Notes from NABE Chapter Officers Teleconference: Transitioning Leadership as New Officers Take Over
August 2005
Give contact information for all officers to all officers!
It will make communication much faster, easier and likely if you provide your officers all the contact info they will need at their fingertips. E-mail it to them.
Job titles versus job FUNCTIONS.
Here is a list of functions the group feels are important to have for a chapter to run smoothly:
- Choosing Topics/Selecting Speakers
- Officers shared the ways their chapters accomplished this.
- In NY, the VP heads a team that is responsible for selecting speakers. The first speaker each year is the recipient of a prestigious award and the June speaker is the NABE president.
- The National Economists Club has two different types of meetings, depending on the audience. The day meetings are held weekly with speakers on a variety of economic topics; and the other meetings are held approximately quarterly in the evening and are devoted to business economics issues.
- The Philadelphia Chapter requests that each officer secure a speaker and also asks each member of its Speaker Committee to secure a speaker.
- An annual conference is a key feature of some chapters’ meeting schedules.
- Partnerships: the Wasatch Chapter unveils the state’s economic outlook at its annual event and will have the new Univ. of Utah president speak at an event this year. The Los Angeles Chapter will partner with the Los Angeles Society of Financial Analysts to host FOMC member Janet Yellen, who is also president of the FRB of San Francisco.
- Emphasizing the importance of education and workforce development, the Richmond Chapter will present an educational panel featuring a panel discussion of workforce issues.
- Special venues: holding events at a Federal Reserve branches and adding an evening/cocktail reception with speakers.
- Running an event
Your board toolkit at http://www.nabe.com/chapters/clcontents.htm has an entire section devoted to this topic. For today’s discussion, we highlighted the importance of a well-run event.
- Membership Officer
This person should oversee the membership renewal drive, welcoming new members at events and gaining corporate sponsorships.
Press Relations Officer
One of your officers should be responsible for this area. It includes getting your events listed in the calendar section of local newspapers. It also includes getting to know, sending invites and greeting local reporters from newspaper/radio/TV. Tips for effective press relations can be found at http://www.nabe.com/mem/clpress.htm.
Marketing
This is a broad category and a big responsibility. It is probably best undertaken as a team effort. My point today was more to make sure it got done . . . in all its aspects . . . rather than assign it to one person. For instance, updating your website, sending announcements can be assigned to one officer. Calling members to get RSVPs is probably best split up among several people who are working closely with the person accepting RSVPs/checks.
Database Officer
It is important to maintain the database for members and nonmembers lists, as this is the source of all your marketing via e-mail, phone calls or regular mail. The membership list, in an Excel format (or other electronic format) should be given to the new membership chair and passed on with each new slate of officers. The keeper of the database should coordinate with both the membership officer and the person sending out announcements/making phone calls to be sure each is working with the most current list.
Make sure to update list after each event with business cards and contact information collected from the gathering.
Treasurer
Keeps track of receipts and outlays. Presents budget to officers at least once per year.
Secretary
The role varies between chapters and often wears many hats.
NABE liaison
Have one person responsible for communicating with national NABE: sending officer contact info, event announcements and being sure chapter officers are aware of national events.
Comments: Chapter officers agreed that tapping/recruiting new officers was a good approach to finding new officers. Speaking with past presidents helped one chapter find terrific, new leaders.
NABE Resources for Chapters
Please see the website: www.nabe.com/chapters
There are links to “resources” and “chapter listings.” The resources link has many features that were developed to assist you in running your chapters. Here are some of the things you will find:
Notes from our quarterly chapter officers teleconferences.
Chapter survey on governance—it’s on the chapter page of the NABE website. Compare your chapter with others; survey was taken during the summer 2004.
Speaker’s list—with contact information for top-notch speakers
An easy way to update NABE with your officer contact info and your upcoming events.
The NABE logo is available—for use in your chapter website, brochures, newsletters, and other materials.
NABE requests that each chapter:
- Send the NABE office your e-mail list of members so we can send them IdeaLink twice a month. The e-mail list would be used for no other purpose. IdeaLink is an email bulletin that provides information for those who use economics in the workplace.
- Distribute NABE brochures at your meetings. The NABE office will give you a supply of membership brochures and information on NABE meetings.
- Keep us informed of your meetings. Send announcements to the NABE office (doolittle@nabe.com) and to Bruce Kratofil (brucek@bjkresearch.com). Bruce will put them up on your chapter website (if we maintain it for you) and will list them on the NABE calendar.
- Send us a list of your new officers after your elections are over.
- Include the following on your website and published materials: “Affiliated with the National Association for Business Economics. Visit www.nabe.com to find out how NABE can benefit you.”
