LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES — REASONS TO SMILE!

ADA MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION CONFERENCE

March 18-20, 2010, Chicago, IL

Johanna Manasse	Debbie Torbush	Patsy Dumas	Trish Rubik-Rothstein

Alliance of the American Dental Association (AADA) members (left to right) Council on Membership Chair Johanna Manasse, Vice President Debbie Torbush, District 4 Trustee Patsy Dumas and AADA Central Office Director Trish Rubik-Rothstein attended the American Dental Association (ADA) Membership Recruitment and Retention Conference in Chicago along with about 150 attendees. Interacting with state association leadership proved invaluable to Johanna, Debbie, Patsy, and Trish.

Following welcoming remarks by ADA Executive Director Dr. Kathleen O'Loughlin and Chair of the ADA Council on Membership Dr. Terry Buckenheimer,the conference was off to a great start with Patricia Fripp as the keynote speaker. Mrs. Fripp entertained the attendees with her humor while effectively teaching how to sell membership value. Her presentation covered the following topics:

1. build your membership
2. persuasively describe your benefits
3. communicate persuasively with impact
4. identify to whom you need to sell your benefits
5. maximize participation and support
6. connect emotionally and intellectually

Mrs. Fripp reminded us there are three categories of members to whom we need to market:  current members, those we attract with our advertising, and those we strategically target. We need to ask ourselves "why are we unique" and "why is our organization worth joining".

In addition, the key to connection is conversation and building relationships. The best way to sell AADA is to say "you would enjoy membership because __________" rather than saying "I belong because __________". Her finall suggestions included having fun; making other feel appreciated; showing others that you are interested in them; not giving up, because 'no' does not always mean 'no'; and trying to talk so that you will be remembered and repeated.

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Johanna, Debbie, Patsy, and Trish split up to take advantage of all the sessions offered.

• Leadership and Collaboration Session:  Both Dr. Terry Buckenheimer and Dr. Thomas Sullivan, AADA's previous liaison from the ADA, made remarks about how the Alliance is an untapped resource for the dental profession.
• Dental Students and Recent Graduates Session: It was brought up that many of the new dentists are not joining, because it is not stressed in dental school since many of the faculty members do not belong. Another issue with which the ADA is dealing  is that in some states, as high as 50% of state association and ADA memberships are retired members.
• Leaders may be Born, but Great Leaders are Molded:  Greg Fine, who presented this session, stated that there are generally many generational groups within organizations, so one size does not fit all.  He also stated that leaders focus on the team, thus inspiring others to strive to achieve a common goal.
• Tripartite Collaboration: A Win/Win/Win:  ADA Membership Outreach Director Steve Rauchenecker presented how collaboration among the Tripartite can be a powerful means to achieving membership success, a new process the ADA is testing.
• Social Media One Year Later: Can it Work for Your Dental Society?:  California Dental Association Membership Administrator Conor McNulty and ADA Membership Outreach Manager Elizabeth Bronson posed the question as we reach out to members and potential members that it is important our outreach strategies integrate various channels of communication, such as websites, Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter.

BEST PRACTICE IDEA SWAP

Johanna Manasse represented the AADA during the Best Practice Idea Swap. She explained the marketing strategy for increasing, both the dentists and their spouses, awareness of the Alliance. She highlighted an example of the Alliance updating their image with a new logo and tagline for the purpose of recruitment of potential members and retaining current members. AADA logo postcards and a basic informative fly were distributed to all attendees.

TRIPARTITE ROUNDTABLE MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EXCHANGE

The topics included:

• How access to care has impacted your community and mid level providers.
• How the downturn in the economy has impacted the membership in your dental societies.
• How has the number of retired dentists impacted membership in your dental society.

Some statistics included:

• 66.3 years of age is the average retirement age today.
• 59% of constituent members are 55 years or older.

Each group approached the topics from different angles, some providing solutions and grassroots responses, and others addressing the philosophical and logistical issues in problem solving such complex issues. The brief reporting time only skimmed the surface, but there was universal agreement that the ADA needed to expand beyond "doing things in the same old way".

TIPS: RETHINKING HOW YOU SELL YOUR ASSOCIATION and HOW TO DO MORE WITH LESS

The closing session speaker, Neil Dempster, suggested that membership success occurs when

• organizations dream a bit
• are not afraid of failure
• do what they say they do
• think differently
• even move slowly

ONE FINAL BENEFIT FOR EACH ATTENDEE

Each attendee received a pen with a USB in the barrel. The USB contained a wealth of information on all of the submitted recruitment strategies!

ADA PRESIDENTS-ELECT EVENT, January 25-26, 2010, Chicago, IL

(l to r) AADA President-elect Debbie Preece with ADA Presidents-elect spouses Jean Harrington (GA), Donna Hollowell (NC), Nancy Jeffers (MI), Karen Scarpella (CO), and Carol Abbott (VA) at a brunch hosted by the ADA President-elect spouse Jill Gist.

There were many opportunities to share "reasons to smile" about the Alliance of the American Dental Association as the AADA President Carol Reitz, AADA President-elect Debbie Preece, AADA Vice President Debbie Torbush, and AADA Director, Trish Rubik-Rothstein mingled with both the ADA Presidents-elect and their spouses in several social settings during the ADA Presidents-elect event.

The Alliance of the ADA hosted the spouses of the ADA Presidents-elect on Monday, January 25, 2010. Many of the spouses toured the ADA building ending the tour at the AADA Central Office where AADA President-elect Debbie Preece spoke with them about friendships developing with spouses and dentists from around the country through the Alliance.  Mrs. Preece shared that as AADA members, we have the opportunity to be involved in community service projects and legislative advocacy issues, and to be concerned about the well being of the dental families. Alliance members also enjoy time working and playing together from our local level extending to the annual sessions and conferences.

Mrs. Reitz, Mrs. Preece, Mrs. Torbush, and Mrs. Rubik-Rothstein hosted a luncheon in the Neiman Marcus Zodiac Room for 19 ADA Presidents-elect spouses. In attendance were both Jill Gist, the spouse of the ADA President-elect Dr. Raymond Gist, and Bill Prentice, the Director of the ADA Washington DC office. Mr. Prentice addressed the group about the changes that happened in Washington since the election of a Republican Senator in Massachusetts, followed by a brief question and answer session.

ADA STAFF VISITATIONS

During the two days of the ADA Presidents-elect event, Mrs. Reitz, Mrs. Preece, Mrs. Torbush, and Mrs. Rubik-Rothstein visited with numerous ADA staff that culminated in many opportunities to partner with the ADA. Each staff member was very supportive of the Alliance, which gives the Alliance "many reasons to smile". Visitations were made with

• the staff of Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations (CAPIR)

  a.  Barbara Smith, Manager, Geriatric and Special Needs Populations

  b.  Nicole Stoufflet, Managaer, Give Kids A Smile (GKAS)

  c.  Gary Podschun, Manager, Community Outreach and Cultural Competence

  d.  Sheila Strock, Senior Manager, Interprofessional Relations

  e.  Jane McGinley, Manager, Fluoridation and Preventive Health Activities

• Sandra Eitel, Director, Marketing Membership
• Alison Siwek, Manager, Dentist Health and Wellness
• Mary Kreinbring, Director, Library Services
• Stacie Crozier, Associate Editor "ADA News", Publishing Division
• Barkley Payne, Executive Director, ADA Foundation
• Joe Martin, Director, Dental Society Services
• Wendy Jo Toyama, Senior Vice President, Membership
• Jon Ruesch, Director, Survey Center
• Dr. Kathleen O'Loughlin, Executive Director, ADA