AASL Membership Promotion

[Floyd Pentlin <PENTLIN%CMSUVMB.BITNET@suvm.acs.syr.edu>]

Group---
.....I am trying to put together ideas for our annual promotion of AASL
membership at Spring Conference.  I have done different things the last
two years and am wanting to try something different this year.  I would
be interested in your comments about the following idea or hearing what
your state affiliates have done.A concern I have is the number of people
who do not rejoin AASL because they do not perceive that it is doing
anything for them (same things are heard regarding state associations as
well) and don't rejoin except in years of AASL's conferences.  Thus
rather than contests, coffees, or forums (previous activities) I would
like to demonstrate AASL in action.

My thought this year is to act in concert with our Legislative Chair and
set up a letter writing center.  My original thought was to have
template letters already typed up on various topics of current concern
and then send these letters on AASL stationary.  See--AASL in action.
But, if these people are not members of AASL then they should not be
using stationary representing an organization they do not belong to.

It has been suggested that what we do is have a letter writing booth,
SPONSORED BY me as Missouri's Affiliate Assembly Delegate (representing
the national organiation) WORKING with the state affiliate (thus
emphasizing the national/state affiliate relationship) in encouraging
our members to correspond with local, state, and national legislators.
Letterhead from our state organization as well as AASL, and even blank
paper would be there to print the letters on the appropriate paper, but
the result would be to get the word out.

This approach would seem to have a two-fold activity:  demonstraing the
long reach of AASL and get letters in the mail which are too easily put
off.

Comments?

Also, I am going to check with SIRS if their donation for
recruitment/information of AASL affiliate members could be used for
postage, paper supplies, etc. at the table.

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Floyd Pentlin, School Library Media Specialist          |
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