July 13, 2004
America Online
Dulles, VA

Attendees:

Cindy Loison, President
Judy Carter, Treasurer
Bonnie Little, VP, Membership
Amy Lourenco, VP Programs
Andrea Evans, Student Chapter Liaison
Judy Perrault, Past President
Maggie Chan, Certification Representative
Kurt Cowles, President-Elect
Lynn Padgett, Alt Registration Coordinator
Lisa Forester, Secretary

Agenda:

The June 2004 Board meeting minutes were approved.

Membership Report

We’ve sent messages to people who have not yet paid their membership dues for this year and have received several responses from people who said they had forgotten but that they would forward their checks.

Treasurers Report

Our checkbook balance as of 12 July was $32,200.23. Our purchase of an American Express stock certificate for $15,000 is pending the assignment of a new Tax ID number for our organization.

Legislative Liaison Report

No report this meeting.

Diversity and Workforce Report

No report this meeting.

Communications Report

No report this meeting.

Programs Report

Amy reported that the July meeting is set. (The question of the month will be, “What volunteer opportunities have you been involved in?”) Amy asked if the contract with the hotel for our meetings for 2005 has been finalized. Cindy said that she has the contract for review. The hotel wants a guaranteed minimum of 45 people for each meeting. It was decided that we should negotiate for a lower minimum number and cost. There was discussion regarding the morning meetings next year. They will run from 7:30-9:30am; breakfast will be served at 8am, and the speaker will have the floor from 8:30-9:30am.

Old Business:

Kurt discussed the by-laws. The draft will be voted on at the September Chapter Meeting. 75% of attendees must approve.

New Business:

Cindy and Kurt will contact all current Board members to determine who wishes to continue on the board in 2005. It will be helpful if there are “assistant” positions to help some board members with their responsibilities (membership) and also to work on committees.

Shelly Prochaska, the SHRM Regional Manager for the Southeast, visited the Board meeting to bring members up to date on matters of interest to SHRM chapters. There are @185,000 members in SHRM. There are 566 chapters and 50 state councils. There are also Special Expertise panels we can access through Shelly. There was a discussion regarding primary chapter designation.

• Terry Finch can provide our chapter with a list of members that SHRM recognizes as coded for Dulles as their primary chapter. Shelly shared with us ideas for attracting new members; our chapter already does many of the things she mentioned.
• To make new members feel welcome, some chapters have the membership representative call new members after three months to see if they have questions or problems, to discuss the chapter web site, etc. They try to make contact with new members three to four times during the first year of membership. Other chapters issue certificates or identification cards to their new members.
• One idea to boost attendance at chapter meetings is to ask members who don’t attend meetings why they don’t and what topics they are interested in. Also, it is important to ensure that presenters are good speakers.
• If members say the meeting times or locations are inconvenient, the advice was to vary the meeting times/locations. In talking about chapter dues, Shelly mentioned a future change in which SHRM will bill members for chapter dues if we wish and forward to the chapters the funds collected. For members who say the cost is too high and their employer won’t cover it, some chapters send correspondence to those CEOs and explain the benefits the company will receive if their employees attend SHRM meetings. When members say they are “too busy” to attend chapter meetings, it usually means they do not think the programs are worthwhile enough to attend.
• Some chapters allow non-members to attend one meeting at no cost to try it out, no strings attached. Some chapters get a sponsor to cover the meal cost for everyone for a meeting. Other chapters have persuaded sponsors to pay for lower-cost “socials” and invited members to attend at no cost. It was suggested that we use a local business newspaper to get publicity for the chapter and offer a free membership to the editor.
• Ideas to make events fun include door prizes, games, picnics, golf outings, and trips to amusement parks. The suggestion is to send meeting notices multiple times and to consider conducting “exit interviews” for non-renewals. Another idea is to prepare an annual report for members that summarizes what they received in the way of benefits from their membership. Some chapters provide a form of recognition for members who renew their memberships, are loyal to the chapter, and who recruit new members. The recognition can be a thank you letter or a small gift.

The August Dulles SHRM Board Meeting will be at AOL on Monday, August 9th at 6pm.

Questions or Comments? Contact the President

Previous Board Minutes