President's Message September 2013
by Ed Haskell
I am concerned about the survival of Skyscrapers, Inc.
You may be surprised, or even shocked, at that statement, so let me elaborate.
Essentially all clubs and societies in the United States have been, for a number of years, experiencing growing problems in attracting and retaining new members. An effect of this is that the average age of the membership increases by nearly a year every year. At the same time, these organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to get members to engage, to the extent that the burdens of the organizations can be spread over a large enough base of volunteers so that needed work gets performed. It is predictable, then, that Skyscrapers will experience these same problems.
We are doing better than many on the first problem, attracting and retaining new members, and are experiencing the second problem of volunteerism but not as badly as many organizations. Well then, you might be forgiven for asking, why am I worried about our survival?
Since this is a societal problem it will continue to present challenges for us. If we do not adopt strategies to address these challenges then we will suffer predictable consequences.
This is not a sudden realization. My first action as President was to focus the Board's attention on increasing the real and perceived value of membership in Skyscrapers so as to retain current members and attract new ones. Based on Member feedback and new Membership applications those efforts have been appreciated and are showing results. However, if we are to continue and extend positive results we must have a sustained and expanded effort to deliver value to current Members and to enlarge the pool of potential volunteers so the Society's work can be done. To this end I am taking the following actions.
As provided for in the Society's By-Laws (Article II, Section 2) I am creating the office of Vice- President, Membership, who will be responsible for the following:
1. In concert with the President, design and oversee initiatives for increasing membership, including but not limited to North Scituate based events, public outreach events, contact with local media and schools.
2. Devise activities for the benefit of existing members.
3. Maintain contact with members of less than 2 years, through email, in-person contact, the telephone, and other means, to ensure connection with the organization.
4. Be responsible for identifying newer members at all meetings, and performing in-person greeting and welcome at monthly meetings and member activities.
5. In concert with the Treasurer, identify non-paying or late-paying members and establish contact with same to learn member intentions or reasons for terminating membership.
I am appointing long-time Member Pat Landers to this important position who will serve until the end of my term (as provided for in the By-Laws). It is my intention to propose an amendment to the By-
Laws to make this position permanent in recognition of the essential role these responsibilities play in the success of the Society.
Please direct questions and ideas related to this new position to the undersigned. Thanks for all you do for Skyscrapers.
