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SCAFP News September 2004 |
From the Corner Office
It's official: SCAFP's 2004-05 year is underway and I am delighted to be your new president. My day job is Director of Treasury Operations for Fremont General Corp. in Santa Monica, and I expect to be working hard for you during the coming year. I want to continue the tradition of SCAFP bringing value to its members as a source of professional growth and networking with our peers.
We are excited to have several new Board members working with us this year. They are:
Mark Depew - Secretary/Treasurer (Kaiser Permanente)
Dick Ercole - Director-at-Large (Bank of America)
Lakshmi Kumar, CTP - Membership Chair (Merrill Lynch)
Shannon Wexler - Major Events Chair (JP Morgan Chase Bank)
Continuing on the Board and providing continuity and the wisdom of their experience are:
Chuck Beckert - Director-at-Large (Bank of the West)
Richard Bort, CCM - Communications Chair (Bort & Co., Inc.)
Susan Farbenbloom (formerly Bredbenner), CTP- Education Chair (SunGard Treasury Systems)
Michael Hards, CTP - Immediate Past President (JPMorgan Chase Bank)
The Board members will collaborate on developing meeting programs this year. Please give us your suggestions, as it's very helpful to hear what kinds of programs our members are interested in.
In the coming year, I plan to continue to build on the priorities that Michael Hards set last year:
1. To increase the number of practitioner (corporate) members. It is extremely important that we not only retain our current practitioner membership, but continue to grow it as well. A large, active practitioner membership is vital to attract quality luncheon and symposium speakers. It's also vital to the financial support we receive and count on from our bank and vendor members and sponsors; and
2. To increase the number of members who volunteer to serve on SCAFP's Board, committees, and on various projects. I encourage all of you to volunteer with as much, or as little, time you may have. The rewards are immense, both personally and professionally, so join us. You can contribute a lot with just a few hours here and there, and we have fun, too!'
To volunteer, please contact me at mtaylor@fmt.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
Morgyn Taylor, CTP
President
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L.A. EXPO/Symposium 2005 - Save the Date! |
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DATES - Wednesday, May 18 and Thursday, 19, 2005 PLACE - The Omni Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles THEME - "Tomorrow's Treasury Today"
Mark it on your 2005 calendar now! The conference brochure, Web site, and registration materials will be available in a few months.
You may think that next May is a long time from now, but our stalwart sponsors don't. Shannon Wexler, Conference Chair for 2005, reports that seven sponsors have signed up already and most of them have even paid! The committed sponsors are:
The EXPO/Symposium Committee is just getting organized and volunteers are needed. Openings are in both the Program and the Sponsorship areas. Contact Shannon at (213) 621-8008 or Shannon.Wexler@jpmorgan.com to discuss how you might benefit from being involved in planning the 2005 EXPO/Symposium. |
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Michael Hards Passes the Baton |
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It has been my pleasure to serve as SCAFP's president for the past year. Now that my term has ended, it's time to reflect upon some of our accomplishments.
First and foremost, I want to thank you, the members, for your support and commitment to the Association. The theme I set for the Board and the Association last year was "Everyone Recruits . . . Everyone Serves." I'm pleased to report that, with this focus, our membership is growing and the number of volunteers working for the benefit of the Association has increased.
We offered a number of opportunities for professional growth and networking, including the "You Bet Your Cash" game show, the SunGard Disaster Recovery Center tour, and the annual Expo L.A. Symposium. For me, the highlight of the year was winning the "Best Meeting" award at the AFP's Regional Officers Meeting in July. You can read more about our award elsewhere in this newsletter.
I encourage you to stay involved in the Association and support our new president, Morgyn Taylor, as she and the Board implement their vision for SCAFP. Thank you again for allowing me to serve.
Michael Hards, CTP Immediate Past President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SCAFP Wins Another AFP Award |
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SCAFP won its third award in four years at the "Idea Fair" during AFP's Regional Officers Meeting, held last July in Washington, DC. SCAFP's 2004 award was for "Best Meeting," which was one of five categories. Our winning entry was for the February 2004 luncheon meeting in which a panel of SCAFP members discussed "Approaches To An ERP Implementation - A Treasury Perspective." The panelists were Michelle Reagan (AIG SunAmerica), Gregory Spurlock (Farmers Group, Inc.), and Jennifer Young (Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.). Robert Leahy, editor of The Leahy Newsletter, moderated the discussion.
The "Best Meeting" category is judged by the accolades received by the organization, and the SCAFP board received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our members about the content and format of that meeting.
Michael Hards and Morgyn Taylor co-presented SCAFP's entry among the 11 entries submitted to the Idea Fair for this category. The 43 regional AFP organizations attending the meetings voted SCAFP's entry the best.
