Greetings All - Does anyone reading this have any doubts about where is Silicon Valley? I'll guess not.
And you know what, I'll guess also that a whole lot of folks who are not living in this region also know - at least generally - where is Silicon Valley. During my tenure as Chapter President in 2009, I took the opportunity to randomly poll folks in other chapters when I had the opportunity for an interaction.
I attended the Leadership Summit in mid-winter, I attended the annual conference in the summer, I worked on an Association project and led a committee of nine members from various regions, and I had reason to interact with a few Association-level leaders or employees. And I asked if they had regional recognition of Silicon Valley. And I asked if they knew where San Andreas Chapter was located. And in most cases the answer was "yes" to the former and "no" to the latter.
San Andreas Chapter has been our fond name for thirty years as of 2010. We all know - I think - why the name was selected. Because of our proximity to the San Andreas fault of course.
[CHAPTER TRIVIA -- But did you know the now retired newsletter, the FaultLine, was not so named until volume 6. At first it was called the San Andreas Chapter Newsletter. And for volume 2 it was named the San Andreas Chapter Bulletin. The FaultLine title wasn't applied until volume 6, issue 2. And so it remained until the final edition, volume 26, issue number 5. Well, not 100% true, but close. The name did change once more. The last issue of "The FaultLine" was actually volume 20, issue 5. After that is was simply "FaultLine." All of these issues can be found on the chapter's newsletter replacement - our blog: http://sla-divisions.typepad.com/sanandreas/]
It's been a good thirty-year run I'd say. And hopefully the chapter will continue for another 30 years and beyond. But I have a suggestion. Let's "retire" the name. Like old technologies, sometimes old names need to be switched out. And "San Andreas Chapter" does not have much "brand" recognition to others beyond our region. I know. I've asked.
There is a process for issuing a name change and I will share that with you in a later communication. For now I will let you know that the Board in 2009 voted to proceed with the proposal of a name change and to follow the process outlined by the Association to pursue a name change. We all liked the prospect of being called the "Silicon Valley Chapter."
But now it's time to bring you all in on the discussion. We want to hear what you think about a name change in honor of our "next thirty years" and in commemoration of the global visibility of our region. Did you know there is a "Silicon Valley India"? According to Wikipedia, "Silicon Valley India" is the nickname for Bangalore! And I recall an article, but not the citation, from a business magazine several years ago that identified a spate of high tech hubs being established in several states. They were each dubbed "the Silicon Valley of" [insert name of state].
If regional recognition is what we want, then "Silicon Valley" is about as good as it gets, since "San Francisco Bay Region" is already taken. (-;
As I mentioned, I will write more on the process and our plans for this proposal. You will hear from me via the discussion list and/or the blog. Meanwhile, and in between posts, I'd like to hear from you. What does this mean to you? How does it make you feel? Do you have any suggestions for a new name? For those of you now holding your head and mumbling something like, "Name change!?!?! Not another name change proposition!", you will be able to figure out why we did not bring this matter forward to chapter membership last year. One name change decision at a time became our unofficial policy. But now is the time to engage the matter. I'm looking forward to your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to write directly to me or to engage the membership on the discussion list.
And just in case I am wrong about all of you folks knowing where lies Silicon Valley, here's a link to a New York Times article, "Searching for Silicon Valley." For those of you already in the know, see if you can learn something new about your own backyard.
Kind Regards,
Leslie R. Fisher
2010 Past-President, San Andreas Chapter - SLA
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