Local System Safety Society Chapter Health by Mike Jeung-Wesoloski   I feel like the time has come for me to express my concern (to a broader audience) for what seems to be an isolated case among the ranks of the Society these days — an overwhelming decrease in interest from the local professionals! While I admit that at least part of the blame belongs to me and the Chapter officers, I would like to expound on our other extenuating circumstances that — I believe — contribute to our situation possibly more so here in northern California than in other geographic or economic areas. The first condition is the rising unemployment rate, and the overall job situation here in the Bay Area. We all understand that “times are tough,” but many of the local companies are still feeling the effects of the dot-com bust. Downsizing, streamlining, and all the other buzzwords of the week equate to fewer engineers doing more work, which strains the professional and personal lives of those involved. A supporting condition is the perceived (or maybe it’s just imagined) shortage of safety professionals in the area. There is no local “safety factory” that churns out graduates with safety degrees, and the local engineering graduates are reluctant to try their hand at safety when other, more glamorous avenues are available. Another contributor is the continuing rise in housing prices in the Bay Area — still among the top five in the country. Out-of-state graduates and experienced safety professionals are not eager to spend half a million dollars on a small two-bedroom house without a serious salary increase! And yet another factor, combining all the rest, is the “graying” (to put it nicely!) of the workforce, and the safety engineering pool specifically.   "Downsizing, streamlining, and all the other buzzwords of the week equate to fewer engineers doing more work..." I know that these are all factors that affect our situations to a certain degree, and that everyone has experienced some hardship associated with them once or twice in their career. They just seem to be magnified these days. I hope that by publishing this “cry for help” in the Journal, the secrets from successful, active, energetic chapters may be shared and potentially incorporated. A second, ulterior motive for this article is to act as a “wake-up call” to local members or interested individuals, since the Journal may be their only contact with the Society (based on their lack of telephone or email communication). I know there are good people and good ideas available throughout the Silicon Valley and surrounding areas that could be tapped to breathe life into the local Chapter. I’m just running out of ideas for bringing them out in the open. Thanks for your suggestions. The writer is president of the Bay Area Chapter.