“National Management Association’s Board of Directors -
Who Are We?”
The hundreds of NMA members who attend our Chapter Leadership Conferences, the National Conference, regional Council meetings and your own monthly Chapter meetings each year have the opportunity to interact with members of the NMA Board of Directors. Yet, thousands of you do not. As Chairman, I’d like to take the opportunity to share with you what they do.
There’s an old
management maxim called “staff for effectiveness”.
As far as our Association’s Board goes, I believe that sums up how we
operate. Our Board members are just
like you… they started out as members of a local chapter and then gradually
began to get more involved. Nearly
all of them worked their way through the chapter “chairs”, eventually
serving as chapter presidents and then deciding to represent their chapters on
the national level.
To some extent, Board
members start all over again. They
begin as “Board members” where they all serve on two Function/Standing
Committees… such as Association Development, Professional Development,
Recognition, etc. After a time,
many will choose to run for one of six Area Chairman positions or be asked to
serve as Chairman of one of the standing committees.
At that time, they join the five National Officers as members of the
Executive Board. Still others run
for National Secretary or National Treasurer and then work their way through the
chairs again, eventually reaching Chairman of the Board if they so choose.
The mission of a Board
member is to represent his or her assigned chapter(s) on the national level…
to bring your issues, concerns, and ideas to the table.
In that vein, they are responsible for the health and growth of the
Association. Remember, too, that
NMA is somewhat unique. We are a
“Federation of Affiliated Chapters”. Most
of your benefits and services are delivered at the local level… from your
chapter leadership directly to you. The
national organization, in many ways, serves as the “silent partner”… there
to support the chapters, share best practices, provide recognition to chapters
and chapter leaders, and train chapter officers.
It is our job to make sure that our local chapters are focused on
providing value to you and intent on being strong business partners with
sponsoring companies or within specific communities.
Each spring, NMA holds
three Chapter Leadership Conferences (CLCs) around the country.
Chapter officers study leadership skills, network with other chapter
leaders, and learn new and innovative strategies for effective chapter
operations. The Board, working with
the NMA staff, is in charge of these meetings… determining agendas, often
leading many of the workshops and discussion groups, and mentoring local chapter
representatives. It’s our best
tool for making sure that you belong to a professional society… not a knife
and fork social club.
NMA’s National
Conference also falls under the purview of the Board of Directors.
On a broad scale, we work with the staff to develop the Educational
Forums, strengthen the chapter awards program, and provide attendees with a
quality experience. Board members
who and live and work in the city where the Conference is being held, take on a
more hands-on assignment of providing hospitality, working with the hotel, and
handling the myriad of details which make our Conferences so professionally
produced.
Perhaps the greatest
accomplishments of our Board members occur at Board meetings.
In area meetings, Directors are able to examine chapter activity reports,
identify chapters that might need extra “service” from Directors, and be on
the lookout for tomorrow’s Board members.
In committee meetings, they monitor NMA educational program offerings,
make sure the awards program deals with contemporary workplace trends, help
target new businesses for possible NMA chapters, and choose member benefit
programs which they feel are appropriate for a professional organization.
To paraphrase a popular
marketing slogan, “You’re in good hands with your Board of Directors”.
These men and women are dedicated to servicing your needs and
strengthening our NMA chapters. As
my year as Chairman begins to wind down, I also want to thank them for their
loyalty, dedication, and service. They’re
a great group and I have been proud to serve alongside each and every one of
them.
As a gentle reminder, I
hope to meet and greet many of you during our NMA National Conference.
Our 2001 Conference will be held at the Denver Marriott Tech Center on
September 22nd - 24th.
This year’s Educational Forums are being presented in partnership with
the Daniels College of Business Center for Management Development at the
University of Denver. What an
excellent opportunity for every member to obtain top-rate personal and
professional development. Hope to
see you there!
2001 NMA Chairman of the Board