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CHAPTER CHAIR BREAKFAST AND CHAPTER ENGAGEMENT
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Chapter Chair Breakfast and Chapter Engagement
By Kofi Antobam
CSMFO Chapters serve as the bedrock for the organization. Chapter Chairs and Vice Chairs are often closest to CSMFO members and coordinate local training events that drive ongoing engagement with CSMFO. At the 2022 Annual Conference, Chapter leaders met for breakfast to share ideas, network, and discuss engagement at the local level. The meeting opened with Marcus Pimentel (CSMFO’s immediate Past President) welcoming all attendees and thanking them for their service to CSMFO at the Chapter level and beyond. Chapter Chairs were asked to introduce themselves by addressing the following: who they are, what chapter they are representing, and what was the craziest or most memorable moment in their Chapter experience. Below are some highlights from the meeting!
“…the craziest Chapter experience is forgetting about the type of vendor that you’re soliciting from for commercial sponsorship and the vendor that is presenting; they may be competitors which can be awkward…” –Rich Lee, “Recovering Chapter Chair for Peninsula” “…took over during COVID and first virtual Chapter meeting was on Zoom. Everybody was on mute, and some guy got on who was not on mute and started saying some weird things…” “…one of the craziest moments that comes to mind was a scheduled Chapter meeting, got there and realized there was another meeting going on and had to scramble to find an alternative site…” –Craig Boyer, Former Chapter Vice Chair, East Bay. “…most memorable part about COVID and Chapter meetings is being able to sit at my patio and work the meetings…” –Barbara, Chapter Chair, East Bay. “…had an awesome experience of getting to drive Michael Coleman from our venue to the Burbank airport to pick up his rental car because his flight had been re-routed to Ontario…my boss saw him last week, he introduced him at a session and said his Uber driver said hello…” –Jennifer Becker, Vice Chair, San Gabriel Valley. “…took over when the previous Chapter Chair left…our first Chapter meeting had to be virtual, on Zoom, and that was quite an experience since I had never used Zoom before…” –Kim Scott, Chapter Chair, Desert Mountain.
“…funny story from Inland Empire when I was the Chair was when we had an Economist sitting at the from of the room basically telling us that the sales tax from the mall is not gonna make a difference to your City and just then, literally, his wife walked up to the stage and asked him for his wallet because she was shopping at the mall…” –Debbie Rosales, Chapter Chair, Channel Counties. “…craziest moment was having my 7-year-old join me on the GAAP Update…” –Alberto Preciado, Chapter Chair, Sacramento Valley. At the end of the discussions, members learned something new about other Chapter leaders, what goes into planning meetings, and the willingness of members to make a difference through volunteerism. Chapter leaders are inspired by the support they receive from CSMFO Leadership and cannot wait to go back to in-person meetings! Chapter engagement continued Friday morning in the Golden State Ballroom where each Chapter was assigned a few tables. Members connected and shared ideas on programming, and how to further collaborate to enhance meeting attendance at the Chapter level. There were lots of laugh and excitement as members enjoyed a delicious breakfast. This was the first time some members met each other or Chapter leaders in-person for the first time. Chapter events (in-person and virtual) are ready to be rolled out, with many training opportunities in 2022. Do not miss out on your next local or joint Chapter meeting. Stay connected! Kofi Antobam is the Director of Administrative Services for the City of Rancho Mirage. Kofi serves CSMFO as Vice-Chair on the Communications Committee, Coachella Valley Chapter Chair, and a member of the Recognition Committee. Kofi has a combined 20+ years of experience in the public and private financial industry. He enjoys spending time with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Dannelle, singing, volunteering for church activities, and watching basketball.
