&E community.
From our Irvine office, we conduct noise and vibration testing, monitoring and assessments for a wide variety of clients, including engineering firms, architects, planners and environmental service companies, local and State government agencies. We work closely with our clients to achieve a narrowly tailored, cost-effective solution to meet their needs. At the same time, we provide exceptional flexibility and responsiveness to get the job done. In surveys, 71% of respondents describe our services as “outstanding”, and 29% say we’re “above average.”
Our recent projects include a CEQA noise study for four Costa Mesa schools, a tenant-improvement project for a recording studio in Aliso Viejo, and a hospital expansion project in Peoria, Arizona. Over the past year we’ve also teamed with international engineering firms to provide soundwall projects (including several for OCTA) and to provide assistance with the acoustical design of water and wastewater facilities. Our most recent OCTA success came when we teamed with Biggs Cardosa Associates to win one of the five OCTA grade separation projects in Yorba Linda.
We look forward to getting to know more SMPS-OC members, and to teaming with them on exciting projects together in the future.
BonTerra Consulting
BonTerra Consulting is a woman-owned, small business that was formed in Orange County in 1996. We provide environmental planning, natural resources management and cultural resources services to public and private sector clients throughout southern and central California. Each of the eight principals of the firm has over 20 years of hands-on experience in environmental planning, impact assessment, natural resources management, city and regional planning studies habitat restoration planning and regulatory agency permitting for local, state, and federal agencies and private sector clients, including new community developers, architects, engineers, universities, and aerospace, telecommunications, and waste management organizations.
Typical project experience includes master planned communities; parks, golf courses, and recreational facilities; entertainment theme parks; urban infrastructure systems such as transportation corridors, highways, and bridges, airports, landfills, material recovery facilities (MRFs), wastewater and water supply facilities; and urban in-fill projects, including office complexes, mixed-use employment and retail business parks, and commercial/retail centers.
BonTerra has been a supporter of SMPS for many years. We are proud of the SMPS leadership activities of our President, Tom Smith, who is the current President-Elect of the National SMPS organization. Tom has been a member of SMPS since 1984 and has been recognized as an SMPS Fellow and a Certified Professional Services Marketer (CPSM). His Presidential term will begin on September 1, 2009. While Tom is a member of the Los Angeles Chapter, he has been an avid supporter of the Orange County Chapter and was consulted by the Chapter Founders during its formation.
Educational Opportunities/Continuing Education
CPSM Exam Study Groups
For the next study group meeting, please contact Kathie Bloomfield (Hill Partnership Architects) at (949) 675-6442 or kathie@hillpartnership.com.
SMPS Webinar, "Marketing Practices that Pay-Off in a Down Market"
When: Friday, March 20th from 8:30AM to 10AM
Where: RBF Conference Room
14725 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA 92618
Cost: $20.00 per member, $30.00 per non-member. Continental Breakfast will be provided.
This is the first in a series of Webinars Hosted by SMPS/OC. Come learn from national industry experts what marketing efforts work in these challenging economic times! This webinar is worth 1.5 CEUs.
Mentorship Program
We want to help connect our members through this dynamic process. The program promotes Long-Term Leadership and Career Development through a “One-on-One” Mentor-Protégé Relationship Mentors & Protégés will share in experiences and advice on:
- Career Advancement
- Practice Strategies
- Professional Visibility
- Networking
- Overcoming Barriers to Career Success
Interested? Please contact Dave Atkinson, Mentorship Chair for SMPS-OC, at datkinson@gmugeo.com for more information.
Calendar of Events Mar 3: Mar 5: Mar 10: Mar 10: Mar 20: Apr 14: |