Communication ~ n.

     1. The act of communicating; transmission.

     2. The exchange of thoughts, messages, or the like, as by speech, signals, or writing.

Sounds pretty simple and we do it everyday, in everything we do. It is really what separates us from all other living

things. But as the old adage "He Said-She Said" goes, it can also be very confusing, with lots of misunderstanding. Communication is the most talked about and least understood area of human behavior.

The free flow of ideas and information is vital to the development and improvement of GWRRA. As Region MEC I will be working through our District MECs to encourage ALL Chapters to establish a Member Enhancement coordinator. The importance of networking between these three tiers will become more apparent as we head in new directions with the organization.

Needless to say, our most important task as Member Enhancement Coordinators is to communicate with the members. What GWRRA is about; what does it offer for those who wish to join; why are members leaving; what we can do to prevent that…it all involves communication, and it all starts at the Chapter Level.

Director. We are the "FUN" part of our motto, and if there is no fun, we as an organization will cease to exist.

We need to treat each and every one of our participants as the most valuable and indispensable part of our Chapter. We need to know who they are, where they are, what they like and, most importantly, when was the last time they enjoyed a Chapter event.

It is important to know who participates regularly and who you haven’t seen in a while. Don’t rely on your recollection. After all, "outta-sight, outta-mind". You don’t realize how long you haven’t seen someone until someone mentions their name. However, if you have a running chart or database of attendance at all Chapter events (not only meetings), you can at-a-glance see the names you need to contact.

I am working on an excel spread sheet of our (WA-I) Chapter participants. It will show participation (color coded) of the last five years. At-a-glance, you will immediately be able to tell who needs to be contacted. A friendly call;

"Hey Jim, haven’t seen you for awhile and was thinking about you. Whatcha been up to?" You’ll be surprised to hear that they also didn’t think its been that long since they last attended a function.