Local BTA presidents, board members, committee chairs and members attending the Chapter Presidents Council's seventh annual leadership summit found a spectrum of information and ideas
Local BTA presidents, board members, committee chairs and members attending the Chapter Presidents Council's seventh annual leadership summit found a spectrum of information and ideas. One hundred seventy-five attended the event, held at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, TX, hosted by the Dallas/Ft Worth BTA (president: Kelli McRay of Freeman Companies).
"The valuable lessons learned can help promote continuous improvement and put best practices into action," said Tyiesha Thaxton, executive vice president of Northern Virginia BTA and corporate sales manager for Benchmark Hospitality at Lansdowne Resort.
"The ability to exchange best practices while developing new and stimulating ideas will assist us as a board, to strengthen our CWBTA chapter," said Omni Hotels' Kenneth Gribbon, vice president of membership at Connecticut/Westchester BTA. "The impact the current economic and political climate has on the business travel industry is tremendous, and we need to ensure that our chapter members have the best resources for education, communication and emerging developments to benefit them in their careers and personal development."
Many attendees were especially impressed by the opportunities in a focus on government relations following a presentation by David P. Goch, an attorney with the Washington, DC-based law firm of Webster, Chamberlain & Bean. Goch, who specializes in non-profit associations, discussed legal and tax issues for the attendees' associations.
Following a plea for more local involvement in NBTA's political action committee (PAC), LXR Travel's Laurie Rusin, New York State BTA's PAC liaison with the national committee, observed that each of the sessions were engaging, educational and interactive. "The synergy in the group was palpable and the 'take-home' ideas and actions will have an immediate positive impact on our NYSBTA chapter. As a PAC liaison I was impressed with the tireless efforts of those already engaged in making a difference. I'm eagerly looking forward to the DC legislative meeting in June 2009 and becoming an active participant in this very important endeavor."
"I was amazed to learn about all of the legislative issues that NBTA is involved with," added Thaxton, "and I plan on appointing a government relations liaison to represent Northern Virginia at the NBTAPAC next year."
"We also liked the idea of a legislative liaison and inviting local politicians to address membership at our monthly meetings," stated Gribbon.
The Georgia BTA plans to implement the chapter standardization/harmonization procedures issued at the CPC Meeting, according to its president, George Dunwoody of Travelport. Among the implementations he listed:
• "Include a Government Relations liaison to our board responsibilities.
• "Invite a local elected official to speak at a chapter meeting.
• "Our chapter will send a letter to our local Senator endorsing an NBTA-endorsed bill."
Attendees also found inspiration in a session on attaining and retaining membership, presented jointly by Robin Roane, NBTA director of membership, and Dianne Bradley of Tokyo Electron, a vice president of Austin BTA. From that, said Gribbon, "A specific idea that comes to mind is a membership drive that would motivate members to bring in new direct members as well as implement our own idea of creating geographical clusters for members to meet after hours and provide local mentorship opportunities. We already have a board meeting scheduled to pool our feedback and implement strategy."
A presentation on volunteerism by Omega World Travel's Amy Marek, past president of Mid South Area BTA, and Hilton's Craig Banikowski, president of Los Angeles BTA, resonated with Sandy Kates, communications chair at Inland Northwest BTA. "Because recruitment and volunteerism is a particular challenge for our chapter, I found that roundtable the most valuable for us. I especially liked the suggestion of holding an orientation and assigning a mentor buddy to a prospective new member. That way they don't get lost in the shuffle and have someone to ask specific questions to and help them feel more welcome in the group. Another great suggestion was to offer a rebate on a portion of membership dues after a volunteer has put in a certain amount of hours volunteering (although in our chapter, certain members would never pay dues since they volunteer all the time!). Since I serve as the public relations chair (and am a committee of one) the latter suggestions may really come in handy for me."
Similarly, Steve Swafford and Molly Whalen of Leadership Outfitters conducted an exercise in finding, cultivating and rewarding chapter volunteers. The pair discussed the five elements of membership development, what volunteer leaders want, and 101 ways to motivate volunteers. One exercise involved each participant reading descriptions of four basic personalities, then going to the corner with their descriptive letter was posted: C for controller, P for persuader, A for analyzer and S for stabilizer. Whalen and Swafford then led exercises to demonstrate the importance of having each personality represented in any effective team — work, family and BTAs.
Even comments made during social hours provided inspiration. At a reception sponsored by American Express, Douglas R. Wright, the company's vice president of business travel North America, reassured attendees: "Travel is an investment in your business. It's an essential revenue-generating function for the long term growth of your company ... As conditions improve, we will increase spending to take advantage of the substantial opportunities we know will be available to us over the medium to long term."
"Three of us who attended from NYSBTA agreed that the time we spent at the CPC summit will not only enhance our chapter but the return to our "day jobs" will be with renewed strength in managing our travel programs, knowing that combined efforts of our NBTA global members are there for the benefit of all," reported Rusin, a first time attendee.
"Six of the board members from INBTA who attended the chapter summit couldn't wait to get started discussing the ideas they want to implement," reported Travel Leaders' Dave Valhala, past president of Inland Northwest BTA. "We were inputting information using our secretary's laptop in the DFW airport prior to departure Saturday. We came away with a long to-do list, including updating our web site to increase membership prospecting, clarifying our bylaws and new-member orientation initiatives. Along with identifying just who the Controllers, Persuaders, Analyzers and Stabilizers are amongst us, we are going to have some fun applying Leadership Outfitter's presentation to our entire chapter."