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| Michael Fritzen |
CAEYC Members - The Best Advocates!
Reflecting back on conference, my thoughts are full of the great people I met, the stories I heard, and reconnecting with friends. Much of my conference experience was spent in the CAEYC Hub. During the course of three days, I encountered hundreds of members of CAEYC. Each time I ran into a member I said, thank you, and asked why they were a member. Many mentioned it was the resources such the Connections magazines, others said it was the staff development opportunities, the Annual Conference and being a part of a network of thousands of ECE educators. Hearing member’s reasons reinforced how important is was to be a member and the benefits you gain by being a part of CAEYC. People were really proud of being a member. They especially enjoyed letting the conference attendees know they were members by wearing a member button or attaching a member ribbon to their conference name tag. I also encountered people who were not members. I especially enjoyed talking with nonmembers and finding out why they were not members. Numerous times, it was the members who were strolling past the Hub who were my best salespersons. Members encourage nonmembers to join. They would flash their member button or ribbon and I would ask them to share why membership was important to them. Surprisingly, each day three to four people would take a membership brochure from me and become a member on the spot. During the conference, I guess we signed up more than 25 new members. As you venture back into your places of work, look around you and if you know someone who is not a member share the great take-aways you gained from conference. Let them know the perks of becoming a member and what they are missing out on. I want to thank those people who helped inspire others to become members and thank you members for being members!
Michael Fritzen
Membership Chair
