In Leslie Fisher's work as Chapter President in 2009, she found that many of our colleagues did not know where the San Andreas Chapter was located, while they were aware of Silicon Valley. Given that we were also revisiting the Strategic Plan for the Chapter, including branding, it seemed opportune to revisit the Chapter's name as well.
In 2009. the Board voted to move forward with proposing a name change, following the process outlined by the national Association. Leslie posted over several months beginning in March 2010, explaining why a name change was necessary, the process and why she felt the new name suited us better. To quote from her May email:
Our Strategic Plan is being designed with an emphasis on adaptation and innovation. It will serve us like a weathervane. The components are like the directions, and by viewing it (and reviewing it) through prevailing currents – of business, of technology, of our social fabrics – the plan will serve as a guide, helping us steer through this time of paradigm shift, re-shaping our goals and directions as we proceed.
The name Silicon Valley Chapter is meant to serve as a beacon in this process and in the new era. We thus identify ourselves with the regional hotbed of innovators and innovation. We thus aspire to be of this region, a part of this sea change, participants and contributors in the evolution. The name is meant to inspire us as achievers and to inspire our constituents – peers, colleagues, managers and executive management – with our sense of self, our commitment to innovation, and our active participation in these changing times.
At the August 30th meeting, after an excellent presentation by Leslie Berlin, the proposal was put up to a vote by the attending members and over 90% voted for the new name. So without further ado...
Nice work Leslie and colleagues! Sorry I could not attend the historic meeting and vote.
Posted by: Roger Sherman | September 03, 2010 at 09:27 AM