News from the Prez

July 1, 2009

IABC/Tucson Chapter Prez Paul Tumarkin's Letter to Members

Dear Tucson IABC'er,
We've just transitioned to your new board and had a great retreat this past weekend. Thanks to your input on the recent Member Needs Survey, as well as your ongoing dialogue with the past and present board members, we've come up with some exciting ideas for the coming year. Due to the times as well as what we're hearing that you all need, things will definitely be different.

In all, the board is talking about IABC Tucson 2.0--a very exciting direction. So let's talk about some specifics.

What have you said?
Again, this past survey helped us so much. While our collective board gut was telling us that we needed some targeted efforts, the survey really helped us see the entire picture. Overall, we've learned that the economy has hit hard, and our members' priorities are shifting. Along with the professional development opportunities that IABC affords our members, folks are desiring a much greater focus on building connections and networking with other professionals.

We've also heard that, in the past, our events have been difficult for some people to get to--both in terms of times and locations.

In all, you've simply said that we need to do things differently to make IABC fit your needs. So that's what we're going to do.

What is IABC Tucson 2.0?
In all, your new board is going to strive to deliver an IABC experience that's easier to access--both online and offline. Your new IABC Tucson will be more distributed, easier to plug into, and more effective to interact with.

Online, we're taking a lesson from the Web 2.0 explosion. In that world, it's all about creating networks and connections, and then leveraging those connections to get what you need as an individual, right?

To that end, via our website at www.iabctucson.com, IABC Tucson 2.0 will implement clear strategies that will allow you to plug via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other avenues. That way, we plan on increasing how effectively we keep you informed and up-to-date, as well as how you can leverage the greater IABC network of 16,000 professionals across the globe while tapping into the Tucson communications scene.

We've learned that we need to allow you connect from those places where YOU live and work. Offline, we plan to deliver much of the same. Instead of holding more
formal monthly professional development events at a single location, we will instead be offering monthly networking opportunities at convenient, interesting locations throughout Tucson. Our plan is to hold ten of these events throughout the year. We're dreaming big, so if these get too large, we might split them up into separate, smaller groups. We'll see how things develop, but however they play out, there will be no fee to members for these sessions. In most cases, the only cost to you as a paid member will be a self-selected meal or refreshment. (Non-members will be welcome to join in for a small fee.)

In addition, we will hold one in-depth professional development session each quarter. We're putting our ideas together for our first large PD event to be held in October, so we'll get that info out to you as soon as the plans come together. We got some great ideas from the survey, so we'll be using that as our conceptual springboard.

What can you do?
IABC--like most things in life--is what you make of it. We're encouraging everyone to pick one project, no matter how small, and get involved. Help plan or host a networking event. Find a space where IABC can hold a quarterly professional development workshop. Help plan a social action event. Invite a few fellow IABC'ers to have lunch. Or just help get the word out by tweeting.

We're looking to you for ideas, energy and involvement. You'll be hearing about our calendar as our first events begin to take shape in the coming weeks, so set some time aside for us this fall.

We look forward to getting to know each and every one of you. Please feel free to contact any one of us, any time.

Cheers from your IABC Tucson Board,
Paul Tumarkin, President
Daphne Gilman, Vice President
Juleen Eichinger, Secretary
Karen Lutrick, Finance Director
Elena Acoba, Communications and Networking Director
Monica Surfaro-Spigelman, Tech/Online Presence Director
Marsha Baker, Indies Special Interest Group Coordinator