Region Membership Chair Conference Call Notes
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
9AM EST
Region Membership Chairs Present: Viki Hurst (Desert Coast); Latresa Daniels (Founder); Lori Oliver
(Golden West); Sandra Kieswetter de Halkema (Mexico/Centroamerica); Nancy Davis (Midwestern);
Beth Tellekson (North Central); Joan Merritt (Northeastern); LeeAnn Crompton (Rocky Mountain); Lane
Parks (Sierra Nevada); Tana Elizondo (Sierra Pacific); Joan Jackson (Western Canada); also in attendance:
Nicole Simmons, Membership Director; Allison Sylvester, Membership Assistant.
After some confusion due to a problem on our conference call company’s end, a new access code was
issued and shared with RMCs via email, and the call came to order shortly after 9AM. Membership
Director Nicole apologized for the confusion and welcomed all who made it onto the call.
Our second conference call of the 2014-15 club year was a productive conversation about all of our
membership ideas and experiences related to recruitment and retention so we can plan for the
upcoming federation-wide recruitment campaign. We also discussed the recent bylaws changes in
anticipation of questions or issues these changes may bring up for clubs. An agenda was set in advance,
with the following topics and general questions to guide our conversation.
Federation-Wide Membership Recruitment Campaign:
 Do you know of any clubs that have members who are family relatives?
 Which clubs in your region have “younger” members – those in their 20s, 30s, and/or 40s?
 In your country, are there websites potential members may use to find volunteer opportunities?
 What materials will you need to kick off the campaign during your Fall 2015 region events?
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Beth Tellekson (North Central) stated that most of the clubs in her region do have family
relationships in the clubs, and many of the chairs listed clubs in their regions known to have
families with multiple Soroptimist members, usually mother-daughter or sisters: SI/Cedar
Rapids, SI/Marion, SI/Twin Cities, SI/Sioux Falls, SI/Columbus, SI/Chico, SI/Tri-Cities,
SI/Indianapolis Metro, SI/Salt Lake City (3 generations), SI/Latinas of Salt Lake City, SI/Visalia (3
generations), SI/Hanford, SI/Merced, SI/Watsonville, SI/American River, SI/Folsom El Dorado
Hills (3 generations), SI/South Lake Tahoe
Nancy Davis (Midwestern), Joan Jackson (Western Canada), Tana Elizondo (Sierra Pacific) and
LeeAnn Crompton (Rocky Mountain) mentioned clubs in their region with young members:
SI/Indianapolis Metro, SI/Victoria Westshore, SI/Calgary, SI/Latinas of Salt Lake, SI/Salt Lake, and
SI/Bountiful SI/Capitola-by-the-Sea, SI/San Francisco.
Joan Jackson (Western Canada) described how clubs in Western Canada recruit young members
and become part of the fabric of their lives as they build families and have children, and
mentioned that SI/Calgary have had 3 or 4 babies so far in their club, as well as a president
under 30!
Tana Elizondo (Sierra Pacific) explained some clubs in her region like SI/San Francisco have
focused recruitment on younger members by having more social activities and recruitment
events in venues where cocktails can be served, as well as posting on social media and
meetup.com.
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Lane Parks (Sierra Nevada) stated that the youngest club in her region is SI/Woodland, and
they’re in their 40s; she expressed that it is challenging to recruit younger members and get
around their major life events (e.g. weddings, births).
Lori Oliver (Golden West) noted that recruiting younger members is also a challenge in her
region.
Regarding online volunteer meet-up sites, Beth Tellekson (North Central) mentioned that
SI/Sioux Falls has a local website they use to announce opportunities, and Joan Jackson
(Western Canada) stated that in her region they use Facebook a lot around projects to rally
volunteers.
Joan Merritt (Northeastern) explained an initiative whereby the region brought on two college
interns to do public awareness. The region pays their member dues, and the interns work with
the region BOD on membership and public awareness. They hope to make the region and clubs
attractive to younger members.
