[Chapters-l] Report on breakout sessions at Chapter Assembly

[Glen Horton]

Thank you for your report, Doug.  We in SOASIST want to make sure that 
moving chapter funds to HQ be optional and not mandatory for each 
chapter.  Some chapters may wish to continue to manage their own bank 
accounts.

Thanks,
Glen Horton
SOASIST Chair

> Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 10:21:31 -0500
> From: Doug Kaylor <doug.kaylor at wright.edu>
> To: chapters-l at asis.org
> Subject: [Chapters-l] Report on breakout sessions at Chapter Assembly
> 
> At Chapter Assembly this year, I promised to post feedback from the 
> small group discussion we had during a brief break-out session. (Thanks 
> to SOASIST for noting in an excellent newsletter that I was supposed to 
> be posting results to chapters-l. In the transition to a new Director, I 
> forgot, and their post conference report reminded me.) What I am 
> including below are excerpts of a report I submitted to Karen and the 
> ASIST Board.
> 
> Chapter rep's and attendees were asked three questions. The questions 
> and responses follow. If I left something out, please post it directly 
> to the chapters-l list. If you have a comment that you don't feel should 
> appear on an open list, please share it with the Karen Howell, the new 
> Chapter Assembly Director, Beata Panagopoulos, Deputy Director, or your 
> Chapter Advisor. I know they are interested in feedback.
> 
> Best wishes to all Chapters for a successful year.
> Doug Kaylor
> 
> Chapter Feedback
> 
> Chapters were asked to do a breakout session and discuss:
> 1. What to do with inactive or dormant chapters
> 2. How to make chapter leadership more appealing, including the 
> possibility of centralizing admin./finances and reducing reporting 
> requirements.
> 3. Are there too many awards? Are we rewarding the right things?
> 
> Dormant Chapters
> 
>     The general consensus of the chapters present is to keep inactive 
> chapters on the books in order to make reactivation easy. Let ASIST 
> members in an area with an inactive chapter affiliate with another 
> chapter and send their per capita to the active chapter.
>     There is a marketing issue for the Society. What do we call an 
> inactive chapter that sounds positive? Do we list them in the directory? 
> If they are not listed, then they might as well not exist; if they are 
> listed, they may create false expectations among new members.
>     There are governance issues involved. The chapter structure is set 
> in the Society Bylaws, and these seem able to accommodate inactive 
> chapters. There are policies in the Board Policy Manual and Chapter 
> Officers Manual that need to be changed to allow for some kind of 
> inactive chapter.
> 
> Recruiting Officers
> 
>     I asked if it would be easier to recruit officers if we could reduce 
> some of the administrative overhead and reporting requirements. If 
> chapter funds, for example, were kept at HQ and disbursed upon request 
> with the only reporting requirements being the request and return of 
> receipts and surplus funds, would it make it easier to recruit officers. 
> They wouldn't have to do quarterly and annual reports. This idea was not 
> criticized by those present.
> 
>     Other suggestions include
> - creating a web space for new officers with program info., training 
> materials, etc.
> - revising the officers manual. It's too big, confusing, and not useful. 
> (this seems to go along with the web site suggestion)
> - put chapter reports online as forms to be submitted.
> - send lots of reminders for upcoming dates and deadlines
> - have ASIST provide a packaged program of speakers, etc. All a chapter 
> would have to do is find a place and send announcement.
> - have ASIST set up a chapter strike force to go in and jump start 
> faltering chapters
> - reward officers in some meaningful way for their service: a discount 
> on the annual meeting if they attend or free proceedings or ARIST if 
> they don't - something of value.
> - create a leadership board: a photo board or web page acknowledging 
> chapter leader accomplishments.
> 
> Chapter Awards
> 
>     It was the consensus of the group that we do not have too many 
> awards. The question was about the venue. Giving them on Sunday at 
> chapter assembly puts them outside the conference proper, and while it 
> may be in front of their peers, it is not the same thing as a big award. 
> This is an issue that should be folded into the Board's Awards task force.

-- 
Glen Horton, Technology Coordinator   |  glen at gclc-lib.org
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