Coordinator Update: Fall 2002

by Jeff Hunts

Just a Blink of an Eye...

What could be worse than throwing a birthday party and no one comes? Forgetting to celebrate in the first place, of course!

With this issue of the CalMAX quarterly catalog we are officially recognizing that the program has passed an impressive milestone—the California Materials Exchange is now more than a decade old. To celebrate we changed the look of our catalog cover for this issue. What isn't changing is our dedication to timely and informative content: Since this is the fall "back-to-school" issue, we're focusing on topics of interest and benefit to educational institutions. 

Technically, we reached our 10th anniversary back in January, but were too caught up in planning for enhanced Central Valley outreach and other efforts to take a breather and notice. Just the same, we didn't want to let the year slip away without patting ourselves on the back just a little. More importantly, we want to acknowledge the users of the program, who—by choosing to trade instead of trash—are helping to keep California a desirable place to live and do business.

The Earth has seen major changes during the last ten years. On the environmental front, California's population grew by nearly 14 percent, to approximately 34 million. The world's population surpassed 6 billion. Farmland acreage in California has been reduced by 10 percent. On a larger scale, human impact on the global climate is now widely acknowledged. But consensus on how to reduce these impacts remains elusive.

In economic matters, Asia endured a financial earthquake that reverberated through global markets, yet the region now shows signs of recovery. Several Latin American countries continue to teeter on the edge of instability. Closer to home, both the federal and State budgets have gone from serious deficits to sizeable surpluses-and then back to deficits again.

Culturally, hip-hop has replaced rock and rap on the music scene, while the flower child fashions of yesteryear are grooving again where grunge once ruled. Genocidal conflicts ravaged many corners of the globe in the '90s. Yet domestic tolerance of diversity and lifestyle choices grew, giving new definition to family and community. Technological advancements continue to stagger the imagination and assault the senses—as spaceships orbit distant worlds, and cell phones ring in restaurants. And medical breakthroughs in genetic engineering and cloning give hope to some and despair to others.

Arguably one of the most significant developments of the past 10 years has been the emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web as a tool for information and commerce. This development affects nearly everyone in California, and clearly this is the area that has most impacted CalMAX. We have progressed from a bimonthly catalog to providing up-to-the-minute listings through a fully interactive Web site. We hope to revise our program in a way that will enhance the user experience and ease participation for lister and browser alike.

Many dedicated staff people have worked on CalMAX during the past 10 years: Jerry Henderson, Joyce Mason, Kevin Taylor, Ken Decio, Chris Kinsella, Jill Larner, Sarah Weimer, Deborah Orrill, Maggie Coulter, Diana Rivera, Teri Wion, Rudy Rios. I've had the pleasure of working with most of this energetic and dedicated crew during the six-plus years that I've supervised the CIWMB business waste reduction program, which CalMAX is a part of. I wish to thank them all for tirelessly providing California's business, nonprofit, and educational communities with the essence of the program, which is opportunity.

Our goal with CalMAX, in its simplest form, is to host the information in a format that is convenient to use. We recognize that the CalMAX users create the connections that define success. Thank you for your participation and innovation, and we encourage you to let us know how we can continue to be a part of your success. We look forward to the changes and challenges of the next decade.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008