ASABE MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
CONFERENCE CALL

November 15, 2005

Minutes

Present: Paul Heinemann, Lal Kushwaha, Brian Holmes, Vince Bralts, Sonia Jacobsen, Wayne Bogovich, Carolyn Jones, Chris Butts, Richard Cavaletto, Abdel Ghaly, Larry Johnson, Joey Norikane and Mark Crossley

The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m.

AGENDA

1. Member Statistics - Mark Crossley
-Retention
-General Member Stats

2. Budget Report - Paul Heinemann
-2005 Forecast
-2006 Proposed

3. Approval of Ballot Results - University of Ibadan Student Branch Creation - Paul Heinemann

4. Proposed 2006 Strategies & Metrics - Paul Heinemann

5. CSBE Foundation Student Membership Subsidy - Mark Crossley

6. New Member Benefits Update - Mark Crossley
-E-Mentoring Program
-ASABE Career Center

7. Changes to Section Mailing Option - Mark Crossley

8. Student Recruitment/Retention - Paul Heinemann

9. PE Exam Materials on Web – Chris Butts

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Paul Heinemann began the call by welcoming everyone. A list of those MDC members present was confirmed. He then asked for additions to the agenda. Chris Butts had an addition concerning comments from a Texas section member about information on the PE exam and the ASABE Web site. After this addition the following motion was made:

Motion: To accept the agenda as presented. Seconded and passed.

Member Statistics
Mark Crossley overviewed some highlights from the member statistics handout (Attachment A). It was noted that retention figures for 2005 are running almost the same as 2004 with overall member retention currently at 84.1%, full member at 90.0% and preprofessional/student at 56.7%. Final retention figures for 2005 are determined on 12/31/05. Other statistics presented included total membership (overall – 8421, full - 7103 and preprofessional/student - 1318). Preprofessional/student numbers continue to decline. Finally, the 2006 invoices went out three weeks late this year due to delays in waiting for the new ASABE logo to be developed. It was decided to send them without the new logo, as it looked like it was going to be a while before it was ready.

Budget Report
2005 Budget Forecast (Attachment B)
At this point, we are anticipating a budget deficit Society-wide by year’s end of approximately $200,000. The primary reason for the deficit lies in poorly negotiated hotel contacts by the former ASABE meetings director and lower attendance at specialty conferences and the annual international meeting.

2006 Proposed Budget (Attachment C)
The 2006 overall Society budget is stating an approximate $15,000 surplus. It was pointed out that the MDC budget will never balance because it is part of the larger Society budget. It was also noted that we will be saving approximately $6,000 in postage by no longer mailing hard copy section items for 2006.

Approval of Ballot Results - University of Ibadan Student Branch Creation
Due to Michigan law, all e-mail ballot results must be approved by the MDC. With that in mind the following motion was made:

Motion: To approve the e-mail ballot previously held approving the creation of a student branch at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Seconded and passed.

Proposed 2006 Strategies & Metrics
Following up on this issue from the Tampa meeting, this is the last opportunity the MDC has to make suggestions for strategies and metrics for the 2006 Society goals. The importance of any of the strategies and metrics that deal with preprofessional/student recruitment and retention were stressed. It was also suggested that adding the number of hits on the ASABE Technical Library would be a good metric for goal #2 (Attachment D)

CSBE Foundation Student Membership Subsidy
CSBE is making a concerted effort to address declining preprofessional/student numbers by subsidizing membership through donations to their Foundation. They have already raised $7,000 from CSBE members via a telephone campaign and they are trying to raise additional funds through the 2006 dues invoices. They figure they’ll need about $4,000 to cover the membership fees. They will be subsidizing both CSBE and ASABE dues.

New Member Benefits Update
September saw the launch of both the ASABE Career Center and the Online Mentoring Program. The Career Center currently has about 20 jobs listed and over 100 people have posted their resumes. It is anticipated it will grow with time.

The Online Mentoring Program has had great success in building the mentor database (currently over 50 mentors), but getting mentees to participate has been a bit slow to start (10 pairings to date). It was suggested that we provide a brief article on the program to the sections so they may reproduce it in their newsletters. This will be done immediately.

Changes to Section Mailing Option
Beginning in 2006, ASABE will no longer be sending section mailings from headquarters. This will result in an approximate $6,000 savings in postage alone, not to mention staff time and overhead. Headquarters will send items electronically for section members with e-mail addresses. For those who do not have e-mail addresses, we will hard copy mail to them. While this change may not be popular news with all sections, it should be pointed out that sections are currently limited to three mailing annually, but are unlimited on the number of electronic messages they may send. A notice about this change will go out within a few days to all section chairs.

Student Recruitment/Retention
As ASABE continues to struggle with declining preprofessional/student numbers, ideas for recruiting and retaining these members needs to be discussed. It was decided that more time will be left on the spring conference call agenda to brainstorm recruitment and retention ideas. It was noted that it is the duty of all members to recruit younger members to help them assimilate into the Society.

PE Exam Materials on Web
Chris Butts brought up some feedback from a Texas section member he received who was concerned about the lack of information that ASABE has provided for the agricultural engineering principles & practice exam. The current PEI link on the Web site simply refers to the NCEES Web site and this site refers back to ASABE Web site. After discussion, it was decided that this feedback needs to be sent to ED-414 Engineering Licensure Committee for review. Paul will forward it to Rod Huffman.

Miscellaneous
It was noted that the 2007 ¼ Scale Tractor Student Design Competition will be held in conjunction with the annual international meeting in Minneapolis. This will give many members the chance to see the competition that might not otherwise. It was also noted that the 2006 competition will be held in Peoria.

With nothing further before the MDC, the following motion was made:

Motion: To adjourn the meeting. Seconded and passed.

The meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m.