Member Services Report

This is my final Member Services Committee report for NJAWBO Mercer Chapter. I am happy to report that we are approximately 90 members strong. That is an 80% increase in member count of almost two years ago. That kind of increase is not due to 5 or 6 people on a committee, but rather to a whole chapter who believes in the organization and its members and welcomes and encourages NJAWBO membership. Teamwork is essential and very special. Thank you all for your support.

But I also must thank the Member Services Committee who over lunch about 20 months ago decided to set what we thought were realistic goals - 70-80% retention rates and 8-10% growth rates. Not too difficult if you are in the 50-member range. We took our jobs seriously and developed strategies to make sure we met our goals. We thought a good job in two years would be a chapter membership of 65 or dare we think maybe 70!

So, thank you to Linda Gardner, the incoming VP of Member Services. Linda sent the "miss you" cards to missing members, developed and coordinated our new member mentoring program and created a tracking system of who attended each function. Thank you to Amanda Puppo who as Deputy VP of Member Services jumped in when needed, developed and approached a list of prospective women business owners in our area, and then took on the responsibility for the Open Houses. She also jumps at any chance she gets to talk about the benefits of NJAWBO membership. Thank you to Eileen Entin, who maintains our mailing list of members and prospective members, provides labels and information to all in the chapter who need them. Her historical perspective (since many of us have been with NJAWBO only 2-3 years) can make, break or improve an idea. Thank you to Liz Scafa whom, as Nominations Chair wanted to learn more about the organization and bring people in. Liz is like the clean-up hitter. She developed and approached a list of prospective members, assists in the mentoring program, is developing the breakfasts we will be having, and just pitches in where she is needed. She makes sure we have the support to reach our goals. And thank you to Linda Principe, a 14-year NJAWBO member, who had held chapter officer positions in the past and who now just wants to follow-up with prospective members who attend our meetings or register their name on the website for Mercer Chapter. She calls herself our Ambassador and she has been phenomenal in that position. Linda calls every one of our prospects to learn more about them, tell them about our next meeting and encourage them to join. Many of you know Linda from that function alone. Recently another long-time member, Judy Tapiero, joined her. Thank you Judy! But just because we had different areas of responsibility, doesn’t mean we each did our own thing! We all supported each other. And for me that made all the difference in the world. We really enjoy working together and have all become friends.

I encourage each and every one of you to participate in some way in NJAWBO. We on Member Services learned we had to make our overall goals manageable, so we did it in small incremental steps. You will see that Liz Scafa has done an amazing job as Nominations Chair this year. Member Services has been divided into different sections and there are still a lot of opportunities on that committee. However, each committee is structured the same way. Not all of us can volunteer. Some of us can only give a small finite amount of our time. Let people know what you can do and we will find you something you can handle. It is so important to get involved. Not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also because it can be good for your business. When people know YOU they are more willing to refer their clients, friends and family to you for help. Many of us will attest to that.

Thank you all for giving me such an amazing opportunity to serve NAJWBO Mercer. I will always treasure these experiences, friendships and the knowledge gained.

Respectfully submitted,
Paula Gould
VP Member Services – Mercer Chapter