The primary function of this committee is to contact and welcome new members to the section. New members are welcomed by letter (click here to see a sample of the letter) and a monthly column in the newsletter. To encourage them to become active, we invite them to attend a dinner meeting/event as a guest of the section. To encourage our local student members, they are offered a free dinner each month. The success of this idea depends on the student advisor "getting the word out" to his or her affiliate group. San José State University students attend on a fairly regular basis. Mid-way through the year, the executive committee decided to extend a 50% discount for the cost of the dinner to members who are currently looking for employment. The networking may help them in their job search. We have always discounted the dinner for our 50-year members.
Part of the responsibilities of this committee that has developed over the years is to arrange the location and menus for the monthly meetings. We are fortunate to have a centrally located hotel that provides a free meeting room with the purchase of our dinners. Having the meetings at the same place gives some continuity to the programs, because the meeting dates may change. Having the same meeting day and date each month has improved the attendance a little. We also try to hold at least one meeting on the campus of a community college.
The Summer Awards, wine tasting, and catered picnic that is held on the Stanford campus is always our most popular event and is fun to organize.
Sally Peters, Chair
Hospitality and Membership Committee
Members
and
guests
enjoy
the
summer
picnic
on July 10, 2010 on the Stanford campus.