by Steve Higgins, IABC/Tulsa President
A recent report from IABC’s international office affirmed what many of us already know – good things are happening at IABC/Tulsa.
The report ranked Tulsa in the top 10 of chapters internationally for membership growth.
How do we keep this momentum going? At a recent executive board strategy session, the chapter’s leadership tackled that very question. The result is a set of goals that we’ll work toward during our 2010-2011 board term.
Each board member contributed at least one goal. Here’s a sampling:
Reevaluate meeting location. While D’Novo has worked out well in many respects, we are consistently seeing low ratings for the food on our meeting surveys. Members can look for a separate, stand-alone survey on this subject very soon.
Limit “first time free” meeting registrations to membership recruitment months. We’re glad so many have taken advantage of our free lunch for first-time guests. The downside, though, is that we’re struggling to break even on our costs, even with attendance up this year. We’ll still do the “first time free” offer, but only twice a year.
Develop a “scholarship” program for small businesses and independents. The recession has made it difficult for some people to become full-fledged IABC members. The board agreed that we should develop a program to assist prospective members whose resources are limited.
Continue to increase membership, meeting attendance and happy hour attendance. We’re doing well in these areas, but we believe there’s room for further growth.
Continue to offer strong programs and special events. We’re committed to bringing in top “out-of-town” presenters, mixed in with local experts and occasional webinars that will be free for members.
These are just a few of the areas on which we’ll focus in the coming year. If you have any thoughts or questions, please contact me at steve.higgins@williams.com.