Membership News, Views and Updates

It's hard to believe that we're already in March.  Where did the time go?  

If you didn't attend the Inter-Coordinating Committee meeting in S. Cal, you may have missed the update that unfortunately, our Ventura chapter has turned in their charter due to a lack of members and interest.  We hope that our other California chapters continue remain strong and viable, through mentoring, fellowship and educational programs we offer.  

The California Council Membership team has been busy this year.  Mitula Patel has done a great job visiting various chapters in S. California and encouraging prospective members to join.  Kim Cameron has been spending a great deal of time working with the Kings Tulare chapter and helping them to unite.  Cathie Speakman has been working with the Tri Valley Chapter to find out what their needs are.   Louisa Knapp, our Young Professional Liasion and her team, are doing a fantastic job of bringing  YP's closer.  If you have any YP's in your chapter, (those 40 and under folks), let Louisa know so she can reach out to them.  

Holding on to the existing members can often be a challenge.  Last September, I was able to get two SF members to reconsider and send in their dues.  Although they missed the deadline of August 30th, they nonetheless are still members and I've encouraged them to attend the meetings and serve on committees.  

Dining adventures! I also have attended dinner meetings - TriValley/Contra Costa CWC Speakoff,  Contra Costa Chapter of NAIW,  Insurance Professionals of San Joaquin County (IPSJC), and Insurance Women of Los Angeles (IWLA) last year. It is always a pleasure seeing my friends and making new friends during these meetings. In February, I attended the dinner meetings for the Insurance Women's Association of Southern Alameda County (IWASAC) and Insurance Professionals of Sacramento, Inc. (IPSI).  I found both meetings to be insightful and the fellowship was great. 

Watch out for this, folks:  I noticed that some people naturally gravitate towards members they work with and not sit with other members to broaden their fellowship circle.  Have you noticed this at your meetings? This happens frequently at chapter meetings and I believe perhaps the President, Membership Chair or just the seasoned members of each chapter should encourage their members to sit with different tablemates at each meeting to get to know their fellow members.  New and Young Professional members can also be scarce at some meetings.  Seasoned members need to seek out and mentor the new and Young Professionals in order for them to succeed us.  I firmly believe that if you bring in a new member, it is your responsbility to make sure the new member is made to feel welcomed and become a part of the chapter through committee work and attending meetings.

Last year I sent out an email to the Presidents and received less than ten replies. It would still be helpful to have your response! Here they are again in case you've misplaced them:   1) Do you currently have a meeting planned for a membership drive?  If you do not have one planned, we would like to help you plan a membership drive in your chapter and if time permits, perhaps one of us will be able to attend your meeting to help get it off the ground.  It is highly desirable to have one before the end of the year.  If you must have one in 2010, you will need to be clear on the membership dues are only half because there are only a few months left of the term before the July 1st renewal process begins.  Can you also tell us who is your Membership Chair so we may coordinate with her/him? 2) Are you aware of the expanded membership policy that allows members from insurance agencies, companies, and insurance service providers? We also would like to help you identify businesses in your area that you could approach to recruit prospective members. 3) Do you need help in finding speakers?  We will also do our best to help you find someone in your area that can be a guest speaker at one of your meetings.  We want to help you have a strong chapter and interesting topics for your members to learn something new during your meetings.  We are only as good as you want us to be.

I have heard just about the same thing from every chapter that I have visited or spoke to about why members do not join and the top reasons are, "Lack of support from their employer", "I can't afford this on my own", "I'm not getting anything out of being a member", and "too busy to participate".  Busy?  Who isn't busy with the downturn of the economy. All of us are working harder and longer and doing more than we bargained for so we can stay gainfully employed.  This isn't something new.  This has been going on for years, but the heat has been turned up.  Think about the alternative.  How many people do you know that are unemployed and having a difficult time trying to find a new job?  I know a few and I also know some of our members that have remained members of NAIW,  tapped into the NAIW member network to help them find a new position.  This has worked for a couple of ladies I know.  They kept the faith, paid their dues on their own, continued to attend chapter meetings and found a new job through networking.

My next planned dinner meeting will be with the PIWA chapter on March 3rd.  If you let us know when your general meetings are and want someone from Membership to attend, please let us know.  I can't guarantee we will be able to come, but we will make an effort to try.    If you have time, try going to another chapter's meeting just to see how it is run and meet more members!

In fellowship,

Annette Ing-Firmeza
Membership Developement Chair

2010 International Proposed By-Laws Revision Side By Side