StarChapter of June: PMI Oklahoma City

With a 6.5% membership growth in the last year, PMI Oklahoma City chapter is already preparing for the next big thing: celebrating the chapter’s 15th anniversary! We spoke with the board and learned their method of getting more members to volunteer. 

1. What was PMI Oklahoma City’s strategy for engaging new members in 2014?

The strategy used for engaging new members last year involved varied approaches and opportunities to promote the benefits of becoming a PMI OKC member. 2 key strategies were offering strong chapter meeting speakers and providing a forum for potential members to interact with our larger membership base. Our chapter also held many specialized events including networking opportunities, an inaugural fall golf tournament benefiting the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, and a “high end” annual dinner meeting. The dinner provided additional opportunities for potential members to engage with current members and allowed them to discuss and see the value of our network, obtain information that could benefit their careers, and gain new project management knowledge. The fruits of these efforts showed a membership growth of 6.5% from the previous year.  

2. Can you tell me about a successful event/meeting that you organized in the past year?

Our chapter focused on increasing the value and prestige of each event. Our premier event was the Annual Dinner held in November. We chose an upscale venue, “Vast – 50th Floor” restaurant located at the top of Devon Tower in Oklahoma City for the event, which was held during evening hours and offered the potential to win significant door prizes. Our efforts to go bigger and better helped garner an increase in attendance of nearly 100% over the previous year. 

3. Can you share some secrets of running a successful chapter?

As volunteers, each board member brings a unique talent and perspective based on their individual experiences and backgrounds. We provide ample opportunity to weave those ideas and experiences into the services that the chapter provides. A few of the principles we follow are: providing excellent customer service to the membership, quickly addressing inquires and issues that arise, providing information routinely through varied avenues (email, web, social media, etc.), maintaining an organized and professional website presence, and most importantly, recruiting volunteers who are passionate about helping our community and membership base.

4. How do you get inspired in managing the chapter? Do you learn from other PMI chapters?

Mostly, inspiration comes from helping our members be successful and ensuring they are pleased with the value they get in being a part of PMI OKC. Learning, participating in conferences, and reaching out to other chapters is always an avenue to be pursued. PMI chapters, both large and small, have fined tuned aspects of their organization and are always willing to share. It has been a constant theme that the greater PMI community succeeds when each chapter succeeds. 

5. Do you have any tips to share with other volunteers? 

Stay engaged and positive! This is a good idea to “pace” yourself and manage your own expectations of your role. However, you can never forget that your membership is depending on you to perform a service and look out for their needs. 
Secondly, network with others in your membership to find potential volunteers. It's all about connecting the dots for people and filling a need. If you learn through conversation that a member is passionate about planning events, it is a good idea to quickly engage them and offer the opportunity to participate in event planning for the chapter or even chair a committee. The only way to learn about your membership is to engage on a personal level and be available during planned chapter events. Once you have connected the dots, offer opportunities to participate and directly ask for their help. We’ve found that all too often, members are more likely to volunteer when they are approached directly and are engaged in the conversation about the needs of the Chapter. Issuing general “call for volunteers” emails or communications rarely work as well.

6. What is in stored for PMI Oklahoma City members in 2015?

All eyes are focused on celebrating PMI OKC’s 15th year anniversary! We are honoring our members who have been with us from the beginning by posting each on our official website (front and center). The 15th year anniversary will culminate in celebrating our success at the historic and beautiful Skirvin Hotel in downtown OKC. Additional events planned for the year include a 2-day professional development conference, a summer social/networking event, and our 2nd Annual PMI OKC Fall Golf Tournament.  
Another venture for us will be to stream our regular chapter meetings online so that we can reach out to more of our members during their busy work schedule and hopefully attract new members as well.

7. How did StarChapter help you run the chapter and reach your goals?

As a smaller chapter within the PMI organization, our resources are limited. The StarChapter "system" meets our varied needs ranging from communicating with members, analyzing the membership data, planning and managing events, and robust financial reporting.  StarChapter provides many sophisticated tools in an all-inclusive package that helps us promote the growth, and ultimate success of our chapter. The service we get from the StarChapter Support team is outstanding and always timely. Our members are proud to promote our chapter website now, which wasn’t always the case! Thanks to StarChapter we were able to make PMIOKC.org a success.

StarChapter of April: Baltimore NACE

Get more members on board with the chapter’s mission and activity – this is what makes Baltimore NACE such a successful organization. We spoke with Rachel Hoffberger, the chapter’s President to learn more about how they run things.

1. What was Baltimore NACE’s strategy for engaging new members in 2014?
Last year we attempted to beef up our Ambassador program, wherein we paired veteran members with new members or first-time meeting attendees to help them feel welcome and learn their way around the chapter. We were also fortunate enough to host the NACE National conference, Experience! 2014, which was a huge draw for our chapter. The need for sponsors and volunteers was so great that we utilized and engaged almost every member of the chapter somehow. We even had new members join just so they could be a part of the conference!

2. Can you tell me about a successful event/meeting that you organized in the past year?
One of our best meetings of the year was called “Event Photography 101”. It was hosted at the warehouse of one of our members, Fabrication Events. The program was led by 4 of our member photographers, who first served as a panel of experts on how we, as event professionals, can document our events in photographs in order to market them in the future. Then, those panelists hosted break-out tutorials, each focusing on different areas of expertise.  For instance, one focused on how to get great photos with your Smartphone. Another demonstrated great food shots. Each of 4 meetings not only includes an educational program, but a networking hour and a dinner.  Everything is fully sponsored by our members, including décor!

3. Baltimore NACE grew in the past year. Can you share some secrets of running such a successful chapter?
We have always had a strong chapter, and each year we are looking for fresh ways to keep our members engaged and draw in new members. We really push people to get involved on committees. It’s the best way to grow personally and professionally, as well as to give back to the chapter. It keeps our members interested, and they stick around. We’ve been known to create small committees just to give an interested member a way to stay involved.

4. Did you get inspired by other NACE chapters? 
We always look to other chapters for inspiration. The Houston chapter is always a big inspiration to us, especially when it comes to their large student chapter. Getting a student chapter off the ground is something we have really struggled with, despite the fact that the Baltimore area has some great hospitality programs. We also look to some of the other chapters for their unique fundraising and program ideas.

5. Do you have any tips to share with other volunteers?
Embrace the experience and have fun with it! Remember that you are a part of a larger group, so you can call on others volunteers to help and make it a collaborative effort. We all spend a lot of time with other volunteers in our chapters, so having fun and making the most of the experience is of the utmost importance.

6. What is in stored for Baltimore NACE members in 2015? 
We plan to grow again in 2015! We have a great strategic plan to gain new members and retain existing members.  By growing our membership, we hope to gain new insight and ideas from the new players involved. We are also revamping our fundraising program to gain new interest.

7. How did StarChapter help you run the chapter and reach your goals? 
StarChapter has all the tools we need in order to effectively run the administrative side of the chapter. By seeing helpful reports and statistics, we can see where our chapter is thriving and where it needs improvement. We pay close attention to these reports and address them regularly.