Sam Behseta

In August, the formation of the Orange County/Long Beach Chapter (OCLB) was approved by the ASA Council of Chapters Governing Board.

The council’s decision was a reaction to an earlier proposal by an exploratory committee of local statisticians, as well as tens of local petitioners. Members of the Committee to Establish OCLB were statisticians at the University of California at Irvine, California State University – Fullerton, California State University – Long Beach, and representatives from local industrial outfits. The committee offered a number of compelling justifications for the birth of the new chapter, including the promotion of the discipline of statistics in the ever-growing region of more than 3.5 million residents, encompassing at least three major universities and a substantial number of statisticians affiliated with local commercial firms and governmental agencies.

The formation of the OCLA Chapter also will increase the number of statistical activities offered to OCLB members and members of adjacent chapters, provide more effective representation to the Council of Chapters regarding regional needs, and serve the local community—especially a considerable number of local high school and university students—more effectively by providing robust interaction between local academic institutions and surrounding commercial and governmental entities.

Immediately after the approval, the OCLB Chapter Council (OCLBCC) held a special session and appointed the following interim officers, who will serve for one year or until the chapter’s membership has been identified and an election can be held:

• Robert Newcomb, Interim President
• Annamarie Stehli, Interim Secretary
• Dung Pham, Interim Treasurer
• Tsung-Hua (Thomas) Lin, Interim Chapter Representative
• Kevin Nichols, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs
• Alan Safer, Interim Vice President of Professional Affairs
• Ann Harada, Interim Webmaster

Also in its first meeting after the approval of the chapter, the OCLBCC was able to successfully address a number of immediate goals, including setting annual dues, preparing for the first election of chapter officers, prioritizing and strategizing the creation of new sections within the chapter, and planning for upcoming public events such as career day and a local high-school poster competition.

Members of OCLBCC unanimously recognized the exemplary perseverance and leadership of the chapter’s interim president, Bob Newcomb, in guiding their proposal through the many, mostly nontrivial, stages of transforming an idea into an actual chapter.