By Wendy Cowley
2007-2008 Corporate President
We’ve done it!
Thanks to those who participated over the past year in the grass-roots strategic planning process led by Judy Russell, 2006-2007 Corporate President. We now have a strategic plan to help guide us for the next three years (a summary can be found on here). For 2007-2008, we will focus on the objectives listed under the heading “Building on our Foundation.” This really resonated with me because itr ecognizes the foundation EWI has built over the past 69 years. Three EWI members recorded their thoughts about the strategic planning process which was shared via DVD in Houston during the Leadership Conference and Annual Meeting. A copy of the Strategic Planning DVD is being distributed to all Chapters and I encourage you to watch it. Our member’s survey results and their remarks really point to three key areas as most important to our future:
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Membership Growth
We all recognize that to sustain the organization and its vitality, we need to focus on this area. We plan to continue the membership campaign, which has been successful the past two years, especially with the continuation of our “15 for 12” offer. We plan to review our current marketing materials and to engage a marketing firm to assist in developing a strong brand awareness campaign. One of the ideas generated from discussions during the process is to make talking about EWI with prospective members easier by keeping it simple – EWI is about: Connections,Careers, Community. By remembering these three words, all members will be able to talk freely about our organization, our mission, and the value of membership in EWI in their own words.Professional Development. We have some really great programs in place with our Academy of Leadership and Academy Online programs, which we will continue to update with current content. On September 27, 2007, we held four Academy of Leadership sessions with over 300 attendees. More than 100 of those attended the new module on Servan tLeadership, and we now have 267 graduates. Also, we will continue offering Professional Development Teleseminars and making resources available through the PULSE newsletters and our website under the Leadership Link.
Providing Opportunities for Member Firms to Promote Themselves
Our chapters do a fantastic job of this at the local level. On a corporate-wide basis, we will explore options for firms to partner with EWI through sponsorships and marketing opportunities.
Your Corporate Board will be reviewing the Strategic Plan initiatives at its retreat to identify the low-hanging fruit we can take action on right away, and then prioritizing other objectives, brain-storming ideas, and developing action plans to meet these objectives. We want to continue this process as a collaborative effort, and you may be called upon to provide additional input throughout the coming year.
Your 2007-2008 Corporate President,
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