The next few months, we will be highlighting APA chapters celebrating major milestones. Let’s learn more about The Rainier Chapter of APA and get to know its President John Lestock, CPP, CEBS.
Tell us about your chapter (When did you launch, how many members do you have)
The Rainier Chapter of the American Payroll Association was founded in 1982. The chapter has been through quite of bit change in the past 40 years – most notably during the last few years of the pandemic. Currently, we have around 60 members. We are a small but mighty chapter. Over the past 40 years, our chapter has provided education and networking opportunities to payroll professionals in the Seattle area as well as to members living in parts of the Pacific Northwest pretty far away from Seattle (i.e., our chapter members live as far south as Goldendale, WA, as far north as Bellingham, WA and Port Townsend, WA, and as far east as Edwall, WA). Before the pandemic, we hosted quarterly meetings and an annual regional payroll conference. During the pandemic, we transitioned to web-based events, and we have been hosting web-based events since then. With the pandemic easing a bit, we would like to get back to hosting live events. Our plan would be to host live events supplemented with web-based events to meet the particular needs of our chapter members.
What do you feel are your secrets to success? (What has your chapter done to remain affiliated for 40 years, how do you market your chapter)
Our chapter has been fortunate to retain many of our members for years. Our chapter members have been a great source for new members via word-of-mouth. Recently, hosting web-based events and advertising our chapter events on social media (i.e. Facebook and LinkedIn) have been extremely valuable in providing our chapter with exposure beyond our membership base. But it’s our chapter members that make our chapter special. Over the years, our members have made our events feel special - they bring the “warm fuzzy” family feel to each event. We network. We connect. We catch up with old friends. We make new friends. Each time, our members bring a personal touch and warm feeling to our events. As a result, our meetings can seem more like family get-togethers than just routine education sessions. It’s been challenging to main that feeling at our web-based events. As we strive to bring back live events, our goal is to foster that “warm fuzzy” feeling that has defined our chapter for so many years.
Tell us about yourself (how long have you been in payroll, where are you from, how long have you been Chapter President, any other fun facts)
I have been in payroll for almost 20 years. Over the past 30 years, I have worked in various roles including pension administration, payroll, employee benefits administration, corporate accounting and tax. I’m originally from Chicago. I grew up in Northwest Indiana, and I went to college in Chicago (DePaul University) where I met my future wife. After she graduated, we moved to Houston, and started a family. Later, we moved to the Seattle area over 16 years ago, and we’ve really enjoyed living here. I was previously chapter president in 2012 and 2013 (our chapter has two-year terms), and I am currently finishing my first year of my term as chapter president.
Fun facts: my wife, daughter and I are all 1st degree blackbelts in Taekwondo. During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to “star” in a YouTube sitcom show called United States of Seattle. It was a small production, but we had a blast doing it.
What about your chapter are you most proud of?
I am both delighted and amazed with our chapter’s endurance. Despite all the challenges with the pandemic, we managed to stay active and continue to provide events for our members (even if they are web-based). Our chapter is a reflection of our members. Payroll is a tough job. Our members share stories about crazy things they’ve had to deal with on the job. Despite the challenges, they’re still working in payroll. The chapter – like our members – keeps going and continues to perform. Maybe sometimes it’s not very graceful, but we’re still going strong. And we’re not stopping.
What is your favorite part of being Chapter President?
I love interacting with our members – networking, sharing stories, researching a payroll issue together, catching up on things, etc. I also love representing our chapter when the opportunity arises, such as for government relations, committees with the national American Payroll Association, industry leaders seeking to connect with our chapter, etc. I’m proud of our chapter, and I hope I represent our chapter well.
Do you have any advice for chapters that may be struggling?
Operating and maintaining a chapter takes a lot of work. And, it needs many people to contribute – one or two people cannot do it all. It can be overwhelming and daunting to tackle everything all at once. Instead, focus on one or two priorities, and seek out volunteers to help with those particular priorities – finding speakers, hosting an event (whether live or web-based), managing chapter finances, etc. Also, take advantage of the resources available from the American Payroll Association – including other chapter presidents and officers. We are all happy to help.
