NEW MEMBER RECEPTION

 

Listed below are some recommended actions upon receiving new members in the chapter:

 

           Membership Chair contact new members by mail or phone to extend a warm welcome and invite them to the next chapter meeting.  Invitations to attend meetings and chapter social events should include spouses and other family members.

 

           Ensure new member is greeted warmly at first meeting and recognized by presiding officer.  In addition, new members should be introduced and seated (if possible) with members from the same agency or with those of similar background, interest and age groups.  The new member should be asked to say a few words about themselves to the membership.

 

           Efforts should be made to encourage new members to consider becoming active in the chapter, being careful not to apply pressure.  Spouses should also be encouraged to participate in program activities and other events, and encouraged to also become members.

 

           When the new member attends a meeting for the first time, present the member with a packet of information about the chapter which may include:  list of officers and phone numbers, chapter bylaws, legislative agenda, chapter newsletter, etc.

 

           Request a brief profile and work history including agency, location, etc., for use as newsletter article or for a possible member presentation at a future meeting.

 

           A friendly, experienced member should be assigned to brief each new member regarding chapter organization, program activities, policies and procedures, and answer questions.  Also, explain the benefits and advantages of NARFE membership, including major legislative victories.

 

           New members should be introduced to the chapter service officer at the earliest opportunity to receive information regarding assistance with personnel matters and coordination with OPM, if necessary, concerning problems or death benefits.

 

           Provide your new member (and all members for that matter) with a name badge (similar to those used at conventions) which has the member’s name and the agency from which they retired.  This is a good way to get the member acquainted with other chapter members.

 

           A follow-up interview of each new member should be conducted a few months after joining the chapter to solicit ideas and comments about chapter programs, activities and other matters.

 

           Communicate with new members upon renewal and implement a recognition system by publishing articles in chapter newsletter about those who renew or enroll in Dues Withholding or Life Membership.

 

 

 

NEW MEMBER WELCOME LETTER – (RETIREE)

 

Dear _______,

 

            On behalf of our Chapter President, and the (# of members) members of our (name of chapter) Chapter (chapter #), we sincerely welcome you to our chapter and to NARFE.

 

            NARFE is the only organization that is constantly working on Capitol Hill with our lobbyists to keep Congress from reducing or eliminating promised benefits to both retired and active federal employees.  Your membership is crucial to our organization because the more members we have, the more influence with have with Congress.

 

            The (name of chapter) Chapter issues a monthly newsletter, which you will now be receiving, to keep you informed of local issues and provide you with guest speaker/program information. 

 

            We invite you to attend our meetings, held the (week of the month and day of the month) of the month at the (location of your meeting and time).   Our guest speaker/program will be presented first, followed by a short business meeting and refreshments (or presented after a short business meeting).  (Details about meetings which are different than normal) [Currently, the chapter suspends business meetings in ______.]

 

            We also invite you to participate in the NARFE-NET, (if you have access to e-mail), which is a network of California members who receive state and local NARFE information from our NARFE-NET Coordinator.  If you have e-mail, please send an e-mail to me at (membership chair e-mail address), and I will be happy to forward your e-mail address to our State Coordinator, who will also sign you up for the Global Electronic Messaging System (GEMS) which will allow you to receive Legislative information and special information from NARFE headquarters.  Please note, your e-mail address will not be used for any solicitation purposes. 

 

            Both the California Federation (state) and NARFE (nationally) provide Web Sites which may be of interest to you.  The Federation Web Site is www.csfcnarfe.org and the National Web Site is www.narfe.org.  There is quite of bit of valuable information contained on these Web Sites and we invite you to visit them out at your leisure.

 

            In addition, we would like to get to know you and a little about your background, so we could put a brief article about you in our chapter newsletter.  Please call me at (membership chair phone number) and let me know the agency from which you retired, the position you held, a little about your family and your interests.  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Finally, we invite you to participate in the workings of our chapter.  We do have various chapter committees and would welcome your participation with any of them.  The more people involved, the more ideas, and the better the chapter; we are always looking for new ideas.  Please give some consideration to serving the chapter by volunteering for one of the tasks identified on the attached sheet.

