DBIO Recommended Practices - Membership Committee

Function: The Membership Committee serves the Division as the welcoming point for new members and as recruiting and retaining force for the Division. The Membership Chair serves the Division by maintaining accurate and timely records of the Division membership. The Committee handles the recognition of the 50-year Landmark Members and other recognition of member anniversaries.

Appointment: Members of the Committee are selected jointly by the Membership Committee Chair and the Division Chair-Elect prior to the new calendar year.  The Committee should represent a broad geographic spread of members in the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division.  Members of the Committee may be new members of the Division to foster greater participation and involvement in the Division. The term of appointment is two years, renewable once.

Duties:

1. Maintain up-to-date membership records as received from the Association Office.
2. Send letters or emails of welcome to new members of the Association and/or the Division, and provide their names for inclusion in the Division's Bulletin. Request a short biographical sketch from new members for the New Member Profile column Biofeedback.
3. Supply items for the Division bulletin appropriate for encouraging recruitment of new
   members.
4. Remind members to renew membership.
5. Contact members with delinquent Association dues encouraging continuation of membership.
6. Provide membership information to appropriate Division personnel as requested.
7. Maintain contact with the Association Office as to what support services and information are available to assist in the fulfillment of duties.
8. Perform other functions as may be assigned by the Division Chair.
9. In concert with the Executive Board, develop a plan for the recruitment of new members and ways to retain them within the Division.
10. Analyze the composition of members of the Division as to membership type and institutional affiliation for Division's Committees use after membership data has been compiled by the Association Office.
11. Determine who are the 50-year Landmark Members for the current year. Send letters congratulating the 50-year Landmark Members and invite them to attend the annual SLA meeting and in particular the DBIO business meeting and hospitality functions.
12. By January 1, request a waiver of registration for the 50-year members from SLA headquarters.
13. Arrange for certificates for the 50-year Landmark Members and any other DBIO members given anniversary recognition. Arrange for corsages for the Landmark Members attending SLA Annual.
14. Review the Membership Committee section of the Recommended Practices in February and submit corrections, revisions, and so forth to the Director for inclusion in the next revision.
15. By deadline determined each year (typically January), the Committee Chair shall submit an estimated budget to the Treasurer.
16. Identify members with 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, etc. year membership anniversaries in SLA. Present certificates at the Annual Business Meeting; afterwards, mail certificates to non-attendees.
17. Maintain membership page for DBIO website.

General Information: Membership records are maintained at the Association Office. Any inquiries for applications for new membership, questions regarding membership for individuals or organizations, change of address, and requests for change in Chapter, Division, or Section affiliation should be referred to the proper section on the Association’s website where forms are available for all of these functions.  Copies of the Division’s Governing Document are available on the Division’s website.  Members should be reminded to pay dues directly to the Association Office. No membership data are official until after notification from the Association Office. During the summer, an alphabetical printout of Division members with addresses (as of June 30) will be sent from the Association Office to persons designated to receive it. This is the official roster. The old roster should be discarded immediately to avoid perpetuation of errors. It is not necessary to keep old rosters in your Division archives. Revisions will be sent once a month to indicate changes in name, address, division membership, etc. A roster of the Division may also be requested on diskette from the Association Office at any time during the year.  Membership labels for a Division-wide mailing may be requested from the Association Office at any time during the year.  An email mailing list separate from the Division Discussion List can be obtained by contacting the Association Headquarters. Codes for membership category, chapter affiliation, and division affiliation appear to the right of the member's name and address on the printout. A list of current code numbers is sent with the June 30 printouts.

Rev. May 2014