By Shannon Frederick, IABC/Tulsa President
The little chapter that could.
Rumor has it that’s the phrase often used at IABC International to describe our Tulsa organization.
Now tell me you didn’t just smile after reading those first two sentences.
The honest truth is that it’s hard not to smile when you realize one of the world’s premier strategic communication groups is right here in little ole Tulsa, Okla. It’s no secret that just over two years ago, our chapter wasn’t doing so well. A distressed economy had taken its toll. Membership was down. Attendance at the monthly meetings was dismal. Not as many professionals were entering Bronze Quill.
My how far we’ve come.
IABC just released its latest growth and retention report which contains statistics ranking regions and chapters by their overall growth from June 2010 to June 2011. IABC/Tulsa was again recognized as one of the top 10 fastest growing chapters in the world.
Consider these numbers: IABC memberships have increased 4.25 percent over the past year. During this same time period, memberships to the local Tulsa chapter have increased 33 percent.
It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Even more amazing is we are in good company on this top 10 list with chapters in Auckland, Russia, France, Barbados and other international locations.
Behind the scenes at our chapter, there’s a lot of hard work that has gone into helping us achieve this growth surge. Rest assured, the new executive board, which has just started its term, plans to keep the course – ensuring all of our members are certain about the value in belonging to IABC/Tulsa. If you have any ideas about how we can continue to improve in this area, we want to hear them. Shoot us an e-mail at iabctulsa@gmail.com.
I hope this report makes you feel proud to be connected to IABC/Tulsa. And if you haven’t yet decided to become a member, please take the time to think about this great opportunity to be a part of an organization in Tulsa that is at the top of an important list.
After all, there’s more to the great state of Oklahoma than just AP polls and football.