Summer 2021 – Chapter News
Chapter News reports the local activities of the 22 chapters of ERA. The chapters sponsor educational and training workshops, local trade shows, legislative and industry projects to enhance the professionalism of individual members and to advance the goals and mission of the national association.
COLT 2021 SAVE THE DATE
The ERA Chapter Officers Leadership Training program (COLT) is scheduled for Nov. 3 – 5, 2021. COLT will be hosted virtually this year and registration will open up at the beginning of August. ERA encourages all chapters to consider participation in 2021 to share best practices in chapter leadership and continue to drive a strong chapter network.
CAROLINAS
Carolinas ERA continues to host its monthly virtual meetings. In April, the event featured the presentation “Voice of the Customer — Preferred Communication Paths.” In June, the meeting featured a discussion on the timely subject of “Remaining Relevant – Strategies for Securing Supplier Loyalty.” And in July, guest speaker Bill Scoggin presented the topic “How State Legislation Can Impact the Sales Rep Function.”
The chapter also hosted a board of directors meeting in June when chapter leaders honored Bruce Scoggin who has served on the board for many years. Scoggin will be retiring at the end of September.
On Oct. 8, the CERA 18th Annual Memorial Golf will be hosted at the Wil-Mar Golf Club. The event benefits the CERA Scholarship Fund, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association.
CHICAGOLAND-WISCONSIN
In July, Chicagoland-Wisconsin ERA hosted a chapter officers meeting in Fox Lake, Illinois, to brainstorm event ideas through the end of the year. Chapter members also had fun attending the boat races at Blarney Island.
EMPIRE
The chapter held the First Annual Julie Baker Memorial Tournament on Aug. 2 to honor and remember industry colleague Julie Baker. Julie was a rep, COLT graduate, and Empire Chapter board member who gave her time and talents to our electronics community with grace, humor and effervescent smile. More information on this tournament and impact to the community will be forthcoming.
FLORIDA-SUNSHINE
In May, the chapter hosted its annual DTAM event both in-person and virtually. The event was well attended, and provided a lively afternoon of education, information and networking, including a presentation by Barry Farber of HHP and Lisa Dietrich of Conley & Associates.
MINNESOTA
The Minnesota Chapter has been hosting a series of virtual breakfasts this year. Most recently, in May, Kyle Sporre, RF product manager for Digi International presented “Trends and Future in the Internet of Things (IoT).” In June, the breakfast meeting included a presentation, “Reflection, Reopening and Resilience — Bringing the Workforce Back,” by guest speakers Lida Bannink & Pam Whitmore, attorneys at the law firm Eckberg Lammers PC.
The chapter will resume meetings in August with another topic and is planning a special in-person event in September.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Northern California ERA hosted two events in Q2; the first being a virtual meeting featuring guests speaker John Simari, ERA consultant, who presented “Quarterly Planning Sessions vs. Quarterly Business Reviews.” Simari discussed new and innovative ideas to structure planning sessions that are mutually beneficial for both the rep and the manufacturer. The event was attended by 100+ reps and manufacturers from across the country. The second event was an “open mic” session which addressed reopening protocols in Northern California relative to distribution and customers meetings.
Talks are underway to host an in-person event in Q3.
Two local chapter members, Jacob Medina of Straube Associates, and Lori Bruno of Luscombe Engineering of San Francisco, attended the CPMR 101 course in Austin, Texas, in May. Both Medina and Bruno learned how to run a successful manufacturers’ rep firm and will be participating in CPMR 201 in January 2022. The chapter has plans to nominate another member for CPMR in 2022.
Finally, Christian Alviso of Luscombe Engineering of San Francisco attended SPARK 1 virtually for five weeks beginning in April. Alviso will attend SPARK 2 at EDS 2022.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The Southern California ERA Chapter continues to adapt to the new normal. Members are coping with uneven opening of face-to-face contact with customer, principals and distributors, which has forced reps to be very flexible when working with the other members of the channel. The chapter is working with members by supporting educational meetings and opportunities to network and share best practices.
The chapter will host its first live event of the year on Aug. 1 — an Annual Meeting featuring Chapman University Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research on the Outlook of the Local Economy presented by Raymond Sfeir, Ph.D., A. Gary Anderson Endowed Chair in Economic Analysis, Director.