Get Involved: Roundtable teleconferences to give your members more benefits
- NABE has seven roundtables, featuring Corporate Planning, Finance, Health Economics, International, Manufacturing, Regional/Utility and Technology.
- Watch IdeaLink for upcoming events.
- Chapter members receive a discounted rate ($25) to attend a teleconference.
- Some chapters coordinate with Roundtable officers to jointly sponsor events.
Upcoming roundtable teleconferences:
Sept 7: Philadelphia Council for Business Economics: Rosemary Marcuss, Deputy Director BEA, “Recent Innovations to the GDP Accounts”
Sept 15: Health Economic Roundtable “Price Sensitivity in Healthcare: Implications for Healthcare Policy.”
Sept 16: NABE Policy Survey Teleconference: Hear responses NABE members gave to questions regarding monetary, fiscal and housing-related policies.
The cost for each teleconference is $25 for Chapter members, $50 for all other non-NABE attendees, $5 for NABE members, and complimentary for Roundtable members.. Once you register, we'll email the toll-free, dial-in information. *** The Sept 7 teleconference cost is less than $10.00***.
Opportunity – NABE/Fed High School Economics Club
We wanted chapters to be aware of new partnerships that NABE has begun in an effort to enrich its student programs and to further economic education. Kathy Camilli, who is spearheading this initiative, gave an overview. Please see the recent NABE News article:
With the start of the school year this fall, NABE and three Federal Reserve regional banks will launch a pilot program creating high school economics clubs to foster greater understanding about the workings of the U.S. economy and to encourage careers in the profession. NABE board member Kathleen Camilli, with approval of NABE’s board, approached Fed officials earlier this year and the proposal met with enthusiastic support to begin pilot programs with the Federal Reserve Banks of Boston, New York, and the Houston branch of the Dallas Fed during the 2005-06 academic year.
“It will be very worthwhile for NABE’s marketing and branding to move into educational channels. It could be very powerful in terms of encouraging students to not only better understand how the economy works but also consider a career in one of the many fields of economics,” said Camilli, who heads her own consulting firm, Camilli Economics, Inc., in New York City. “When the kids leave school for the adult world, they will remember “NABE” as the organization that helped them learn how the economy works”, Camilli said. The pilot program fits with the Federal Reserve’s extensive educational programs designed for students at all levels as well as consumers and investors.
According to Camilli, the economics club will offer high school students an opportunity to meet with Fed economists and NABE members through regular seminars and discussions, plus visits to sites where economists and other financial professionals are employed. A NABE regional member in each location will work with regional Federal Reserve Bank education specialists to coordinate all activities.
Private sector internships will be awarded to two students in each location, as arranged by NABE. Also, NABE members will work with Fed education specialists to establish an agenda that would include on-site visits and to review student papers at the end of the program year. It will be the Fed’s responsibility to recruit between 25 and 50 high school students to participate in the one-year program and to host one on-site visit to the local Federal Reserve. As incentives to students, the program will offer a college recommendation endorsed by the NABE member, as well as possible internships to winners of written/oral paper competition.
Through its widely respected Fed Challenge competition, the central bank is known to high school students interested in economics. Designed to be less competitive and more inclusive, the economics clubs pilot program will offer a wide range of activities that will encourage young people to see what is possible in terms of career choices. They will have a chance to meet working professionals as well as learn about the economy, Camilli said.
Assuming the pilot program is successful, Camilli said it could be expanded to other Fed /NABE regions. NABE members interested in participating should contact Camilli or chapter presidents in the localities involved in the pilot program.
Chapter officers in attendance:
Hartford – Don Klepper-Smith
Los Angeles –Lynda Lo-Hill
National Economists Club (Washington, D.C.) – Eric Graber
New York – Cary Leahey
Philadelphia – Mike Donnelly
Richmond – Jackie Hudson
Sacramento – Mikail Toymasyan
Seattle – Alexander Rist
Wasatch (Salt Lake City) – Kent Mitchie
NABE attendees:
Moderator, Laurie King
(Board member of NABE, Chair Chapter Committee, Past president Los Angeles Chapter, Senior Writer at Capital Guardian, 310-996-6208 or lajk@capgroup.com)
John Silvia
(Board member, NABE; Co-chair, Chapter Committee; Chief Economist, Wachovia Bank)
Rosemary Marcuss
(President of NABE; Chapter Committee; Deputy Director, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis)
Kathleen Camilli
(Board member NABE; Chapter Committee – Student Chapters; President, Camilli Economics)
Susan Doolittle
- Executive Director, NABE. Contact her at (202) 463-6223 or at doolittle@nabe.com