I recently paid my credit card bill, and out of the blue a brand slogan popped into my head: “Membership has its privileges.”
Yes, I was paying an American Express bill, and yes that slogan has been M.I.A. since the 1990’s. But, like that former American Express slogan, “a WBA Membership also has its privileges.”
As a WBA member, you have joined a state organization that has one of the highest membership rates in the country, 95 percent. The number of resources provided to members is truly incredible. But like a membership at a health club, benefits only happen when you are active.
The WBA staff has been designed to be “lean and mean.” Michelle and her team have worked incredibly hard with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and Foundation to establish the best programs in the country. The continued support by members on committees and as volunteers at events is crucial to a strong WBA.
The Association and Foundation Board is only one aspect of active membership. Within those Boards are sub-committees for Awards, Education, Clinic (Engineering), Conferences, Diversity, Legislative, Young Professionals, and Hall of Fame voting. These additional opportunities to lend your voice are important. I am proud to say that member involvement on the board and on sub-committees is strong.
Now that the committees have planned everything, who will roll their sleeves up and help at the event(s)? We need your newsrooms, on-air personalities, and station superstars to become active as volunteers at these events. We need to be willing to pay for a hotel room and mileage for those special members of our station team to help at a WBA event. If you want to make sure an employee knows they are special, ask them to represent your station at a WBA event. When the call from Kyle comes out for the student seminar, let’s never see a second email asking the same question. Wisconsin has a collection of the finest radio and television station in the country. The people that make that true need to be involved in the finest Association in the country.
“The WBA membership has its privileges” and I look forward to seeing your successful employees and managers become more active in our organization.
