172536_CPCA_2020_Spring Magazine - Final | Page 14

“Meeting” the Needs of Our Members
By: Meghan Kalmbacher
CMP, Events Manager – California Police Chiefs Association
This year, COVID-19 has rocked the meeting and events
industry to its core and has disrupted an immense number
of events all over the world. In many cases this has forced
organizations to have to make a choice between the health and safety
of their staff, sponsors and attendees and the commitments they
have made not only to the venues, but to the training needs of their
field. The gravity of the situation however does not lesson the value
of these spaces to come together to learn, network, and develop professional
relationships with peers and CPCA completely understands
that. While we may not be able to meet in person in 2020 for some of
our events, we are committed to remaining your resource of choice
as we navigate these uncharted waters together. Here’s what we’re
working on.
The 2020 Annual Training Symposium that was originally planned
in Palm Springs and the Women Leaders in Law Enforcement conference
planned in Anaheim will both be held virtually over multiple
days this fall. Each day of these events will provide 3-4 hours of
content which includes timely and relevant workshops, inspiring
keynotes, fun social events and even the opportunity to meet with
vendors and sponsors! We will create experiences that will not only
fill the hole left by not being able to meet in person but also find a
way to utilize this technology in the future to make what we already
do, more amazing. We also hope that by going virtual we are being
sensitive to your budgetary restrictions and staffing limitations by
eliminating travel and cutting costs where we can. This will allow you
and your staff to receive the valuable training and CPT credits they
need, while remaining where they are needed.
The Critical Content Series is another way for us to serve as a
resource to our members during this challenging and difficult time.
We are offering FREE timely training on various topics that will
provide information and guidance to our members in how to best
serve their agency and communities during this time of uncertainty.
Agencies will be facing immediate and long-term effects resulting
from this pandemic, and it is our objective to provide our members
with opportune training that will aim to equip you with the information
and resources you need to combat the challenges you may face.
The critical content will be available virtually in either a lecture or
panel format and will be brief yet informative to accommodate your
demanding schedules. They will also be recorded and available on
the CPCA website to allow those who were not able to attend live to
view the content.
Another new program we started in May is the Weekly Member
Video Series. In this series, Communications Specialist Brady Guertin
speaks with leadership in our association about how their departments
have had to adapt to these times and to provide positive
messages for membership. When COVID-19 does pass us, we will
continue these efforts and have updates with our varying committees
so our membership can stay up to date about what we are doing
to be a resource for you all. Every Friday look in the President’s
Weekly Message to see the most recent episodes. We are proud to
bring you these weekly videos as a part of your membership and
thank you to everyone who has followed us along, all of us at CPCA
hope these videos provide you something to keep morale high during
these unprecedented times. When we show unity, we can get through
anything as a nation.
Lastly, CPCA also provides training opportunities that we felt we
could still hold in person later this year, while maintaining proper
social distancing. This includes many of our 1-day summits, training
courses and our ever-popular Executive Development Certificate
Program series. Please check out our website for dates and locations
of these and all our upcoming events.
�
��������������������
14 CALIFORNIA POLICE CHIEF | www.californiapolicechiefs.org