Let’ s Give GWA Membership a Big Bounce: Bring in 5 members and your annual fee is paid; win free books
BY JO ELLEN MEYERS SHARP
It may be March Madness in basketball land, but at GWA, March is Members Month.
The GWA Board of Directors challenges members to bring in at least one new person or business to the fold during March. Tell someone your story about why you’ re a member, or share Rob Cardillo’ s( page 14) or Angela Treadwell- Palmer’ s( page 15).
As a reminder, here are some of the benefits of being a GWA member:
• No-cost access to intellectual property attorney for reviewing contracts and other services.
• No-cost attendance to key trade shows and education programs such as Cultivate’ 17, MANTS, TPIE and ICG.
• Professional courtesy admissions to dozens of public botanic gardens and arboreta.
• Mentoring opportunities from many of the industry’ s most well-known garden communicators.
• No-cost attendance at important consumer shows, including the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, Northwest Flower and Garden Show and Philadelphia Flower Show.
• Participation in regional, national GWA meetings and Connect gatherings for unbeatable networking opportunities.
• Advance information and trial opportunities for new plants, products and services.
• On the QT, GWA’ s informative, lively and attractive, bimonthly newsletter, with tips on successful business practices, profiles of members, upcoming events and the latest news about the organization and its members.
MEMBERSHIP TRENDS
Potential members include: Writers, editors, photographers, bloggers, speakers, podcasters, television and radio personalities, garden center owners or employees, landscapers, plant breeders, marketers, public relations practitioners, book authors, publishers and others who work in or represent the green industry.
Over the last few years, new members have been coming in at about the same rate as members have been leaving GWA. Most members have left because they’ ve retired and no longer work as a garden communicator, or they have left the field for jobs elsewhere. Some members can’ t afford the dues. Others forgot to renew their membership, but they usually rejoin when asked. If you’ d like to contact members you know who have not renewed, please give the GWA office a call( 212-297-2198) for some suggestions.
Allied and trade members get no-cost ads in GWA’ s Clippings, the weekly electronic newsletter, and On the QT. They also get access to GWA members’ contact info, giving them the ability to share their news in a timely fashion with the very people who can get their messages out to the end users. And, as exhibitors or sponsors, they get the opportunity to meet members face-to-face to talk about new products, plants and services at the annual GWA Conference & Expo.
HOW DO YOU BENEFIT?
First, you’ ll get your annual membership fee reduced by $ 20 for each new person or company you bring to GWA. Bring in five members, and your annual fee is paid. And, thanks to the generosity of St. Lynn’ s Press, the member who brings in the most new people during March will receive free books: The Monarch by Kylee Baumle, The Downsized Veggie Garden by Kate Copsey and The 20-30 Something Garden Guide by Dee Nash.
You benefit in other ways, too. A growing membership reflects a growing organization that is on sound financial footing. That enables more programming, services and other benefits that come from a thriving professional, member-focused organization. And you’ ll sow the seeds for the future of our industry.
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp is editor of On the QT.
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