please help does anyone know or belong to a local branch of the IOR

I have been doing some reasearch and i am currently a member of RSES which hold meetings and seminars bi-monthly

I joined RSES as i find most technical info here in the uk
seems tight lipped and we pick up scraps/ tip bits here

since joining RSES back in 2002 iv'e received many technical bullitins and invites to seminars and training courses like boot camps

we seem to be 20 years behind as far as the industry goes in america concerning training/ on going training

theres plenty of courses coming up now that the busy season draws to an end and finding the gems between the rocks seems to be hard to find most product courses
seem to geared up for free stuff ie pens, fleeces

so do any of you recommend joining a local branch of IOR and investing loads of my spare time