StarChapter of December: NAIFA Nebraska
The NAIFA Nebraska chapter aims to promote and protect the critical role of insurance and the insurance agent while dedicating time to political advocacy and protecting the interests of its members. They also strongly promote the continued professional development of their members through special programs, the exchange of sales ideas and various networking opportunities designed to grow our members’ practices. We were able to connect with Joe Pittman the chapter’s Executive Vice-President to get some insight on how they have been able to achieve their success engaging new members and organizing events.
1. What was NAIFA Nebraska’s strategy for engaging new members in the past year?
It’s absolutely critical to make your new members feel welcome and to get them involved. Our focus this past year has been to develop and implement a long-term member engagement strategy that we can stick to for an extended period (and still make adjustments) that will yield results. The strategy is based on multiple outreach “touches” to new members. These touches include recognizing new members at meetings and in our e-newsletters, and connecting them with a mentor or a committee chair. Most importantly, we work to identify their specific reasons for joining the organization, and then make specific recommendations and provide information on the membership benefits that are available to help them accomplish their career objectives.
2. Tell us about a successful event/meeting you organized last year.
Our annual Nebraska Insurance Leaders Forum, held in April of 2017, was our most successful event in several years, with more than 400 attendees and 40+ sponsors and exhibitors. We built our marketing efforts around two “name” speakers and were able to generate a lot of advance excitement and awareness of the event.
3. The NAIFA Nebraska network is extensive. Does the board get ideas on how to improve membership value from other chapters?
Absolutely! At the National level, NAIFA provides Local Association leaders with ways to access “best practices” information and examples, and to collaborate with other leaders via webinars and conference calls, and at the national convention.
4. Do you have any tips/advice to share with other board volunteers?
Our best advice relates back to membership engagement. As a Board member and a leader of the organization, one of your primary functions should be to help attract and engage other members. Board members also typically chair a particular committee and we do not want any “committees of one” – instead, we encourage board volunteers to build strong committees and also to focus on leadership succession so that we will have leaders “in the pipeline” for the coming years.
5. What is in store for your members this year?
2017 was the first year of a major “reinvention” of our organization in which we have introduced some new member benefits and made some other changes to our programs and events. These changes have been well-received, and we are looking to continue to build on that momentum in 2018.
6. How have been able to utilize StarChapter to run NAIFA Nebraska and reach its goals?
NAIFA-Nebraska contracted with StarChapter in January of 2017 and launched our all-new website in April. The new website was a major enhancement over what we had previously. We also are utilizing StarChapter’s features and functions to better promote our meetings and events throughout the state, and to build more targeted communications to different segments of our membership.
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 November: ARMA New York City
The ARMA Metro New York City Chapter aims to educate their members in the areas of Information Governance, including Records and Information Management. They do this through their monthly educational meetings: ARMA@Noon, their Evening Chapter Meetings, as well as their premier Annual Spring Conference. We were able to connect with Eugene Stakhov, CRM, CDIA+ the chapter’s Executive Vice-President to get some insight on how they have been able to achieve their success.
1. What was ARMA NYC’s strategy for engaging new members in the past year?
Our strategy for engaging new members has been two-fold: First, we reach out to new members by phone and/or email and invite them personally to a chapter meeting, often as guests of the chapter with a discounted or waived registration fee. Since our membership database is updated via the monthly feed from ARMA International HQ, we know we have access to the contact information for all members - new and existing. The membership committee then handles follow-ups and further outreach to ensure a consistent communication channel with the individuals.
2. Tell us about a successful event/meeting you organized last year.
ARMA Metro NYC's annual Spring Conference is by far our flagship event. The conference draws hundreds of attendees from across the Northeast/Atlantic regions and beyond, and over 25 corporate sponsors. We typically join forces with 2-3 geographically relevant sister chapters (such as New Jersey and Connecticut) in co-branding and collaborating on putting the conference together. This event competes with - and in many aspects, exceeds - national conferences of similar scope.
3. The ARMA NYC network is extensive. Does the board get ideas on how to improve membership value from other chapters?
Members of our Board of Directors are in constant communication and exchange of ideas/tips with other chapter’s board members, via organized information sharing conference calls and web sessions organized by ARMA International. In addition, a contingent of chapter leaders participate in the annual Region Leadership Conference, that draws leadership from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region chapters. Many of us also just talk on a personal and/or professional level and are always willing to share ideas with each other.
4. Do you have any tips/advice to share with other board volunteers?
The best advice that could be given to anyone volunteering is to just…get…more…involved! Ask questions, give suggestions, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. Volunteering at the board or committee levels is an opportunity to lend your voice to an industry that is changing before our very eyes. You have an opportunity to influence that change.
5. What is in store for your members this year?
We have a fresh, exciting line of speakers presenting on relevant content; a revived podcast series; newsletter interviews with some of the top thought leaders in the field of RIM/IG; and a renewed focus on social events that we hope will get people mingling, networking and having FUN!
6. How have been able to utilize StarChapter to run ARMA NYC and reach its goals?
The StarChapter platform serves as our command center to integrate the many moving parts that must all come together in lockstep in order to put on successful educational and social events. The annual conference in particular is a massive undertaking, and having centralized data stores for members, attendees, vendors, badges, communications, etc. really makes things more manageable for us as a task force unit. We have been scaling up over the past 2 years, and believe we can scale even further - and this year we are planning to do just that - using the StarChapter tools at our disposal.
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.
