Lots of people have been working diligently to help me execute on my focus areas during my service as MCB President – membership value, inclusion, and engagement. Chief among them are the volunteers serving on the Membership Value and CLE Task Forces and the Membership Inclusion & Engagement Subcommittee. Given we’re about at the halfway mark of my tenure, I think an update makes sense. Here’s what the leaders of those groups want you to know about the status of their work.
Membership Value Task Force
The Membership Value Task Force continues to collect information to measure “membership value” from a variety of sources – from the historical record, from our current Bar staff, from local Bars from around the country and most importantly, from members of our Bar. We are collecting objective data including Bar demographics, programming data and financial data to determine “objective value.” We are also collecting subjective data from focus groups of MCB members, including young lawyers, experienced lawyers, and lawyers from diverse practice areas, sizes and office locations to determine subjective ideas of “value.” We plan to collect additional information from a questionnaire, informal conversations and task force members will meet with MCB Section members. Our goal is to understand where the Bar has been, where we are and where we are going so we can get the most value from our Bar membership going forward. We plan to report in spring 2019. Anne Tompkins
CLE Task Force
The CLE Task Force’s selected consultant, RR Consultant Group, travelled to Charlotte in early November 2018 to meet with MCB staff, leadership and CLE task force and committee members. Together, we are examining the current CLE program structure, pricing, marketing, value and market trends. Our sessions tackled issues directly and were thought provoking. We already know we are challenged in some areas, but we have confirmed that we are on the right path in others. In December 2018, the CLE Task Force and CLE Committee sent a survey to Bar members who do not generally use the MCB to meet their CLE needs. We will work with our consultants to analyze the information gathered, and we expect it will be helpful as we formulate recommendations for our Bar. With CLE Task Force input, MCB leadership will ultimately vote on implementation of the recommendations with an eye towards efficiency, value and allocation of resources. Rhonda Patterson
Membership Inclusion & Engagement Subcommittee
The newly formed Membership Inclusion & Engagement Subcommittee would like the Bar to know that a dedicated effort is underway to identify and reach out to members of the MCB who are not presently participating in MCB activities and events to increase the value of their membership. For example, a membership engagement video will soon be presented in various forums extolling the benefits of increased participation and, in addition, active members will be contacting Bar members to encourage them to become more involved in MCB activities. Our goal on behalf of the MCB is to inform membership of the many opportunities for growth through participation and, at the same time, demonstrate the MCB's commitment to a spirit of inclusiveness among our membership. As part of this effort, look for MCB sponsored CLEs and social events in Ballantyne, Lake Norman and the University area. Jameson Wells