Association Leadership - September/October 2008 - (Page 7)

president’s column Associations that understand how to turn volunteer work into long-term, beneficial experiences are likely to reap many rewards. Beth Brooks, CAE President Texas Society of Association Executives Volunteers. How to attract them, involve them and retain them? Volunteers. The theme of this issue is volunteer leadership, which is appropriate for two reasons: 1) we have a new chairperson, Mary Lange, taking the lead of TSAE; and 2) volunteers are essential to all associations. In short, they bring expertise, energy and enthusiasm. But why do some members volunteer? And since they are so vital to our associations, how do we keep them engaged? When Dr. Arthur Brooks spoke at our annual conference last year, he talked about happiness and gave several suggestions on what makes people happy. Interestingly enough, volunteering was on the short list. People who volunteer are some of the happiest people. Even giving blood (a very intimate form of volunteering) makes you happy because you are making a difference. A new book from ASAE, “Decision to Volunteer,” provides lots of information on why people volunteer, what they get out of it and what will keep them volunteering. The “Decision to Volunteer” survey was designed to understand workplace and professional volunteering in the context of a member’s other community volunteering, and in personal and professional situations. One of the ﬁndings was that association members are already more community active than the average citizen. I remember Leslie Midgley’s speech as incoming TSAE chairman when she talked about the TSAE membership. How you are service oriented. How most of you are volunteers and probably have always been involved in some facet of volunteerism – PTA, Girl Scouts, Little League, homeowners association, churches, political campaigns, Rotary, community events, etc. These experiences shape many of us in our work world and hopefully make us more empathetic. But associations face a challenge in competing for the time and attention of members who already volunteer somewhere else. No association is the same in dealing with volunteers, but many of us struggle with the balance of recruiting, retaining, engaging and educating volunteers – whether they are committee members, board members or the wonderful members who volunteer to stuff bags, speak or help onsite at meetings. I always think you can never have enough members, but sometimes ﬁguring out how to utilize the skills of all the volunteers can be a challenge. Our feature article gives you suggestions on how to understand what your volunteers want, how to involve them and how to keep them satisﬁed. According to “Decision to Volunteer,” the most important reason people volunteer is a desire to help others or support a cause or profession. Along these lines, associations may have to work harder than charities to communicate the professional or societal value of association volunteering. But another reason was that people do it for careerrelated reasons. One high note from the respondents was that they ﬁnd association volunteer makes them a better professional. This is a powerful message associations can use to recruit members and volunteers. In fact, one of the most encouraging ﬁndings was that numerous association members ﬁnd the volunteer experience so rewarding, they consider it a membership beneﬁt in itself. Associations that understand how to turn volunteer work into long-term, beneﬁcial experiences are likely to reap many rewards. At TSAE, we are so blessed to have wonderful volunteers. We could not manage the association without your assistance, leadership, and support. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ◆ September/October 2008 | Association LEADERSHIP 7

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - September/October 2008

Association Leadership - September/October 2008 Contents President’s Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions An Interview with TSAE’s New Chairperson TSAE’s Newest Board Members Vetting Volunteers Orientation of Volunteer Leaders Get on Board – Qualification Considerations Questions to Ask Before Saying Yes Liability Insurance for Volunteer Leaders Committee Planning TSAE’s Annual Golf Outing Congratulations to Our New CAEs Perspectives Association Case Study New Members Community Spotlight San Antonio Beaumont Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com The Lighter Side of Associations

Association Leadership - September/October 2008

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