The Membership Palaver

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Valerie Richards
5 years ago
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1 Volume 1-11, Issue 2 Page 1 August 2011 The Palaver is the backbone of any nonprofit organization!! AMERICAN SOCIETY of PLUMBING ENGINEERS 2980 S. River Road Des Plaines, IL Tel: (847) Fax: (847) How would you like it? It came to my attention that some of the Presidents feel I have not been communicating enough with the Chapter officers, specifically the Vice Presidents. Although I have communicated with individual chapter MVPs on a regular basis, it is true that I have not been forthcoming with a newsletter. It seems that in this day and age, we are inundated with information on a daily if not an hourly basis, so I chose to be more individual than global. That being said, I am now resurrecting my global communications. What I need to know is how you want to receive this communication. To do this, I have put together a short, simple survey. Please look over the communication platforms listed below and rate them one through five, one being the best way you want to receive communication and five being the least. Communication platforms are as follows (in no particular order): Newsletter (similar to what you have received from me in the past.) Ongoing communication on a social network (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blog) ASPE website (post the newsletter at the website and simple of update) ASPE app (an app for your ipad, Android, Evo, etc.) newsletter (where the newsletter in embedded in the body with links for more information) Vice-President Jeff Ingertson CPD, FASPE aspemvp@aspe.org Chairman Brian Salisbury bsalisbury@rmcotton.com Director of Stacy Kidd skidd@aspe.org Please rate the five platforms above and me at aspevpmem. If you have any other suggestions, please don t hesitate to let me know. Are you into training? One-day training event, August 6, 2011 The Chapter Vice President of (VPM) one-day of training event is fast approaching, and there is limited space. If: you want to learn about the latest ASPE initiatives and how to present them to the membership you want to gain an understanding of the membership application process, renewal process, monthly reports, and special offerings geared toward ASPE members you want gain tips on writing a good chapter newsletter or newsletter article you want to network and learn from ASPE Board members, staff, and fellow chapter VPMs you want to learn how to utilize the officers section of in addition to a host of other information... Then this one-day training event is for you. (Continued on page 2)

2 Volume 1-11, Issue 2 Page 2 August 2011 (Continued from page 1) ASPE has acquired a block of rooms at a special $69/night (plus taxes) at the Marriott Courtyard O Hare, which is right next door to the ASPE HQ, with free shuttle service to and from the airport. Please use the housing registration form below. This form will also serve as your registration form. The event is free, and lunch will be included. However, each chapter will be responsible for travel, hotel, and expenses for their attendee.

3 Volume 1-11, Issue 2 Page 3 August 2011 Chapter Vice Presidents : Duties and Responsibilities The Chapter Vice President, is the ambassadors for this Society, and ASPE is now asking you to take a more aggressive approach to this responsibility and help get us back on track. As the Chapter Vice President,, it is your obligation to the Society to make sure you are fulfilling this duty. In the current economic environment, the Chapter Vice President, position has become even more important and his/her duties more critical to the well-being of the Society. However, building a strong membership base is the responsibility of the entire chapter Board of Directors, not just the Vice President,. Even though you have the responsibility of maintaining and getting new members, it takes a team effort to succeed. That being said, the duties of the Chapter Vice President, are as follows: 1. At this time and in this economic situation, membership retention ranks among the most important responsibilities of the Chapter Vice President,. It takes from four to six times less effort to keep an existing member than to recruit a new one. In most instances, the member is not even aware of his or her pending membership cancellation. All it takes is a phone call to clear up any miscommunication. 2. Maintaining accurate chapter rosters and conveying updated member contact information to the Society oftentimes if a member changes or loses their job, he/she does not report the change to the Society. This makes it very difficult for the Society to contact this person, and in some cases the Society is unable to make contact. 3. Reviewing the monthly reports sent to all Chapter Presidents and VP s for accuracy one of the most important parts of the monthly report is the Final Notice list, paying particularly close attention to the Valid to column. The Individual Final Notice Detail sheet shall be filled out by the Chapter VP upon completion of an interview with the individual indicated. These forms are required to be sent back to the Society. This will give the Society important information regarding the individual and the reason they are not renewing their membership. 4. To start and maintain a chapter membership and retention program. Here are a few suggestions you can bring to the attention of your Chapter Board of Directors to help you with your Vice President duties: 1. Part of building a strong chapter and having an active membership base is giving the members value. The President of your chapter is responsible for making sure the chapter meetings are being conducted in a professional manner, with good educational topics. It is important to get feedback from your members to ascertain if the meetings are valuable to them. 2. When you receive the notice of a new member, either call, , or mail them a welcome letter to greet them into the chapter. Introduce them at the next meeting and/or in your next newsletter. Be sure (Continued on page 4)

