By Joe Wetter, CPCU, Western Regional Governor
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WHAT CAN MY CHAPTER DO FOR ME – AND VICE VERSA?
We recently held a meeting for the Chapter Officers of the 6 Southern California CPCU Chapters . One of the main topics of discussion was what the different chapters were doing to add value for our members and maintain membership. Now, more than ever, this becomes important with insurers and agencies, merging, downsizing or just looking to cut expenses. Some of the answers have been stated before but bear repeating.
· Provide meaningful educational events.
· Provide informative and friendly breakfast/luncheon/dinner speakers at the regularly scheduled chapter meetings.
· Provide the networking environment for insurance professionals who are out of work or seeking work to
find work opportunities.
Is your chapter doing that for you? Can you help your chapter do that for you and other chapter members?
One of the things that did the most for me in this profession which I’ve practiced for over 40 years was participating in the educational opportunities and networking provided by my CPCU designation and by my continued involvement in CPCU
Another topic was what could be done to get more members to participate in chapter activities and as Chapter officers, committee members and/or directors. Again a simple answer might suffice:
· Reach out to fellow CPCUs to come to meetings, attend educational events, and to volunteer to help, in their chapter newsletters, by phone, email and probably most importantly by face to face contact and asking for your ideas, help and participation.
Again is your chapter doing that for you? If so, have you responded favorably? If not, how about helping them do so by volunteering to take on part of the task? You might be surprised at how much can be done with a little effort by a bunch of CPCUs.
Some of the chapters even get involved in fun activities. The Los Angeles Chapter is planning a 3 Day fun and educational Cruise this Fall. The El Camino Chapter sponsored a two day educational and wine tasting event in Santa Barbara last fall which attracted CPCUs from all over the state. And they’ve indicated they plan on doing it again. Orange Empire plans on having another night at an Angels baseball game. The Los Angeles, El Camino, Orange Empire and San Gabriel Chapters are planning their 3rd Annual Golf Outing and Dinner at Brookside Golf Course on June 1. Those same chapters even manned a Water Station at the recent Pasadena Marathon.
And all the chapters are looking for your thoughts at what they can do to make the chapter more meaningful to you, the members. For goodness sake, give them your thoughts. Whether educational, networking, good works or just good fun let them know. Oh yes, and while you’re at it volunteer to help with some activity. You might be surprised how much of a good time you can have doing good for yourself, your chapter and your community.
William J. “Joe” Wetter, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, ARM CPCU Society Governor, Western Region
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