SDA San Diego had a fantastic experience as host of the 2008 Western States Regional Conference – “Sailing for Success” which took place September 26 -28, 2008. Planning began in the fall of 2007 with Leslie (Gurney) Cattaneo and Dana Sather taking the helm as Co-chairs. With San Diego’s location right on the ocean, we immediately decided on a nautical theme (with a little “piracy” on the side). Due to Jamie Shirey’s track record in procuring the best speakers in town for our monthly programs, she was the logical choice to be in charge of our presenters. Webmaster Julie King saw to it that we had our information on the chapter and national web sites, and made all of the arrangements with the conference hotel. Sher Prince, our self-proclaimed “Give Away Girl,” ensured that our guests would take home “pirates’ booty” from our door prizes, raffle baskets, and the ever popular “goody bags”. Our Past President, Betty Connell stepped in where needed. We worked together as a great crew and provided our visiting “sailors” a grand time.

The site of our conference was the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, built in 1929 and the home of San Diego Trust and Savings Bank for many years. We were in the heart of downtown within walking distance of the Gaslamp District (also known as the “party” district!). Guests began to arrive Thursday evening and were greeted by a reception in the Safe Deposit Room – still intact – the walls lined with boxes that once housed valuables of days gone by.

We were up bright and early the next day (at least most of us) ready to get down to business. The two-day program covered topics in every SDA Professional Emphasis Group (PEG) to provide a well-rounded learning experience. Below are some highlights from those sessions. Friday’s first three seminars kept us on the edge of our seats and the last one had us literally on our feet!

• Pattie Vargas of the Vargas Group: A motivational message on how to build an extraordinary team by establishing trust among the team members; avoiding miscommunication; turning conflict into productive interaction; focusing on the issues not individuals; and promoting commitment to the good of the team. For information about Pattie’s newly published book visit: www.thevargasgroup.net.
• Cathleen McCandless, Professional Feng Shui Consultant: Star of the nation-wide television show, “Feng Shui Living,” explained the real definition of feng shui and how it stems from basic human needs to feel safe and comfortable in our environment. She shared how it can be implemented in our offices to provide an optimal work environment. Find out more about Cathleen at: www.sandiegofengshui.com.
• Mary McKay, Independent Management Consultant: We learned the how to bridge the generation gap and to work side-by-side in the workplace today where, for the first time, we have four generations working side-by-side.
• Historic Downtown Gaslamp Tour: We were privileged to have James Robbins AIA, as our guide through downtown San Diego. Having served as the Historical Architect for the City of San Diego as well as being personally involved in renovating many of San Diego’s historical buildings, James brought to this tour the personal knowledge that really made the City come alive.

We finished the day on Friday with a fun and relaxing evening on the rooftop above the offices of HMC Architects, our Platinum Sponsor. The weather was beautiful, the view spectacular, and the paella delicious. Guests wined and dined to a jazz combo featuring the mellow voice of Margaret Elmore. Per a request after dinner, the combo “kicked it up a notch” for some great dancing.

Saturday’s agenda was equally rewarding with four more topics that included valuable information for all of us as design administrators:

• Greg Glasgow, Chief Technology Officer at LANSolutions made us all realize how important it is to avoid losing our data, the most valuable commodity in a design office.
  
  The recovery time for retrieving your company’s data could be a make-or-break situation for your firm. Greg not only pointed out the problems involved in recovering lost data, he gave us the solutions, as well (hence the company’s name!).
   
• Design Firm Profitability Factors: Todd Stichler, CFO of NTD Architecture has a real common sense approach to making a design firm profitable. His motto is “keep it simple.” Todd’s best suggestion: keep a rolling 12-month statement for a continuous picture of company revenue. New acronym for me: EBITDA = earnings before interest/ taxes/depreciation/amortization. Also, Todd shared these descriptions: revenue = vanity; profit = sanity; cash flow = reality. So true!
   
• Successful Marketing in Leaner Times: This two-part session began with Charles Reilly, Marketing Strategist, emphasizing the value of gaining new business from existing clients. One of the ways to do that is by adding new services to your firm. He emphasized the importance of hanging on to your marketing dollars even when tempted to use them elsewhere. You will need them in leaner times. What is the one thing every firm needs: a client! Tyler Blik of BLIK followed with his expertise on branding your firm. He helps his clients determine what distinguishes their company from competitors and how to best present that in the form of effective marketing tools. His best advice: keep it simple! (We heard that from another speaker, didn’t we?)
  

  Remember, it is important to:

  • Keep in front of your clients regularly.
  • Accurately express your craft
  • Get noticed
  • Maximize production efficiencies
  • Save time in the process
• Examples of marketing tools developed for his clients – each piece designed specifically to express their particular craft, can be found at www.tylerblik.com.
   
• Simple Green: There’s that word again – “simple.” Kotaro Nakamura AIA, LEED AP, closed our conference with a truly delightful look at the roots of sustainable design.
  
  Born and raised in Japan, he came to a San Diego as a graduate student and is now a principal at Roesling Nakamura Terada Architects, Inc. His design incorporates historical Japanese aesthetics and ideology into the contemporary American-built environment. Through a series of slides, Kotaro led us though the evolution of design to where we are today with regard to the built environment. His best advice: learn from the past and apply to the future. Visit Kotaro’s firm website: www.rntarchitects.com