Thursday, February 16, 2006

CSI - no not the TV show

I am currently 2nd Vice-President of the Baltimore Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute, a professional organization of Architects, Engineers, Specifiers, Product and Manufacturers Representatives, Contractors and anyone in the construction industry. Our chapter is in mild disarray after a series of leadership issues. We have righted the ship for now, but the 1st VP tells me she cannot step up to President in June as planned. That will mostly likely leave me to be President. Here are some thoughts on what our chapter needs:

1. The vice-presidents should serve the Chapter & President in very specific ways. Each should be assigned a task, similar to SPX H.S.A. One should assist in membership recruiting & retention. The other should assist in chapter management – programs, house, planning, special events.

2. We need to grow as a Chapter in membership & retent those new members. This will lead to better involvement & more people to share the load. The best ways to grow are:
a. Make people feel wanted.
b. Provide good value for their money – GREAT PROGRAMS
c. Ask people to be members
d. Ask people to be involved

3. Some committees can no longer be a one person show – PROGRAMS, MEMBERSHIP. Recruit a Board Member &/or Past President to assist the chair in recruiting & running the committee.

4. Without GREAT programs, we cannot effectively recruit & retain members. We MUST give GREAT value for dues & dinner costs. Remember Edna's comment - the $35 is for the meeting, not just the food.

5. Perhaps we should consider doing something other than educational programs - what might be fun for the group to do as a whole? Have 1 or 2 meetings each FY that are purely social.6. The board meetings should have a published agenda that is strictly followed. We can no longer have our board meetings run into the happy hour. It appears that we can no longer start these meetings at 4:30PM. Is there an alternate date or time?

More on this later.

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