Join us as we celebrate 25 years of having a chapter of BV-ATD (formerly BV-ASTD) here in the Brazos Valley. We'll eat cake, catch up on old times, and Amanda Boucher from national ATD will provide a presentation on future contributions the chapter can make to learning and performance here in the Brazos Valley.
History of the Chapter
In 1990, a group of training and development professionals from Texas A&M University’s Personnel department, Education and Human Resource Development department, and local training consultants, met to discuss the need for a professional organization in our community. It was decided to initiate the process of forming a chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. Through the support of the Houston and Austin Chapters of ASTD, as well as the generous financial support of ASTD Region 7, the Brazos Valley “Satellite” Chapter of ASTD met for the first time in October of 1990 at the College Station Ramada Inn. This meeting was attended by over 120 human resource development professionals. In November 1990, Region 7 provided funding for a representative from Brazos Valley to attend the National Chapter Leader’s conference in Washington DC. Through an aggressive promotion and membership drive, and the development of a chapter constitution and bylaws, the chapter submitted its application for charter to the national organization. The Brazos Valley Chapter of ASTD was officially recognized for fulfilling its Chapter requirements by the national organization in February 1991 as authorized by the President Gloria Regalbuto and Executive Vice President Curtis Plott. At the time of being officially chartered, the chapter had attained 100 local members and 22 national members.
In the early years, the Brazos Valley Chapter received valuable support from the ASTD Region 7 Board of Directors. Region 7 provided guidance on chapter governance, operations, as well as seed funding for programming. Region 7 directors routinely volunteered to provide programming support, as needed. At the 1992 ASTD National Conference in New Orleans, National Leaders proposed the dissolution of the Regional structure, instead proposing that the National Organization would be the direct line of contact to the chapters. During the discussion preceding the vote on the resolution, then President Gib Sawtelle spoke against the proposed resolution, citing the valuable role that the Region played in supporting new chapter formation in the Region. Delegates at the conference ultimately voted in favor of the resolution to disband the regional governance structure.
In September 1992, Brazos Valley ASTD sponsored its first full-day professional & career development workshop. In November of 1992, Brazos Valley ASTD became the second chapter ever to affiliate with a university to sponsor an ASTD Training and Development Certification Program with the Education and Human Resource Development department at Texas A&M University. This program was governed by a steering committee made up of chapters formerly associated with Region 7. Although this program is still in existence, it is no longer affiliated with the ASTD chapters, as the steering committee was dissolved by the Education and Human Resource Development department faculty sponsor.
During the 1990s the chapter began collaborating with other local professional organizations such as SHRM and IABC to co-sponsor special professional development events of shared interest and to enhance networking opportunities. Also during this time, the chapter began supporting various charitable organizations such as the Literacy Volunteers of America and the Brazos Valley Food Bank. The chapter has continued this tradition by collecting donated food items during our holiday celebration in December.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s the chapter continued to meet at the College Station Conference Center. Some chapter operational costs were reduced due to the eventual use of e-mail and web communications, replacing our past reliance on the U.S. Postal Service. However, our cost for use of the College Station Conference Center was becoming increasingly burdensome, and changes to the reservation process no longer ensured a guaranteed meeting place for our monthly meetings. Our financial resources were being drained as a result. The board decided to explore other venues and eventually was able to secure reliable and free meeting space in the new General Services Complex on Agronomy Road. This arrangement was made possible due to the generous support of the Employee and Organizational Development department, who agreed to sponsor the chapter’s meetings in the new facility. The chapter officers continue to closely monitor costs and to look for operational efficiencies.
In 2013 the chapter began undergoing a comprehensive reexamination of all practices and policies, we made badly needed revisions to the constitution, and bylaws and we achieved 100% CORE status.
Continuing our progress, the chapter again achieved 100% CORE status in 2014. In 2015 we underwent the rebranding from ASTD to our new identity of ATD (Association for Talent Development), made extensive changes to our web presence, and payment methods. We also made changes to our programming to ensure alignment with the ATD Competency Model.
The chapter continues to work closely with the national organization to meet CARE (formerly CORE) Criteria, especially in the area of membership. The chapter is preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary beginning in February of 2016.
A newly formulated operations plan has been adopted, with the aim of reinvigorating our chapter’s role as a key source of cost-effective and convenient professional development and networking opportunities in the Brazos Valley.
