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From the President
Regional Affiliates by Patrick J. Grannan
One of the roles of the CAS president is to visit as many of the CAS Regional Affiliates as practical. From my perspective, these visits have been both enjoyable and very worthwhile. Members and candidates get a firsthand report on current CAS activities, and the president gets valuable input.
The Regional Affiliates are vibrant professional organizations. I'd strongly encourage CAS members who haven't been active in their Regional Affiliates lately to attend the next meetings and consider volunteering for some of the organizational work. I believe you will find the benefits well worth the effort.
The activities of the different Regional Affiliates vary somewhat. One function they all serve is to provide opportunities for actuaries in the same geographic area to get to know one another and share experiences. This is valuable professionally in addition to being socially enjoyable.
Most Regional Affiliates offer continuing education opportunities that are easily accessible and usually don't require an overnight trip. The presentations are similar to those one would see at a CAS seminar. In fact, some are repeats of well-received sessions at CAS seminars.
Regional Affiliates are especially valuable to actuaries who are taking the exams but are not yet CAS members. In addition to broadening their knowledge and perspectives, Regional Affiliates can facilitate study groups and, in some cases, organize exam preparation classes.
Several Regional Affiliates maintain strong links with local universities and colleges. Visits by practicing actuaries are quite helpful in attracting strong entry-level candidates to our profession and to employers in the area.
A new Regional Affiliate, the Central States Actuarial Forum, has just been created by and for actuaries in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. You can learn more about it by contacting its president, Margaret Tiller Sherwood.
The need for Regional Affiliates also reaches beyond North America. The CAS has, to date, three Regional Affiliates outside North America: Casualty Actuaries of Bermuda, Casualty Actuaries of Europe, and Casualty Actuaries of the Far East.
Actuaries in areas not covered by an existing Regional Affiliate are encouraged to create new Regional Affiliates. For help in doing this, just contact the CAS office or the Regional Affiliates Committee, which is chaired by Ramona C. Lee.