Minutes from the Membership Development Committee Meeting
Thursday, November 4, 2004
8:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Offices of CBIZ Business Services
In Attendance: Michele Katz, Chair
Valerie Beck
Debbie Gidley
Sue Rolek
Sharan Tash Mishoulam
Lindsay Tilchen
I.
Welcome and Introductions
Michele introduced new committee member Sharan Tash Mishoulam.
II.
Wish List Status
Our wish list is getting much shorter!
a.
Business Card Status
President Claire Caithamer gave the o.k. for the Membership Development Committee to
have NAWBO business cards printed. Debbie will check the status of this and take
whatever steps are needed get the cards printed for the committee.
b.
New Committee Members
We have a great committee, but we could use more help. Michele encouraged committee
members to keep prospecting for committee members, in addition to prospecting for new
members.
III.
Calendar
a.
Wrap-up for October 29, 2004
Michele asked Sharan and Lindsay to recap the October 29th breakfast. Both said they
thought the breakfast was nice, and was attended by a good group of people.
Only problem they saw was we ran a bit over and not everyone had the opportunity to
introduce themselves without being rushed. The suggestion was made to made the
attendee introductions come first, before the NAWBO presentation.
ACTION ITEM: Debbie to rearrange breakfast agenda and have attendee
introductions come before the NAWBO presentations.
Michele encouraged the committee members in attendance to follow-up with the people
they met, being careful that only one person call (don’t want to overwhelm the prospect)
and to call within 5-10 days.
ACTION ITEM: Debbie to e-mail list of attendees to Sharan and Lindsey who will
assign calls to Chris and Nancy to follow up with breakfast attendees.
b.
November 12, 2004
We’re all set for November 12th. The event will take place at the Wyndham Schaumburg,
800 National Parkway. Chris Burbidge will introduce Kara, who will present the
program in Claire’s absence (Claire’s wedding is Saturday the 13th!)
c.
December 10, 2004
Citizen’s Insurance will be the sponsor of this breakfast. The East Bank Club is the
preferred location as it is slightly less expensive and the parking situation is much easier.
Debbie will confirm with the EBC this week.
d.
Other Upcoming NAWBO Events
Michele reminded the committee of the following events and encouraged their attendance
at each:
November 10th – Holiday Marketplace
December 2nd – Mega Networking at the 410 Club
December 10th – Prospect Breakfast at the East Bank Club
December 16th – Mega Networking in Tinley Park
e.
Misc. Issues
We want to change the location of the May breakfast from Schaumburg to the Naperville
area. We feel we need to reach out more in that area based on the discussion at the last
joint membership meeting.
The committee is recommending trying wine & cheese events in addition to breakfasts.
It was suggested to try the wine & cheese on February 16 (note date change from
February 18th).
ACTION ITEM: Debbie to check to make sure we can have an evening reception
on February 16th instead of a breakfast on February 18th.
IV
Trade Shows
NAWBO will have a booth at the City of Chicago’s Building New Partnerships Expo on
November 18th at McCormick Place. The expo runs from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – we need 4
volunteers for 2 shifts.
10:00 – 12:00
12:00 – 2:00
V.
Call Assignments
Michele Katz & Irene Rozansky (MRC)
Valerie Beck & Nancy Godinez
The committee split up the list of “warm prospects.” Michele encouraged everyone to market the
Holiday Party while making their calls.
VI.
Membership Report
We are behind where we want to be in our goals for new members. Our goal is 180 members,
which translates to 15 members per month, or 60 through October. Michele reminded everyone
that it’s nothing to be discouraged about, but we do need to step up our efforts and encourage
everyone to make calls, attend events and sell NAWBO whenever appropriate.
VII.
Other Issues
In response to a question from Sharan Mishoulam, Debbie said there is no formal “buddy system”
in place at this time. Sharan had ideas about getting something like this started and Debbie
encouraged her to call Wendy Spreenberg and share her ideas.
Sue Rolek will contact Amy Littleton and Sandra Hord to find out how we can help with
increasing NAWBO’s visibility from both a PR and an affiliates standpoint.
Sharan said something that would be good for bringing suburban members into the fold is to work
out a shuttle service to city events for our suburban members.
VIII.
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be held December 10, 2004, immediately following the Prospect Breakfast.
(Location to be confirmed.)
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 a.m.