Report of the MCAA Membership Committee
Words: Dick DentingerThe MCAA has had a very successful year since the last Annual Meeting. We operated virtually an entire year without the services of a membership manager. However, our Executive Director has done a good job of keeping the associations focus on recruiting and retaining members. During the past year, we created a small, four color prospect brochure that promotes the key advantages of membership in the MCAA. We developed three full page four color advertisements that have been running alternatively in Masonry Magazine keeping reader's attention on membership in the MCAA. One obstacle that we must work hard this coming year to overcome is the misconception by mason contractors that they are already members. Many contractors believe that if they receive Masonry Magazine or if they are members of a local association, then they are members of the national association. We need to develop a campaign that educates non-members about this misconception.
Unlike the past several years, we have decided to once again have a strong member presence on the Masonry Showcase exhibit floor. We will have a membership booth and Board members have agreed to man the booth to recruit those non-member attendees of the Showcase into the association. I'd urge all of you to stop by the booth when you are visiting the Showcase exhibits during the next two days. In addition, if you see someone with a name badge that does not have a blue MCAA Member ribbon on it, please talk to them about joining the association.
Also during this past year, we have been sending our bi-weekly newsletters through the internet to our member's discussion activities of the association. This email newsletter effort will be highly affective in keeping members focus on the association and its accomplishments.
The Work Ahead!
During the coming months, the association will be seeking a new membership manager to build on the success of this past year. As good of a job as we did this past year, having a full time focus on recruiting new members will benefit our entire organization. In addition, we must revise the badly outdated membership video which will be an integral part of our future membership recruitment efforts. We will continue to run ads in
Masonry Magazine as well as highlighting recruitment on our website. In addition, MCAA staff has identified 5,000 new mason contracting firms that have never received recruitment information. We plan to solicit those 5,000 firms by early summer.
Lastly, the MCAA website has been an extremely exciting and effective development in our efforts to both recruit and inform members and non-members. Communication with mason contractors is vital to convincing them that membership in the association is worth their investment. With 8,000 hits everyday, we now have an incredible opportunity to educate and sell contractors on membership in the MCAA.