As VPC members retire and employers are no longer covering dues, it’s more important than ever to recruit and retain members.

Following a LinkedIn presentation in September, VPC members in attendance brainstormed ways to grow membership.

The top vote getter was a mini recruitment campaign that starts now. Each member who recruits a new member by Jan. 31 will be entered into a drawing for a complimentary registration to the spring 2020 VPC Conference. Members must provide the name of the recruited member to Cynthia Price (cynthiapricecp@gmail.com). All members who recruit a new member will be recognized at the spring conference.

Also following the LinkedIn presentation, VPC created a LinkedIn VPC group, which includes information about the organization, conference details, and member news. Previously, VPC had a closed LinkedIn group. VPC will be using the LinkedIn VPC group to promote the organization and recruit members. If you have news that would be of interest to members, please share it with our Communications Vice President Sunni Brown, sbrown5@richmond.edu.

Several members have agreed to reach out to organizations and review publications for news about communicators who would be a good fit for VPC membership. Another outreach is for current members to hold a series of informal networking opportunities at coffee shops or restaurants so members can better get to know one another.

Other ideas include creating a recruitment bookmark, visiting area attractions around the state, and working with high school teachers and journalism professors.

If you are interested in helping in any way, please follow up with Cynthia. Together, we can all grow VPC.