Active Member Program
by Jean Fudge

SWO STC is kicking off the new Active Member Program.

Members earn points by participating in chapter activities. When eight points are earned, the member qualifies for a special polo shirt that identifies him/her as an active member of the SWO STC chapter.

Our chapter president, Sarah Wigser, got the idea from the Orlando chapter, where the program has been up and running successfully for three years. The program is designed to recognize the bedrock importance of member participation.

Eight types of activities will qualify for points:

  • SWO STC Meeting Attendance (max of 5)
  • Bring a Guest to a Meeting (max of 5)
  • Join or Renew Membership in STC and the SWO Chapter (max of 1)
  • Refer a new member of STC and the SWO Chapter (max of 5)
  • Program Presentation (max of 2)
  • Article Published in SWO STC Newsletter (max of 2)
  • Committee Membership (SWO STC) (max of 1)
  • Elected Officer (SWO STC) (max of 1)

Each activity will earn one point, with the exception of “Bring a Guest” and “Committee Membership,” which will earn two points.

To promote diversity, a maximum number of activities will qualify toward the program. For example, there are eight meetings between September and April, but members can earn a maximum of five points for meeting attendance, even if they attend all eight meetings. The goal is not to discourage attending all the meetings, but to encourage members to venture out into other types of participation. Also, there is a maximum of one committee membership because we want a member to devote high quality to the one committee, instead of diluting energy among more committees. See Table 1 for an example of the activities and possible points.

The reward will be a special polo shirt that can only be earned – not bought. The polo will be of high quality, to pass the “business casual” test. It will contain the STC logo and identify the wearer as an Active Member of the SWO STC Chapter. Hopefully, members will be able to wear the shirt to work as a sign of chapter pride. It can also send a message to the employer and coworker that the wearer is committed to the profession and self improvement.

The program is already underway. Those who attended the September and October meetings have already started to accumulate points. Calculation will stop at the end of April, when points will be tallied and shirts will be ordered.

Any questions can be addressed to me, Jean Fudge, chair of the Active Member Program committee, at vp@stc-swo.org or 513-932-8158. Other members of the committee are Dave Kimmel and Sarah Wigser.

We hope this will be an enjoyable and rewarding program for everyone who gets involved!

Example of Points Earned through the SWO STC Active Member Program

Activity
Points/
Activity
Max. No. Qualifying Activities
No. of Activities
Points Earned
 Comments
SWO STC Meeting Attendance
1
5
6
5
 Regular Monthly Meetings (through April) or Nov. Workshop
Bring a Guest
2
5
0
0
 Non member, or member attending for the first time
Join or Renew Membership in STC and the SWO Chapter
1
1
1
1
  
Refer a new member of STC and the SWO chapter
1
5
0
0
  
Program Presentation
1
2
0
0
 At SWO Meeting or Workshop
Article Published in SWO STC Newsletter
1
2
1
1
  
Committee Membership (SWO STC)
2
1
1
1
 SWO Committees include programs, employment, membership, historian, newsletter, web, and public relations
Elected Officer (SWO STC)
1
1
0
0
  
Totals
10
22
9
8
  

Table 1: The SWO STC Active Member program consists of eight activities that will earn points. The Points/Activity column specifies how many points can be earned by performing an activity. The Max. No. Qualifying Activities column specifies the number of times a member can receive credit for performing that activity. No. of Activities is the number of times a member performed the activity. Points Earned indicates the amounts of points the member earned by performing the activity.