It starts with a conversation.

The “it” is growing NFPW membership and keeping members involved. NFPW is fortunate that our membership has stabilized, which was a goal of my presidency. We know that the economy and job layoffs have made membership difficult for some members. We also know the value of membership.

This year at conference we held a POWER Networking session where members could quickly get to know each other and make powerful connections throughout the country.  We’re making sure our first-timers are recognized and welcomed.

And we’re finding new ways of doing business. We’re firming plans around an online communciations contest. We won’t have it in place for the upcoming contest, but we expect that by 2013, we’ll be online, saving on postage, making it easier to enter and generally streamlining the process. A committee is reviewing proposals from two firms and working out the details. We’ll communicate often and will provide training.

We also identified conference locations for the next few years. For 2012 we are in Arizona (note that the Sept. 20-22 date is later to avoid the heat). In 2013 we’ll be in Utah, where we’ll have a strong focus on using our member expertise for presentations. We’re still securing a venue for 2014, and in 2015 we’ll be in Alaska. Keep your bags packed!

We also elected a new slate of officers. I’ll turn the gavel over Saturday night. Incoming president is Lori Potter; Teri Ehresman is first vice president; Marsha Hoffman second vice president; Ellen Crawford, treasurer; and Marianne Wolfe-Astrauskas, secretary.

Now that the business is handled, we’ll be spend the next two days engaged in professional development and networking.

SNAP!