SCAFP also took the top prize in 2003 for Best Idea in the "Open Topics" category for its invention of the "Bingo Card" used at L.A. EXPO Symposium to attract attendees to the sponsors' tables. At the AFP's 2001 Regional Officers Meetings, SCAFP won first prize in the category for "Best in Finance and Administration: Cost Control Innovations," for our conversion from paper to electronic communication with SCAFP members.
SCAFP's tradition of innovation and excellence continues! |
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Happy Anniversary To Us! |
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SCAFP, founded in October 1974 as the Cash Management Association of Southern California, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Michael Hards researched the history and has compiled the complete list of past presidents. Of the 27 past presidents, 10 remain with the same companies (or successor firms) they were with when president.
* Jim Carr completed Dave Hawkins' term in 1978 and continued with a full term in 1979. |
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Confessions of a SCAFP Junkie |
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As I retire from banking after more than 25 years in cash management, I want to reflect on what the Southern California AFP has meant to me over the years.
From it's beginning in 1974, the Association has survived three names and benefited from its many involved members to become one of the premier treasury management associations in the U.S. The original organization (Cash Management Association of Southern California) was organized for the benefit of its members, and that mission continues. The benefits that are most often mentioned are education and networking, but one other benefit comes to mind as well: "involvement." That means working on committees, chairing a committee, becoming a director and, yes, even stepping forward to become president.
When I first joined the Association in 1979, my predecessor at Security Pacific Bank indicated little or no value in joining. Well, I certainly proved her wrong! From starting out as just an interested member, to becoming president two years ago, I can attest to the value of being involved. Early on, I served for two years as Chair of the EXPO LA. In addition, I have served in various capacities on several committees, including the Strategic Planning Committee three years ago that set the direction for SCAFP going forward.
Yes, I know everyone is busy, but I can attest to the added value by being actively involved in SCAFP. It takes everyone working together to make the association the success that it is today. The Association's dual goals, education and networking, are further expanded by being involved. What better way to learn more about a subject and get to know someone than to work side by side on a committee or attend a board of directors meeting? And, I might add, I have made countless friends along the way, many of whom will continue to be lifelong friends.
How do you get involved? Just contact any officer or director or Morgyn Taylor, President (at mtaylor@fmt.com), or Michael Hards, Immediate Past President (at michael.r.hards@jpmorgan.com). They would love to hear from you.
With that said, I wish everyone in SCAFP success in their business endeavors and encourage those who are not involved today to become involved, even in a little way. The rewards I've had far outweigh the time and effort I have expended volunteering my time for the association.
Chuck Whitney |
Monthly
Meetings
Job
Opportunities
Membership
Info
Links
EXPO
LA Symposium 2005
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"Worms! Viruses! Hacks! Is it really as bad as everybody says?" - Next Meeting SCAFP's next luncheon meeting, on October 8, 2004, promises to be very unusual indeed! Whether you operate a Web site or just use them, you will learn how to protect both your personal and business information systems from malicious threats. Rex Frank of Alvaka Networks will demonstrate how to break into a web server, gain control over a credit card database, and crack all the passwords. For an encore, he will then deface the web site - all in about 10 minutes! Then he will discuss what the Microsoft software patches are for and why they are important. Upcoming Monthly Luncheon MeetingsNext SCAFP Meeting - October 8, 2004 November 12, 2004
December
10, 2004 - January 14, 2005 February 11, 2005 March 11, 2005 April 8, 2005 June 10, 2005 |
CTP Exam Registration Date ExtendedThe CTP exam registration deadline for the November/December testing window has been extended until September 30th. |
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Job Opportunities Need to hire someone? Post your job opportunities at www.scafp.net/JobOpps2.htm Looking for a new challenge? Check out the career opportunities posted at www.scafp.net/JobOpps2.htm |
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New Members We extend a warm welcome to our new SCAFP members:
Yuin Choe,
Peter Dong,
Thomas Johanson,
Joe Parrino, |
Who Wants a Seminar at a Resort?
For about 20 years, until 1995, SCAFP (then known as CMASC) held annual workshops in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area in March of each year. These 12-hours of workshop sessions over three days were open only to Association members and spouses (or significant others), and the costs were shared between the attendees and the Association. Alas, the workshops had to be discontinued, but those who attended remember lively discussions on many diverse topics, not to mention the valuable networking opportunities on the golf courses, tennis courts, and in the Jacuzzi.
The Board will shortly be sending a survey to members to gauge the level of interest in resurrecting this educational format, and the survey results will influence the Board's decision. Stay tuned . . . .
Meantime, we'll see you at our next luncheon meeting, on October 8, when we will learn about Worms, Viruses, and Hacks |
Do You Have A New
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Copyright 2004, Southern California Association for Financial Professionals