NEWSLETTER

The coming year will bring many welcome changes to the MCAA, including an emphasis on best practices for Chapter Management. The MCAA relies on its local Chapters for engagement of members through workshops, networking events, and locally informative communication. To promote more active, effective Chapters, the MCAA Board has initiated a Chapter Management Working Group (CMWG) to begin work in 2017. As founder and organiser of the CMWG, I plan to bring together current and past Chapter Chairs to develop best practices for MCAA Chapter management. For example, we plan to standardise Chapter Board elections, with the goal of running those elections through the MCAA Portal.

The MCAA board wants to open up more consistent communication between Chapters, the MCAA board, and the MCAA contractor. We will begin by asking Chapter Boards to report periodically on their activities and budgets, and we will provide advice and support for MCAA Chapters who may need it. In particular, we would like to help Chapters develop strategies for generating revenue for their events and content, with the aim of becoming more self-sustaining over the next few years. CMWG members will be encouraged to attend local Chapter meetings during the year, especially for newer Chapters.

Starting in 2017, Chapters will be encouraged to organise more events for their members, with budget allocations possible on a rolling basis. Each Chapter will be asked to contribute write-ups, photos and videos from their events for the newsletter, and will also be encouraged to provide original content for both the newsletter and the Irradium magazine.

Finally, the CMWG will organise an annual networking event for Chapter Chairs in conjunction with the General Assembly. This year, the event will be in Salamanca and will also serve as the official “Kick-Off” for the CMWG.