Dear Friends of CALBO, 

As CALBO begins its 63rd year, I am honored to step into the role as president and serve our membership. I also want to express my sincere gratitude for the trust you have placed in me and the CALBO Board of Directors for this membership year. 

It was wonderful to see many of you in Indian Wells as we celebrated our 62nd Annual Business Meeting. Our annual gathering provided a fantastic opportunity to connect, collaborate, share experiences and plan for the future of building safety. Congratulations to all our award recipients as we celebrated the achievements of the best and brightest in our industry.  A special thanks goes out to our loyal industry partners, numerous sponsors and over forty-five exhibitors, whose unwavering support significantly contributed to the success of not only our annual business meeting but events throughout the year. Thank you!

In line with celebrating Building Safety Month in May, CALBO hosted nineteen aspiring building safety leaders at our annual Building Officials Leadership Academy (BOLA) in Sacramento from May 13-17. We applaud this group of building safety leaders embarking on this pivotal journey of personal and professional growth. If you are interested in learning more and to be added to the waitlist, email the CALBO Office at info@calbo.org.

On May 16th, CALBO hosted nearly fifty municipal leaders at our inaugural Building Leaders in Our Profession event. This 8-hour training session featured speaker Rachel Kuhlen, who covered a wide range of contemporary topics aimed at  creating additional soft skills for attendees and their overall leadership abilities. The interactive format allowed attendees to engage directly with each other   fostering a collaborative learning environment. Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting the practical insights and actionable strategies they gained from the session.  Stay tuned for more professional events like this in the future!

Our advocacy efforts are in full drive in Sacramento with CALBO taking numerous stances on bills that will be impacting our industry. For a full report of all the bills we are currently tracking, please visit our Bill Report page. Last month, we also held our annual Leadership & Advocacy Day at the Capitol. CALBO members from all across the state visited with over twenty-five different offices discussing the roles of building departments and key issues. I would be amiss if we did not recognize that the California State Legislature has chaptered Assembly Concurrent Resolution 201 (ACR 201), declaring May as California Building Safety Month. Thank you for your recognition of our industry!

We are also very proud of our CALBO Professional Engagement Committee for coordinating the Virtual Career Expo which took place on May 1, 2024. CALBO teamed up with Diablo Valley College Workforce Development Team where we hosted dozens of students and job seekers interested in a building and safety careers as well as hearing personal experiences from current professionals while also allowing the participants to engage directly with questions.    

CALBO is continuing to offer a variety of live webinars covering essential code topics, and much more. This fall, we will also return with our traditional hybrid offerings for Education Weeks in Burlingame from September 30 – October 3, 2024, and Costa Mesa from October 28 – 31, 2024. Both hybrid events offer opportunities to attend courses either virtually or in-person. Over two dozen new courses will be launched, so please review the entire catalog before registering. There will be new offerings for permit technicians, plan reviewers, inspectors and much more!

During the Education Week in Burlingame, the Permit Technician Career Advancement Academy will be offered building upon the success of last year’s launch. The Academy transitions between Northern and Southern California each year to provide equitable access to this invaluable opportunity. Congratulations to the twenty-three leaders who where our first graduating Permit Technician Academy class celebrated at our 62nd Annual Business Meeting.  We can’t wait to see the newest department leaders at the next Academy! You can also find more information on the Academy page, including common questions and answers. Join the waitlist by emailing the CALBO Office at info@calbo.org. 

As we move into the busy months ahead, I encourage you to invest in yourself both personally and professionally, which allows you the opportunity to give back to your family, community, profession, and CALBO as your professional organizational hub. I look forward to “seeing” you all this fall at our Education Weeks. 

Best regards,
Jeff Janes, CBO
CALBO President