Tony McDaid as Chairman and Mike Curran as Vice-Chairman took over leadership of Chapter 36 in December 2017. Tony navigated us through the COVID pandemic, setting up online meetings in cooperation with other chapters to attract interesting, timely presenters. Many thanks for their volunteer help.

The current line-up of SBE Chapter 36 officers has been in office since December 2017 and it’s time to pass the torch to a new leadership team.

Participation in the SBE offers several benefits:

1. Networking with your peers so that you aren’t a stranger when it comes time to ask for a job. You’ve heard the mildly cynical saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” While you need the base of knowledge required for that next career move, being known gives you an advantage that, unless you’ve been in a position to hire, you have no idea how great it is.
2. Learning new skills. It’s easy to get into the pattern of learning the next software/hardware package you tend to and thinking that’s all you’ll need to get through your career. But what’s behind that technology? What’s coming in the industry? Might there be better and more interesting technology for your next project? It helps to attend meetings and get to know what’s out there. You can learn new skills with the educational courses offered by the SBE, too. We have a number of excellent courses and talented presenters ready to watch and learn from.
3. Certify your skills. When your next employer is looking at your resume, how do they know you know your stuff? SBE Certification is certainly one way. We now have both specialized certifications such as those for computer networking and directional antennas, as well as the traditional Technician (CBT) and Engineer (CBRE, CBRE, CSRE, CSTE, and CPBE) certifications.
4. Leadership. The SBE is a way to both try your hands at leadership and to give back to others. Most veteran broadcast engineers can tell you great stories of mentors who helped us take our skills to the next level. These boosters were our teachers, supervisors, co-workers, and even our equipment makers.

How do you know you’re ready to lead?

First of all, what makes a leader? Some people mistake seniority for leadership. The leader is not the person who has been at the job for longer than the others in the room. The leader is the one in the room who gets up from his chair first when someone arrives needing help. The leader will take on a project, then delegate important tasks, not concerned about who takes the credit for a job well done. A leader is not afraid to consult with experienced specialists in order to learn the right way forward.

To be honest, taking on an SBE office is not that big of a transition. You step up and volunteer. We’ll help you from there if you need it. Simple as that.

Your motives don’t matter, either. If you are a young person wishing to try your hand at leadership, this is a perfect opportunity. If you’ve been around a while and just want to give back, great. Maybe you think we need to make some reforms and you want to make some changes. Fantastic.

The obligation isn’t large. As a chairman, you might give two hours a month to correspond, make decisions and lead meetings. Secretary-treasurers will take attendance, write up a meeting report, and transmit that. A program chair might spend an hour or two a month recruiting a presenter. A vice-chair will lead an occasional meeting and help with some of the organizational chores. A webmaster maintains the chapter website and publishes news of interest to local broadcast engineers.

So maybe you share your lunch and give up a half hour of TV, a round of your video game, or social media browsing. Is that too much to ask?

What are you waiting for? Let us know you’re ready now. If you don’t have our contact info, use the Contact Us link on our website.