ATD-LA News

Congratulations to our Winner: Omagbitse Jagha!

Here's your chance to win attendance at one of ASTD National's Certificate Courses, no bidding necessary. The following ASTD National certificate programs (values from $1395 to $1695) will be coming to our area. Click on the links below to see the details of each program.

 

Training Certificate - October 23 - 25 - San Diego

Blended Learning - November 12 - 13 - San Diego

E-Learning Instructional Design - November 12 - 13 - El Segundo

Project Management for Learning Professionals - November 12 - 13 - El Segundo

ASTD-Los Angeles is holding an online raffle for it's members to win one of the above classes. The entry that is drawn will be awarded attendance at the class of their choice. You must be an ASTD-Los Angeles Chapter member in good standing at the time of raffle and at the time the course is attended to be eligible.

If you'd like to be part of the raffle, here's how it works: 

• The raffle opens on Thursday, September 20, and will remain open until Friday, October 5 at 5 p.m.
• Check out the classes above and check your schedule to be sure you can attend. The class is not transferable, if you win.
  
• Login to the website and then go to Members Only >> Silent Raffle for ASTD Nat'l Classes or click here to be taken directly to the page (you must be logged in to access this page)
  
• There you will find the instructions and have the ability to submit your entry.

Remember, this is for ASTD-Los Angeles Chapter Members only! Not yet a member, join us now to take advantage of this opportunity.

To register directly for any of these courses:

Click on the course link, and follow the instructions there. Be sure to use the ChIP code CH8028, when registering for these or any other products or courses from National ASTD.

Pictures of the Event can be found on our Facebook site.

Over 40 participants gathered to the learn The Art and Skill of Facilitation from experts in the field. Keynote speaker Jeanne Hartley reminded us of the many important skills needed to be a successful facilitator and then sent everyone off to work on those skills! The 90 minute sessions ranged from facilitating experiential learning to facilitating team building. Skills included bringing more awareness your facilitation sessions and taming difficult people you may encounter along the way. The learning continued with tools on facilitating the decision making process of a group and then using new research on how the brain works in appreciative facilitation! The remarkable day of learning ended with a wrap up of the mini-conference with a celebration of the community that was created on Saturday.

Thank you to many outstanding facilitators from the ASTD-LA community who donated their time to make this day possible. Jeanne Hartley, Michael Baroff, Debbie Newman, Ron Milam, Pauline Arneberg, Marty Lasker, Mindy Danna and Mark Strunin.

Dear Members and Fans of ASTD-LA:

 

Last week, I was walking out of my office in Century City when I heard some familiar tunes. Turned out that classic performer Eddie Money was rocking out on this random Tuesday afternoon.

 

I heard the classic hit "Two Tickets to Paradise." As I waited for a couple of other hits, Eddie played some amazing, fresh sounding instrumentals on sax.  I still wanted to hear those greatest hits, but I was pleasantly surprised by this fresh music. (Be sure you read through to the end for your own chance to win Two Tickets.) 

 

 

The show begins with a real chart topper. This Thursday's August meeting on 5 Principles for Achieving Excellence in the Workplace will be a big hit. If you are on the fence, jump off it and come to a great show! Buy your tickets online now!

 

The workshop curtains open on Friday, September 7, as Deb Newman brings back one our classics,  Train the Trainer. This 5-week hit-packed workshop always brings down the house. I have attended this amazing workshop and can tell you those "Top-10 hit" lessons keep playing in my head!

 

On Saturday, September 8, ASTD-LA debuts a special Mini-Conference on the  Art and Skill of Facilitation led by our own Jeanne Hartley. Along with Jeanne, there are so many all-star performers that you will have to  read the line-up yourself. As a tremendous value to our members, we are offering incredible seats at great prices. Don't miss it!

 

On Thursday, September 27, we have a real rock star back on the ASTD-LA stage. Peter Himmelman, our April chapter meeting presenter, is singing a different tune these days. He uses songwriting as a way of increasing our innovative thinking, team building and leadership skills. Check out this music video at the right, for a preview of this exciting event. You may even spot one your colleagues. It is unlike any training event you will ever attend.

 

From one star to another, ASTD-LA welcomes a nationally recognized expert in Virtual Training, Cynthia Clay! At the ASTD National Conference, Cynthia played to a packed house. She is so popular that she actually was called back for an encore. (The fire marshals ask that you do not bring lighters to her  LA Event on October 19 in Culver City.)

 

In addition, look for some very special guests. Rumor has it that our own Tom Henschel will bring Advanced Presentation Skills to a show. He ALWAYS sells out. Ellen Krause will provide a FREE show on  Improvisational Theater Techniques. And of course, we will continue to provide the smash hits at more intimate venues with our Special Divisions.  

 

Buy your tickets now to an amazing line-up of shows that your Board is bringing to a venue near you. For every paid event you sign-up for by Friday August 24, you will be entered into a raffle for "Two Tickets" to our year end musical. Our musically themed Holiday Party is Thursday, December 13. Good Luck!

 

We look forward to seeing you!

 

Sean Bloch
2012 ASTD-LA President

Board members often state that their time on the Board was among their most valuable experiences at ASTD-LA. This is your opportunity to help steer the chapter toward a successful 2013. There are many exciting positions available. Visit our Chapter Leadership Page to see the positions that make-up the board.  

 

Key Benefits of serving on the ASTD-LA Board:

• Work closely with an amazing team of fellow ASTD-LA members
• Strengthen your toolkit through challenging experiences and assignments
• Make a difference in the ASTD-LA community
• Network with Industry Thought Leaders and experts

Ready to Learn more about this exciting opportunity? Contact preselect@astdla.org, and we will be sure to answer all your questions and help determine what position might be right for you. 