4 Volume 1-11, Issue 2 Page 4 August 2011 Chapter Vice Presidents : Duties and Responsibilities (Continued from page 3) to let the Chapter Corresponding Secretary know right away of the new member s contact information, so they will be added to the chapter s mailing list. Please refer to the ASPE Recruitment and Retention Manual for suggestions on contacting new members. 3. With the current economic condition, we are aware that some businesses are having financial difficulties and may not see the validity in supporting ASPE. It is important to alert an employer to the advantages of keeping his or her employee in tune with the plumbing engineering industry. ASPE is the best way available to do this. It might take a personal invitation to a meeting from you to help the employer see what they are missing. 4. ASPE understands the economics of today and has a program that can help the struggling member. The compassionate dues waiver, although not widely used, can help a member retain their membership and even give him or her help with dues if necessary. You can find information about this program on ASPE.org or ask any ASPE board of directors member. 5. For chapters that have substantial funding, another idea is for the chapter to help out a member monetarily. As I mentioned before, it takes from four to six times less effort to keep an existing member than to recruit a new one, so any monetary help a chapter can give a member will save in the long run. The Society does its best to notify the member when their renewal is due. The Individual Final Notice is the last link from the Society to the member. If the individual s membership expires, the Society will no longer contact that person. The Chapter Vice President, is the ambassador of this organization. Without members, there would be no Society. The ultimate goal for the Chapter Vice President, is to forge a bond with members and ensure their satisfaction. Doing this will not only keep them coming back, but also will bring new members into the Society. Jeff Ingertson, CPD ASPE Vice President,

5 Volume 1-11, Issue 2 Page 5 August 2011 Inside the Statistics Totals Status Newest Chapter If you look at the last three months membership standings below, you ll notice Region 1 now has 15 chapters. With the help of many good people, Long Island has become our 62nd chapter. Please give them a warm ASPE welcome. Members Series Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July The standing for March 2011 Region 1 15 Chapters 1597 Members Region 2 10 Chapters 708 Members Region 3 15 Chapters 906 Members Region 4 12 Chapters 1202 Members Region 5 10 Chapters 1454 Members Region 9* - 2 Chapters 265 Members Total Members The standing for April 2011 Region 1 15 Chapters 1607 Members Region 2 10 Chapters 704 Members Region 3 15 Chapters 893 Members Region 4 12 Chapters 1198 Members Region 5 10 Chapters 1471 Members Region 9* - 2 Chapters 272 Members Total Members The standing for May 2011 Region 1 15 Chapters 1611 Members Region 2 10 Chapters 706 Members Region 3 15 Chapters 903 Members Region 4 12 Chapters 1201 Members Region 5 10 Chapters 1475 Members Region 9* - 2 Chapters 270 Members Total Members Above you will find the side-by-side comparison of the last three months of this fiscal year (March, April, and May) membership standings. This will give you some idea of where each Regions stands. Notice a slight upward turn. Things to come: ASPE Drive Campaign (Really!!) If you look at the last three months membership standings above, you ll notice a steady holding pattern from about December 2010 to March 2011 and then a slight upturn in membership. This means the retention campaign the ASPE staff is waging is working, and we are retaining more with a small amount of growth. This was necessary before any real membership drive could get started. After all, we do not want an ASPE revolving door where new members come into the front as existing members leave through the back. That being said, most have not seen the basic campaign drive I spoke about at the last convention. This is still my plan, with some modifications by the ASPE Staff. It will be rolled out soon after the VPM training event, and I am hoping to have information for you shortly, so stay tuned. It s coming.

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