By Steven L. Salman, President Indianapolis Chapter
In June 1975, shortly after our election, we the new officers of the Indianapolis chapter-decided that something had to be done to increase member attendance at our monthly meetings and to revitalize our chapter in general. To accomplish these tasks, we set up a four part program.
Our first step was to establish a schedule, with dates, times, and programs for the entire season. Copies of this schedule were distributed prior to the first meeting of the season.
The second task was to find a permanent, acceptable meeting place. The assortment of motels used during the previous year had lacked the prestige we felt was necessary for an organization like S.A.M. Consequently, we chose the Indianapolis Athletic Club for all our meetings for the 1975-76 season.
The third element was that of selecting the appropriate outstanding speakers for our monthly meetings. This was the most difficult challenge to meet. We decided that we wanted local people who were noted experts in their fields and who would be able to both interest our membership and draw guests from all the different industries in the metropolitan Indianapolis area.
Some of the speakers we chose were a senior vice-president in the bond investment department of Indiana’s largest bank, who spoke on the financial outlook for 1976; the director of the State Employment Division, who spoke on the employment market for 1976; the director of the local Better Business Bureau, who spoke on consumerism; and an area director of OSHA, who spoke on occupational safety requirements.
We were confident that with the quality of speakers we arranged, spanning all of the functional areas, we would be able to attract individuals from industry to our meetings, in addition to our membership. We are also fortunate to have several outstanding educational institutions in the Indianapolis area, including Indiana University, Butler University, Purdue University, and Indiana Central University. The students in the business and management curriculums of these universities were invited to several of the monthly meetings.
Another objective of the program was to limit the attendance at each meeting to around 60, so that everyone would have an opportunity to participate in the discussion period at the end of each speaker’s presentation.
Despite the emphasis on coordinating elements of our monthly meetings, the activities of our chapter have not been limited to the meetings. The fourth part of our program has been to have at least one social event each year to get the members’ spouses involved, as well as to build camaraderie. This year our social event was a private showing of a play at a local dinner theatre.
Another of our many outside activities was to supply a panel of judges for the central Indiana competition in choosing the Junior Achievement company of the year. The winner of this competition will go on to the national competition. Again, this is just another of the many activities in which the Indianapolis chapter of S.A.M. has involved itself.
The keys to chapter growth are quality program scheduling and individual involvement. We attempt to get our people involved in our discussions as part of every meeting, and we also look for energetic and active individuals to serve in our leadership positions. We feel that we can attract and retain members only if they become personally involved. SAM-NI
This SAM News International article is from our historical archive, information provided is for reference and archival research about the activities and developments of the Society.