Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

May/June 2000

Come One, Come All
by Carol A. Harper, Derby City Chapter, Kentucky DDS

HOW IMPORTANT IS RECRUITMENT? IT is the lifeblood of the organization. Without recruitment, the organization would experience a slow and gradual death. I am sure every chapter realizes that this is the case and is always looking for ways to continue to draw new members as well as retain the current members. I know from experience at the Derby City chapter that is always a topic of discussion at every meeting. I would like to share some of our experiences or should I say “experiments.” The expression, “serve food and they will come,” leaps to mind. We always have success with bake sales and luncheons. We raised over a hundred dollars during our last bake sale! Since we share the building with other private businesses, we advertised and invited them to participate in the event. A chili cook-off contest also did quite well. During Appreciation Week, we had a breakfast for NADE members. We also have tee-shirt sales twice a year and sold cookbooks in order to raise money. We continuously promote the benefits of belonging to the National Association of Disability Examiners. We cite the many accomplishments and important changes that NADE has been instrumental in implementing. When we return from the national and regional conferences, we hold brown bag meetings and share the information we received with our staff. This sharing of information enables members, who are unable to attend, to keep apprised of happenings on the national scene and by keeping informed, they can see the value of their dues. We make it easy for new members to join the organization by allowing them to pay in two to four installments. Members talk to non-members about NADE; we talk to every new training class and have question and answer sessions with them. Promoting the professionalism of the organization has been very fruitful for us and we have gained several new members. I am sure there are many wonderful plans and ideas that have been implemented by all chapters. We need to continue to share recruitment information with each other by mail and at the meetings. We must continue to grow strong so our voice can be heard.