I think Aaron and Jim have made excellent points. The key is that your members go home from the meeting thinking what a great experience it was to have attended, whether that was because of an intriguing technical (or nontechnical) presentation, a chance to talk to peer professionals about challenges with their careers, being recognized for contributing to the chapter or the profession, or even winning a door prize! The critical thing is that they don't think, "Well there was a complete waste of an evening!"
What this means is that the chapter exec need to think carefully about what their membership is likely to value, and then work to ensure that is what is delivered each meeting. Also, after investing so much effort into planning a great meeting, assuming "If I build it, they will come" is a bad idea - email reminders, etc can boost your participation. If you have some large organizations in your chapter (like Cummins in your case), then having local committee members reminding their organization's members and potential new members can make a real difference. To Jim's point, it is a bit chicken and egg - a big turnout often equals a successful meeting, and a successful meeting helps generate the next big turnout.
Good luck!
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E. Andrew Payzant
Distinguished R&D Staff
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge TN
865-235-4981
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2023 11:54
From: Roberta Mullins
Subject: Chapter meetings
I would like to know what will compel Materials professionals to attend & participate in monthly chapter meetings.
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Roberta Mullins
Met/Chem/Applied Mechanics Lab Manager
Cummins Incorporated
Columbus IN
(812) 350-5079
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