Regarding what materials the chairs need to kick off the recruitment campaign this fall, several
mentioned a PowerPoint template and script would be helpful.
Lori Oliver (Golden West) suggested we consider making a video instead of a PowerPoint, as the
recent trend is moving toward video and smaller “bytes” of information that are easier to
absorb.
Member Retention:
 How do clubs in your region welcome and orient new members?
 How does Soroptimist’s focus on women and girls affect the retention of members?
 Which Soroptimist programs or activities do members seem to enjoy most?
 How are clubs engaging members?
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Regarding new member orientation, several chairs noted that there is no region-wide
orientation program; it is handled at the club level.
LeeAnn Crompton (Rocky Mountain) described the orientation in SI/Ogden that includes both an
orientation program and assignment of a mentor to new members.
Lori Oliver (Golden West) emphasized the steep learning curve of Soroptimist and the
importance of customizing the orientation to the particular new member’s interests to engage
them; she noted there are even many longstanding members who don’t know all of the history!
Viki Hurst (Desert Coast) described the challenges of implementing an orientation in two clubs
she has been a member of. She effectively used an orientation binder full of information so that
new members could have information on hand, even if they don’t read it all at once.
Membership Director Nicole mentioned a survey wherein almost half of new members
responded that they did not receive an orientation when they joined, and that they would like
one.
Regarding activities that members enjoy, the chairs agreed that good hands-on service projects
are best—even a small task can make a new member feel important!
Membership Criteria:
 What questions do you have regarding the membership changes?
 What questions have you heard (or anticipate) from members about these changes?
 With Region Conferences coming up, what can we provide to help you communicate these
changes and help members understand them?
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Membership Director Nicole gave an overview of the changes: that each club shall maintain a
membership of individuals from the community who support SIA’s mission (occupational status
and classification codes have been omitted), and that all previously Regular,
Retired/Unemployed, and Embarking members will now be known as “Regular” members and
that member type is defined as an individual who supports SIA’s vision, mission, and core values.
Membership Assistant Allison mentioned that there will be no change with regard to Life
Members.
Membership Director Nicole explained that the changes go into effect immediately but it will
take headquarters staff some time to make the updates to documents and paperwork, and have
them translated. We’ll have the FAQ and a lot of materials up-to-date by the end of February.
Nicole confirmed for Tana Elizondo (Sierra Pacific) that headquarters will provide a revised
template for club bylaws.
A graphic was requested that could demonstrate the unifying impact of these changes—to show
clearly that we’re not classifying anymore, and all members are equal.
Nancy Davis (Midwestern) asked if staff can provide a status update by mid-March regarding
how far we have gotten in the process of changing documents, and Membership Director Nicole
agreed to, noting that we hope to be completely done by then!
Open Discussion:
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Tana Elizondo (Sierra Pacific) noted her surprise that not all of the clubs in her region even host
an annual recruitment event or membership social, or think about membership. Even large
“healthy” clubs need to recruit, as you never know what may happen!
Lori Oliver (Golden West) commented that her region’s approach for this biennium is to recruit
for retention! They suspect they lose members continuously because members come in one
door and out the other, so they will be training members at conference how to recruit with “an
eye toward the future” and make good matches. It’s about MEMBERSHIP, not NUMBERSHIP!
LeeAnn Crompton (Rocky Mountain) explained some of her concerns around the creation of a
club specifically for Latinas in Salt Lake. Importantly, this is not about segregation, but about
addressing a real need by creating a club space where non-English speaking members can feel
comfortable. She described the dynamic membership of this new, robust club!
Sandra Kieswetter de Halkema (Mexico/Centroamerica) described a successful recruitment
strategy in her region where a new member gives a testimonial of how her participation has
impacted her life. Lori Oliver (Golden West) described how she gave a testimonial when she was
a new member, and that she had intended to quit, but through the experience of giving
testimony ended up recruiting herself!
Submitted by Nicole Simmons and Allison Sylvester