Networking

As attendees broke into small groups, they were asked to work together to come up with a networking activity that they would like to see us use at a future chapter meeting. The winning team, as decided by participant applause, would be awarded a free chapter meeting – at which they would facilitate the activity for meeting attendees.

Ideas that the teams came up with included

• ASTD Bingo, where people would complete Bingo cards by answering questions related to training
• Screen Rotation, in which questions would be displayed on the screen and teams would discuss the questions to form an team response
• Business Card Swap, when participants would be paired up to introduce them selves, giving the other person their card. After 5 minutes the pairs would break up and reassemble, but this time the participants would introduce themselves as the person on the card they had received, not as themselves, and once again give ‘their’ card to their partner. Following 5 rounds, people would volunteer to introduce themselves (as the person on the card they now hold). Will the real person recognize him or herself based on this introduction?
• 35, in which participants write an observation or question on to a 3X5 card. Participants are given a set period of time to exchange cards as many times as they can. Being sure they do not have their own cards, participants are broken into pairs and given a set time to award a total of 7 point to the two cards they hold. No half points are allowed. The pairs break apart and reassemble, again awarding a total of 7 points to the two cards they hold. After 5 rounds, the points awarded to each card are totaled to find the winners.

Congratulations to Melisa Winham, Cyrene Christian, and Noreen McNew who won a free chapter meeting for their 35 networking activity. Join us at the September meeting when they will facilitate the activity for the chapter.

ASTD Competency Model

Following the networking activity, we had a brief discussion of the foundational skills in ASTD’s competency model, reflecting on those skills we draw upon so often that they become second nature.

Collaboration=YES, Group Think=NO

The majority of the meeting was devoted to a Rapid Robin where attendees moved between three outstanding sessions. We explored de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, lateral thinking tools like random word and concept triangles, and considered what it looks like inside a red pen or a blue pen company. A huge thank you to Bill Bellows, Tim Higgins, and Cade Wilson for facilitating these informative sessions!

So what exactly do you think of when you hear the word taxi, and what could that possibly have to do with bathtubs? Don’t know? Then you missed out on some real learning fun. What a meeting!

See you in June!

Dr. Suzanne E. Szabo, Mount Pleasant, passed away on March 1, 2012, at Washington Hospital Center after a prolonged illness.

Born to Joseph and Mary Szabo (both deceased) of Anderson, South Carolina, she was an applied sociologist who headed a consulting firm, Organizational Research and Consulting. Her clients included the IRS, Ernst & Young, and the Defense Information Systems Agency. Educated at the University of Maryland University College (BA), Boston University (M. Ed.), and North Carolina State University (Ph.D.), she served in leadership positions with the American Society for Training and Development (national, Los Angeles, and DC chapters), and as president of Historic Mt. Pleasant. Known by all as a vivacious, beautiful, and caring person, she is survived only by her life partner, Dr. Joseph Robert White.

Suzanne created the original strategic plan that hasn't really been updated since. Also in 1993 we partnered with the Hawaii chapter to create the 1st international conference before National did and gained a huge profit for our chapter.

In lieu of flowers, Dr. White asks donations to be made in Suzanne's name to one of the following charities that she supported: the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Camps and Ghettos Encyclopedia Project; the Kennedy Center; the Smithsonian Institution; or Historic Mt. Pleasant.

Look what fabulous workshop programming we are planning for the rest of the year! As soon as dates are confirmed, they'll be posted on the calendar and you'll be notified in the weekly blast.

May:

• Video editing for trainers

June:

• Designing word press sites

August:

• Captivate Level 2
• ISD

September:

• Train the Trainer (Fridays)

October:

• Web-based facilitation webinar
• Facilitation Skills or OD Facilitation Skills

November:

• Leadership Day
• Graphic Facilitation

2011 has been a great year for the chapter and the future only looks brighter. It will be my honor to serve as the 2012 ASTD-LA Chapter President. What makes me so optimistic about our future is the community of leaders who are volunteering their valuable time to continue the tradition of our great chapter.  It is with great pleasure that I announce the new 2012 ASTD-LA Board of Directors to you.

President-Elect	Sean Bloch
Treasurer	Sue Sorenson
Secretary	Christina Garvey
Directors of Learning	Armin Pajand
	Daphne Williams
Director of Chapter Meetings	Jo Lynn  Feinstein
Directors of Communication	Noreen McNew
	Karel Kreshek
Director of Technology	Jeff O’Dell
Directors of Special Divisions	G. Fred Stevens
	Mauricio Guiterrez
Director of Membership	Paula Markgraf-Katz
Director of Community Service	Kimberly James

Please join me in welcoming these amazing leaders.

Sincerely,

Terrence Wing, 2012 ASTD-LA President

We are looking for training and development practitioners who would be willing to visit Claremont for an upcoming panel presentation for our graduate students who are studying this area.

Panelists will be asked to give an overview of their experience working in the field of Training and Development, issues they have faced and lessons they have learned. Then, we will open the floor up for questions from the graduate students. I expect there will be 40-50 graduate students in attendance and food will be provided.

• The first panel would focus on making strategic decisions about what training to offer in an organization as well as on the practice of delivering training and is scheduled for 4pm, Tuesday September 6.
• The second panel would feature L&D practitioners who have been in the field and can speak to a career about training. She’d like a mix, instructional designers, trainers, managers, evaluators, you name it and is scheduled for 11:30am, Thursday November 3.

Please contact me if you are interested.

Becky Reichard
Becky.Reichard@cgu.edu
http://www.cgu.edu/pages/6595.asp