Association Management Workshops

by Victorialei "Nohea" Haka'ahiki, RP

The two association management workshops at the Spring Convention produced incredible member/delegate participation. The interactive participation and the enthusiasm of those attending the workshops created a flurry of ideas and solutions to the problems and scenarios presented.

The Board: How to Gain from the Pain

Aloha! Thanks to the Hawaii Paralegal Association for a great convention! Looking forward to Pittsburgh!

This workshop was led by Jill Warner, outgoing Region V Director, Susan Witherspoon, outgoing Region III Director and now Vice President for Profession Development, and me.

We divided those attending into four groups. Each group was provided with different scenarios. The workshop went beyond the typical discussion. Each group was asked to role-play or create a skit revolving around the problem presented to it, addressing possible solutions. Each group presented its skit to the entire group of participants.

The role-playing was awesome! Although the scenes produced by each group were hilarious, they were all too familiar: problems keeping board members motivated, veteran board members incapable of change, troublesome board members, and lack of participation.

The solutions offered by the groups through their skits and discussion at the end of the workshop were invaluable.

The Isolated Member Syndrome: How to Better Serve the Geographically Isolated Member

The idea for this workshop arose from the problems that associations, such as my own, the Hawaii Paralegal Association, have reaching out to members who are not situated in the vicinity of the local association. It is difficult for these members to attend meetings, functions, and seminars and to participate fully.

This workshop was designed as a round-table discussion with representatives of member associations Hawaii, San Francisco, Washington state, San Diego, Illinois and Cincinnati. We had initial assistance and input from Cathy Heath, RP, of Illinois, Fran Chapple of Washington state, Rae Allen, RP, of San Francisco, and Carolyn Saenz of Cincinnati. Each provided situations faced by their associations in dealing with isolated members.

Membership Growth Coordinator Carolyn Saenz moderated this workshop, which addressed questions such as:

• Are some of your members geographically prevented from attending association events, meetings and other functions?
• Do these members often drop their membership because they live so far away and feel they do not get the full benefit of membership?
• What can you do to reach out to these isolated members?

The workshop was well attended. Participation by the attendees was higher than anticipated. The attendees not only shared outreach problems faced by their associations, but together offered ideas and solutions to address their problems. These included forming chapters; instituting and funding traveling board meetings; and using video-conferencing, e-mail, listservs, and enhanced websites.

I personally observed the level of enthusiasm from those who attended this workshop and am confident that many associations will soon see formations of chapters within the next year or two.

In fact, the Hawaii association has since created an ad hoc outreach committee and is diligently working with members on the island of Maui to form a chapter on that island. I would love to hear from associations that are incorporating ideas generated from this workshop. Write me at membership@paralegals.org.

In closing, let me emphasize the value that NFPA conventions, workshops, conferences, and other networking opportunities bring to each member and member association. Having the opportunity to meet other members, discuss similar problems, and offer or discover solutions are valuable benefits you get from NFPA membership. Please take advantage of these benefits for your personal gain and growth, as well as for your association's gain and growth.