Region 3,

From the "latest" IEEE Membership Development Report,

"Overall IEEE Membership crept forward this month, rising to a 1.3%
annual gain as compared to the 0.8% increase reported last month. This
marks the first time this year that the year-to-year increase in
membership has exceeded 1% - a not so insignificant accomplishment
considering that back in February, membership was down by 3.3% from the
prior year and at a four-year low. Through the diligent efforts of our
MD volunteers in recruiting and recovering members over the past 9
months, we now stand at the highest level for a November since 2002."

In Region 3, we dropped 172 Members during 2006. While this represents
an overall drop, it does represent a smaller yearly decrease compared to
recent years. I believe we have reached the point where we can begin
growing the overall Membership of Region 3.

For 2007, let's focus on the basics,

1. Make sure that renewing and prospective Members know the value and
benefits of Membership. We've made it easy for you to know and share
this information. It is posted on the web at,

https://www.ieee.org/web/volunteers/membership_dev/index.html

and on the MD Virtual Community at,

https://www.ieeecommunities.org/ieee.md.net

If you're not a member of the MD Virtual Community, let me know and I
will "invite" you.

2. Work directly with the Section Chair and the Section MD Chair. Every
Section has received a Membership Recruitment Kit. Membership
Communications will flow directly to this grassroots team.
Communications will consist of telephone calls, e-notices, web casts and
ongoing mailouts. The next MD web cast will be on January 20. MD
Training will be provided to every Region 3 Section at Southeastcon
2007. Every Section will need to staff the MD Chair position and
encourage attendance at the training seminar.

3. Develop the Student Member pipeline. Sections should connect with and
support Membership growth at their local student Branch. Make sure they
sign up for an IEEE email alias.

4. Develop new Members through Society conferences, seminars and
publications. If you have a IEEE branded conference in your area, please
contact them and provide Membership support. After the conference, make
sure that the list of prospective Members is organized and forwarded to
headquarters, (q.harder at ieee.org).

5. Integrate Membership and Industry Relations efforts. Encourage local
companies to support Membership. Recognize these companies during your
meetings and through your Public Relations efforts. At the national
level, we are developing a new Industry Relations program. I will have
more information in early 2007.

6. Provide incentives for Sections that grow their Membership. More
information on 2007 MD incentives will be available shortly. These
incentives will come from IEEE, IEEE-USA and especially Region 3.

7. Start building the 2007 MD program now. Please don't wait until
February or March to begin your MD campaign. The 2007 Membership
Development Manual is attached. Follow the schedule that is contained in
the manual. Right now you should be promoting renewals and selecting
your 2007 MD team.

Bottom line, we have basically stopped the drop in Region 3 Membership
during 2006. Let's set a goal of 5% or more growth during 2007. Let me
know how I can help you.

Sincerely,

Lee Stogner
Region 3 Membership Development Chair
l.stogner at ieee.org
864-420-9577