Esteemed Colleagues,

2021 has been a year that brought us some of the same challenges that 2020 did, and I am pleased to say that we continue to innovate and persevere to meet those challenges head-on. As you read this edition of our newsletter, I hope that you will see that CALBO worked hard to steer the course through these questionable times in an effort to best represent our members and profession.   

The current legislative session ended in September with some CALBO wins, some setbacks, but with many stories of collaboration with our industry partners and lawmakers. We didn’t hold back and we didn’t sit still offering many rounds of amendments and input to represent our interests and our communities. We’ll pick up where we left off in January, with much work to still come on the legislative front. A full briefing is included in this newsletter and real time legislative detail is always available on CALBO’s website.

Education continues to thrive with our hybrid Education Week North in San Ramon holding the record as our largest training event ever with over 3,000 students over the course of the week. I can’t offer thanks enough to the CTI Commission, the 17 instructors, 14 subject matter experts, and the production team for putting on such a great event. Only through the hard work of these professionals, the support from the 16 onsite exhibitors, and CALBO staff were we able to provide this hybrid learning event that so many of you attend virtually right along with the students onsite.  As we approach Education Week South in Ontario, I recommend reviewing the course offerings located on the CALBO website and register for a class or two (or four!).  Registration ends this Friday, October 15^th; visit www.calbo.org/professional-development for more information.

I certainly feel that CALBO training and events have entered a new era after the COVID-19 pandemic. Your CALBO Board of Directors has marveled at what our team has been able to accomplish in the face of stay-at-home orders, masking and occupancy restrictions, and evolving venue guidelines. Over the next year you will see some events, such as Education Week Ontario, presented in-person as we have traditionally done, but know that we are taking the innovations in remote learning, webinars, and hybrid events we have seen such success with over the past couple years and will be weaving those enhancements into future offerings when and where we can. If anything, good has come from the pandemic craziness it is that we have embraced ways to connect with and serve CALBO members like never before and we don’t plan to go backwards.

Speaking of the future, I want to close with a note on how excited I am to see everyone in-person at our 60^th Annual Business Meeting at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, March 27 – 31, 2022. The Board just returned from meeting onsite and is putting the finishing touches on an exciting program of workshops, presentations, and social events that you will not want to miss. Registration for this event will be available in early 2022.

As always, I, your CALBO Board of Directors, and the awesome team of CALBO staff are here to be of service. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at any time. Looking forward to seeing you all soon. 

Sincerely,

Shane G. Diller, M.P.A
Assistant Director, Development Services
City of Elk Grove