How Agencies Show Support of Local Chapters

NetVU Chapters depend on support of their member agencies in order to be successful. All Chapters have benefitted by the thousands of man-hours generously volunteered by users, and without the support of agency principals, none of the work would be possible. But many agencies go beyond the volunteering of time; many donate infrastructure support as well like conference calls or printing of materials.

In addition, when someone on an agency’s staff receives an award, designation or recognition, it’s a great idea to acknowledge their efforts within the community and with your local Chapter. David Ford, president, Ford Insurance Agency of Traverse City, MI, puts this into practice every day. “We feel it is very important for our customers, clients, fellow staff members, and our competition to know someone at Ford Insurance accomplished something significant,” he explained.

Ford Insurance uses its outside ad agency to take the information and provide the PR. When Venus Tondreau of Ford Insurance was recognized as the Most Valuable Performer by the Michigan NetVU Group, David posted her accomplishment on their website, in their local paper, and The Grand Traverse Women’s Magazine.  As David put it, “Recognition keeps us motivated and validated.”

How do you recognize your members’ activities? 
 

Sunshine State Greeting Attendees at NetVU Conference

It is always a great opportunity for the local Chapter to showcase itself when the NetVU Conference is in its backyard. This year the Sunshine State Chapter will be greeting attendees on the first day of the conference with giveaways and a “Welcome Smile.”

If your Chapter is near the destination of a future conference, NetVU would invite you to have a table to greet attendees as well. Just let us know.

Future conference dates:

2012 NetVU Conference
April 26-29, 2012
Anaheim, CA 

2013 NetVU Conference
March 14-17, 2013
Grapevine, TX 

2014 NetVU Conference
March 6-9, 2014
Nashville, TN 

Vertafore Sales Wants To Be a Part of Your Meetings

Building a close relationship with your local Vertafore rep will give your Chapter and members a direct conduit for providing feedback on Vertafore products. Also, if a local rep knows about the Chapter, when they talk with new agency members of the Vertafore family, they can send them to your Chapter.

An even greater value is to have Vertafore reps participate in your meetings. They can arrange for product demos like WorkSmart, talk about activities happening at Vertafore corporate, or bring someone in from Vertafore University to provide some education.

This close relationship is also a great way for your members to provide feedback to Vertafore knowing they have a local person who will be taking your comments and concerns back to corporate.

If you’d like to have Vertafore at your next meeting, contact Mark Wolfe, Director of Field Sales at mwolfe@vertafore.com or (404) 939-6533.

Leadership Workshop Set for June 10-11 in Grapevine, TX

There are two specific challenges all Chapter leaders face — how to run great meetings that will provide the best possible training and networking opportunities for your members and, second, how to attract and involve more people like you to grow your volunteer base. To get that and more, be sure to attend the Leadership Workshop.

• Great keynote speakers
• Focus on providing valuable takeaways you can apply immediately
• Two days of networking opportunities to learn from your peers

Join us June 10-11, 2011 at the Embassy Suites at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Grapevine, TX. NetVU will provide one complimentary registration and hotel room for each Chapter. If you would like to bring additional officers to the leadership workshop this year, Chapters can earn up to four additional free registrations and hotel rooms. 

Chapter Awards – Let NetVU Know How Great You’re Doing

Chapter growth and development is very important to NetVU National and there is some exceptional work being done by our chapters. This year, for the first time, NetVU will be acknowledging those outstanding chapters with three new awards:

• Chapter of the Year – Recognizes the Chapter that grows and is, as a whole, outstanding in every way. Specific areas being considered are:
  • Participation in the NetVU Community
  • Having a strong connection/relationship with Vertafore
  • How has the chapter given back to its community and the industry
  • Growth in volunteers, development of new chapter leaders, participation in chapter meetings and growth in the number of events.
   
• Phoenix – Recognizes the Chapter that has the most improvement during the year.
• Rookie of the Year – Recognizes a new Chapter that has succeeded well their first year.

The winning chapters will be announced this year at the Leadership Workshop, June 10-11 in Grapevine, TX. In subsequent years, the Chapter Award winners will be announced at the National Conference, beginning with the 2012 conference.

So, if you want your chapter to be considered for next year’s awards, let us know what you’re up to and how your chapter is making a difference.
 

Education

Chapter leadership isn’t easy especially if you feel you’re doing it all alone. As they say, “Many hands make work light,” so growing your volunteer base is important. Two great resources you need are the Chapter Leaders Playground and the Lazy Leader Road Show.

The Chapter Leaders Playground is an online support community for volunteer leaders from across organizations. It offers Chapter Leaders a great opportunity to “network with other leaders, learn from each other, tap into the Playground Library resources, and participate in webinars to help you create a surplus of volunteers and outrageous results for your Chapter!”
 
Membership is FREE - and includes 30+ how-to webinars per year, which are FREE for members! Just visit: Chapter Leaders Playground.  

The Lazy Leader Road Show is part of the Playground and is a series of half-day seminars schedule around the country to teach how to manage and recruit new volunteers from among your Chapter membership.

Upcoming Chapter Leaders Playground webinars: