I contacted SAE Arizona in February 2014, to see what was happening locally, and see if I could attend some presentations. I was immediately asked if I could do a presentation in 2 weeks, which I did. It was great to meet everyone, and they were very warm and inviting. My presentation was on the Flex-Header Controller for Honey Bee, but the members present wanted to hear a lot more about all the other things that I had done in my career. We had a really good discussion!
Shortly after that, I was asked to take the position of Secretary for the balance of the 2013/2014 Section Year, and I agreed. A couple of months later, in May 2014, I was asked to become Vice-Chair for the 2014/2015 section year, and that seemed reasonable as well.
In July 2014, the Section Chair took relocation to Ohio, and the position of Chair fell to me. It was very challenging – I knew very few people, and had even fewer technical contacts relevant to SAE. So, I appealed to the membership, and they responded well – so well, that I stayed on for 2 years.
I met a lot of fantastic people, and saw lots of great presentations while connected to SAE Arizona.