Dear IABC/Chicago Members and Friends,
The 2010-2011 IABC/Chicago programming year begins in three weeks with one of the most up-to-date and informative sessions available on the topic of healthcare communications. We timed this session early in our programming year to prepare communicators and HR professionals for the anticipated outpouring of questions in relation to the impact of healthcare reform legislation. Read more about the session here, and be sure to reserve your place at the Sept. 8 event.
Although the chapter’s professional development programming begins with the Sept. 8 event, your 2010-2011 IABC/Chicago board of directors has been working throughout the summer to plan and prepare for one of the potentially most exciting and challenging years in the recent history of the chapter. If we see even half of the ideas generated at the board’s July strategy session come to fruition, the energy and excitement within our chapter will be amazing.
Our chapter’s primary focus this year is on member recruitment, retention and involvement. We need to be better at attracting potential members and helping them to engage with other members in meaningful, productive and fun ways. We need to find ways to tap into the experience, passion and skills of our current members. We need to demonstrate the value of IABC membership to you, and help you share your experiences as an IABC member with others. We need to raise awareness of IABC/Chicago as a group of professionals who can, and do, make a difference within the organizations and communities in which we work and live.
This is the year for you to take the next step in realizing value from your IABC/Chicago membership. Regardless of how much, or how little, you’ve connected with fellow IABC members in the past, expect this year to be different. Make this year different!
For more information on our plans and opportunities, contact me via email (president@iabcchicago.com), telephone (1-847-977-8172) or face-to-face at an IABC event-perhaps at the Sept. 8 luncheon?
Tom Keefe, ABC
2010-2011 Chapter President
IABC/Chicago
PS-What better way to launch our membership focus than with a membership month promotion? We will waive the application fee for anyone joining or renewing an IABC membership in September. More information to come!