> ERA Announces 2022 COLT Graduates

The Electronics Representatives Association announces the latest graduates of its 2022 Chapter Officer Leadership Training (COLT) program, held virtually from Nov. 4-6, 2022.

COLT is an annual instruction program designed to offer practical knowledge, tips and ERA insider information on chapter management and planning tactics to help chapter leaders meet the challenges of serving as volunteer leaders.

The program is coordinated by Cameron English, CPMR, of English Technical Sales; Walter Tobin, CEO of ERA; and Erin Collins, ERA Director of Events.

COLT was held virtually for the second time and featured three days of interactive training. Nine chapter leaders attended the event, which included opening remarks by Phil Gallagher, CEO of Avnet; a COLT online manual review; a walk-through of the ERA website; mock chapter event planning workshops; a Q&A with a current chapter leader; and a presentation by ERA’s legal counsel Gerald Newman of SFBBG, LLC.

Over a three-day period, COLT attendees learned best practices for planning programming for their local chapters, and exchanged ideas and connected with other chapter leaders.

“The highlight of COLT 2022 for me was the quality of the attendees,” said the dean of COLT, Cameron English. “ERA members sent their presidents and BOD members, and the range of very active to need-to-get active chapters brought an interesting perspective. There was great discussion on what is working and what we can do more of to build viability across the North American market segments.”

“I believe the shared perspective and gathering of all participants’ viewpoints and experience is the best part of COLT,” continued English. “Perspective about why the chapters are important, how they need to be developed, what resources are available, and practical and tactical ideas for venues and events. Learning from the collective experiences of other chapters is priceless.”

“COLT 2022 was a huge success,” said Tobin. “Representatives from five chapters took the opportunity to learn from each other and connect over the challenge of driving up chapter activity. The heart and soul of ERA rests in the chapter-field structure – it is where it all happens. We need strong chapter leaders to continue to drive strong chapter activity.”

ERA congratulates the following ERA Chapter Leaders for completing the 2022 COLT program:

Patrick Coyne, SennTec-MacInnis – Empire State Chapter

Tom Cullinan, Brandel-Stephens Co. – Florida Sunshine Chapter

Shane Recicar, CBC Electronics – Florida Sunshine Chapter

Mike Walsh, Coakley, Boyd and Abbett – New England Chapter

Bryan White, CPMR, Catalyst Unity Solutions – Ohio Chapter

Michael McCaig, Luscombe Engineering – Southern California Chapter

Andrea Pacholek, Southern California ERA

Gary Smith, CPMR, G.L. Smith Associates – Southern California Chapter

Chapter leaders who completed COLT this year will receive one (per chapter) complimentary registration for the 2023 ERA Conference, which will take place Feb. 26-28, 2023, in Austin, Texas.