Revitalizing Your Board

• Communicate, communicate, and communicate! Let your members know you're back in business! Get your chapter back on members' radar screens and onto their calendars and lists of priorities. Announce your new board, new schedule of events, and new educational offerings. Invite and encourage members to become more involved.
  
  
• Work hard to make your first event a high value event. The speaker and topic will make a big difference, but board members need to concentrate on making sure the first event of the year is well attended. Members also want good networking value out of events. Items like nametags for participants and table assignments to encourage networking are two ways to add value to your events. Your board should be highly visible at all events. Be sure to distribute your calendar of upcoming events.
  
  
• Collect contact information at registration. You'll want to follow up with your attendees, so get their contact information, including e-mail addresses.
  
  
• Follow up with current and prospective members. Follow-up to the year's first meeting is essential. Thank attendees for coming and remind them of the practical benefits like the presentation and networking opportunities. Reinforce your RMA calendar of events. Ask for feedback by including a brief, easy-to-complete survey. Let members know that your RMA chapter is back in business.
  
  
• Recognize your board members at all of your meetings and within their Banks. When you introduce and thank board members at your general membership meetings, other members will note the recognition extended. When you inform board members' superiors at their bank of their contributions to the local RMA chapter, their bank colleagues will also notice that they are appreciated.
  
  
• Have fun along the way. People get involved in RMA activities to add value to their local banking community and grow professionally. But, they also want to enjoy the experience. Ensure that your board has fun getting things done! Some RMA chapters meet for drinks, dinner, luncheons, or golf outings as part of their planning process.
  
  
• Re-evaluate the current makeup of the board and either expand the board or replace the ineffective volunteers, if necessary. Measure board member commitment and involvement. If you find you have some less-than-committed board members, ask them to consider stepping up their involvement. If a board member confirms he or she cannot add value to the board, find someone else to serve.
  
  
• Set a strong leadership structure to follow going forward. It is important to have a strong leadership structure in place, meetings scheduled, tasks assigned, a vision for this chapter, and a set of attainable goals.
  
  
• Get senior bank management involved in your first general membership program. Getting senior management involved from the beginning can help to encourage bank-wide participation. A senior credit risk or a lending panel involving senior officers from area banks is a good possibility for your first program of the year. Another option is to set up a VIP table at your event and extend a special invitation to these senior officials.
  
  
• Survey your membership. Give them what they want! Consider surveying your membership to identify their educational needs and areas of interest. RMA can provide you with sample surveys. There are many opportunities to gather feedback. You may survey by e-mail, as part of your newsletter, or at your first general membership meeting.
  
  
• Have Fun. Make this an adventure and be sure to have plenty of resources handy to offer help and provide guidance through the upcoming year. If you need additional resources, do not be afraid to hire someone or find administrative help. You may always call on your regional executive (RE) for ideas or contacts to help you rebuild your board.

For more information and for additional resources, please contact William Githens at bgithens@rmahq.org or 215-446-4124 or contact the Regional Manager for your area.