Promoter & maintainer of membership
As an association representative
(AR), your primary role is that of a
communicator – the person who is
the first source of information for
the members or the first person who
gets the complaints. In effect, you
are “The Association” in the minds
of the members, and your reputation
as a person the members can trust
and believe is often enough to get
employees to join or maintain their
membership.
However, most ARs feel more
comfortable if they have a fairly
well-structured picture in their
minds as to how the Association
functions, and what its goals and
programs are. Therefore, this section
of your handbook is designed to
12 – AR Handbook
give you the basics of membership
promotion.
The following pages will give you
“basics” on membership promotion.
Use them to assist you in this most
important organizational function.
When to recruit
Membership is the life blood of the
association. It’s the source of our
support – financial and personal
– and the acknowledgment by the
members of our bargaining units
that their interests are being represented.
Membership does not merely
happen. It must be promoted and
maintained by officers and ARs who
recruit new members and keep them
informed and involved. It is also
important to understand that even
though your initial efforts are to get
a prospective member to enroll, your
membership plan should include
ways to engage them once they join.
New Employees
If your association is typical of local
associations across the state and
nation, you are already experiencing
an influx of new members. Many
of these new members are totally
new in the profession while others
are new to your school district.
What started out as a trickle just a