StarChapter of April: ARMA Detroit

For over 60 years the Detroit Chapter of ARMA International (ARMA) has been a local leader in records and information management. Their primary mission is to promote and advance the professional competency of its members to enable them to provide records and information management leadership and expertise within their organizations and communities, as well as to provide a networking opportunity to share and learn from others. We were able to connect with Glen Foldessy to get more insight into how their chapter engages with their members and non-members in order to succeed.  We are very appreciative of Glen & the ARMA Detroit chapter for championing StarChapter since 2012 and helping to improve the member experience for a lot of ARMA chapters because of it.

1.      What was ARMA Detroit Chapter’s strategy for engaging new members in the past year?

We get engaged with new members initially when they join the parent organization and are notified when a new member joins our chapter. From this point we send a customized welcome letter from our President that details how to create their login credentials for the members section of our website. Additionally, we create a free meeting voucher that they can use to attend one of our monthly meetings. During the coming year we are planning to expand our new member welcome outreach through a combination of direct-mail and outreach.

2.      Tell us about a successful event/meeting you organized last year.

The Detroit Chapter hosts a golf outing in September and in recent years it has become one of the Chapter’s premier social networking events. The event is primarily marketed to members and prospects, but it also has become a large marketing component of the Chapter’s annual sponsorship program.  Attendance is generally around 30-40 participants, so the sponsors who attend enjoy a casual and intimate networking opportunity. Costs for the event are all-inclusive and have virtually remained flat for the past 10 years because of generous sponsors. Net proceeds—approximately $1,000 each year—are split between the Chapter's charitable giving activities and the operating budget to help defray educational programming costs.

3.      The ARMA Detroit Chapter network is extensive. Does the board get ideas on how to improve membership value from other chapters?

ARMA chapter leaders from around the world have numerous opportunities to get engaged to share best practices and ideas, such as “community forums,” regional leadership conferences and the annual conference and expo. At the regional level in particular we meet several times per year to brainstorm how we can improve member value. To be honest, the decision for the Detroit Chapter to adopt the StarChapter platform was driven mainly by our desire to improve the overall member experience in interacting with the chapter. Our switch to StarChapter back in 2012 has resulted in 19 other ARMA chapters to do the same. Imitation is after all one of the highest forms of flattery.

4.      Do you have any tips/advice to share with other board volunteers?

I’ve been volunteering for several professional organization boards most of my 25 year career and one of the biggest piece of advice I can offer to anyone that belongs to a board is to not get burned out. Don’t feel like you have to do all the work or carry the weight of organization on your shoulders alone.

5.      What is in store for your members this year?

We’ve had a great year so far with a wide variety of educational programs and interesting speakers. Our fiscal year ends in June, so we try to have fun at our last meeting and make it more of a social gathering as a way to thank our members for their involvement throughout the year. We discount the ticket prices by offsetting it with both chapter funds as well as sponsorships. We’ll kick-off the following year with our golf outing as mentioned earlier. While education is a tenet of our mission, the social networking and peer-to-peer opportunities we provide to our members is equally important.

6.      How have been able to utilize StarChapter to run the ARMA Detroit Chapter and reach its goals?

I can’t say enough good things about StarChapter and how it helps us achieve our goals. From an overall user experience for how members transact business with us to all of the wonderful back-end features we utilize to make our operation more efficient, StarChapter has been the catalyst for reaching our potential as a professional organization. I am personally really excited for the new dashboard functionality coming later this year. We try and utilize as many of the available analytics tools to better understand how members and prospects interact with us, which in turn allows us to improve the overall member/guest experience with ARMA Detroit.

Would you like to share the success story of your chapter with other board volunteers? We'd love to feature you! Fill out this form to let us know.

StarChapter of March: BOMA North Alabama

The Building Owners and Managers Association of North Alabama’s (BOMA North Alabama) mission is to promote interaction between their members in their exchange of best practices to more efficiently service the entire commercial real estate industry within the North Alabama area, and to provide educational opportunities.  We were able to connect with Kiley Henry of BOMA North Alabama’s board to see how they are able to accomplish this all the while giving all of their members a voice. 

1. What was BOMA North Alabama’s strategy for engaging new members in the past year?

This year at BOMA we started using our members more to get more guests to attend our meetings. We offered a 15-month membership for the price of 12 as well as encouraging our member to sign up guests through StarChapter for our monthly meetings. We like to stay involved in the community and request donations to charities at each meeting. We also have our guest speakers sign books that are given to local elementary school libraries.

2. Tell us about a successful event/meeting you organized last year.

Every year we have a golf tournament to raise money for our group as well as for a local charity. It is important that we as a chapter show our support for nonprofits in our area. Each year the check averages around $5,000. We also do a scholarship for the local university in town. If there is a student that is looking at going into real estate, we encourage them to apply and then the winner of the scholarship is given $1,000 toward books and tuition for the following term. At our year end meeting we also ask that the membership bring large packs of toilet paper so that we can give it to a local charity.

 3. The BOMA North Alabama network is extensive. Does the board get ideas on how to improve membership value from other chapters?

We listen to our members. Everyone has a voice as it is important to understand all aspects of building management and ownership. Everyone from the janitor to the CEO benefits from an organization being part of BOMA. Our guest speakers are chosen each month in such a way that they are valuable to any company. From our allied membership which includes pest control, HVAC and lawn care, all the way up to our companies that own the buildings in town. We keep an eye on how other chapters engage their members and try our best to set a great example.

4. Do you have any tips/advice to share with other board volunteers?

Being part of the BOMA board is an honor. We feel that it is a great opportunity to help other companies grow. Our year’s Experience Exchange Report (EER report) is a prime example of how we succeed. This is information is used by our mayor to help others understand the State of the City. We are able to show how the cost of living here in Huntsville differs from other cities around us. The most successful thing that we have done is the EER.  It has been so well received that the mayor has used it as part of his recruiting efforts to bring companies to North Alabama.

5. What is in store for your members this year?

Our membership will have the opportunities to hear more speakers in our community. One of the most exciting changes that we have made is our quarterly Lunch and Learn sessions. These are for the selected staff of the Principal Members of our organization. This month will be about discussing fire codes with the safety coordinators at local businesses. We also have gatherings throughout the year with other business groups throughout the community.

6. How have been able to utilize StarChapter to run BOMA North Alabama and reach its goals?  

We have used StarChapter to send out our meeting, charity and event notifications. Everything is so easy with StarChaper and the support makes it a great vehicle for our very busy membership. A couple of clicks and they can register for anything that we have going on. They can also quickly add a guest as well. We also use StarChapter to talk about our Spotlight Members of the month. Everyone in our group has a voice and StarChapter allows us to make that possible.

Would you like to share the success story of your chapter with other board volunteers? We'd love to feature you! Fill out this form to let us know.