 

Again, welcome to (chapter name) Chapter (chapter #), and we look forward to seeing you soon at a chapter meeting, where you will receive a packet of information specifically about our chapter.

 

                                                                        Sincerely,                                                                     

                                                                        (Signature and Name)

                                                                        Membership Chair

 

 

 

 

I WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN MY NARFE CHAPTER BY VOLUNTEERING FOR:

 

President_______ Executive Vice President______  Vice President_______ Secretary_______

 

Treasurer_______ Service_______ Legislation_______ Membership______ Telephone_______

 

Newsletter_______ Public Relations_______ Hospitality_______ 

 

PRESIDENT - leads the meeting and represents the Chapter at higher levels.  With assistance from Committee Chairmen, informs members of important issues which directly affect your benefits.

 

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - assists the President and leads the meeting in the absence of the President. May serve as Program Chair; Legislation Chair; Membership Chair; depending on chapter 

 

SECRETARY - takes minutes of the meetings, reads correspondence at meetings, and writes correspondence for the Chapter. Maintains chapter records and orders supplies.

 

TREASURER - maintains financial records for the Chapter; writes checks authorized by the budget.

 

SERVICE - assists members in areas formerly performed by the Human Resource Office where you worked.  Most importantly, assists survivors in filing necessary forms for insurance and survivor annuity upon death of annuitant.

 

LEGISLATION - keeps membership up-to-date on issues in Congress that may affect your earned benefits.

 

MEMBERSHIP - works to retain current members and attempts to recruit new members for NARFE.  The number of members is extremely important when we lobby in Washington to retain our earned benefits.  The more members we have, the better chance that Congress will listen to our wishes.

 

TELEPHONE - contacts members and informs them of meetings and Legislative Alerts. 

 

NEWSLETTER - issues a monthly newsletter.  Assembles articles from various Committee Chairmen, prepares layout of newsletter, obtains printing services and mails, or e-mails newsletter to membership.

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS - takes an active role in publicizing NARFE events in local newspapers, radio, television, and publications as well as informing the public about NARFE and its purpose.

 

HOSPITALITY - greets people as they arrive at the meetings and coordinates the refreshments served at each meeting.

 

QUALIFICATIONS: You need to be willing to do the job and work as a team with other members of the executive board, willing to learn from training provided, willing to participate as much as possible in Chapter, District and Federation events and willing to be creative about getting the job done, so you can enjoy doing the job and meeting new people.  Our chapter needs an infusion of new ways to get the job done and members willing to get involved to continue the valuable work of NARFE members who have been serving in leadership capacities for many years. 

 

GET INVOLVED TODAY – THE BENEFITS YOU SAVE ARE YOUR OWN!

 

Name__________________________________________ Phone______________________________

 

 

 

 

 

NEW MEMBER WELCOME LETTER – (ACTIVE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE)

 

Dear _______,

 

            On behalf of our Chapter President, and the (# of members) members of our (name of chapter) Chapter (chapter #), we sincerely welcome you to our chapter and to NARFE.

 

            NARFE is the only organization that is constantly working on Capitol Hill with our lobbyists to keep Congress from reducing or eliminating promised benefits to both retired and active federal employees.  Your membership is crucial to our organization because the more members we have, the more influence with have with Congress.

 

            The (name of chapter) Chapter issues a monthly newsletter, which you will now be receiving, to keep you informed of local issues and provide you with guest speaker/program information. 

 

            We do invite you to attend our meetings, although as you are currently working, we know that may be difficult for you.  Our meetings are held (week of the month and day of the month) of the month at the (location of your meeting and time).

 

However, since much of what NARFE does, will affect your retirement, we invite you to become active in some manner with the chapter.  Our chapter needs help with computer skills, and would welcome someone who could obtain current legislative information, or layout the chapter newsletter, prepare a membership list, mailing labels, service; things that could be done without attending meetings, yet would be helpful to chapters without computer skills, and the officers of the chapter would appreciate your help. 

 

            We invite you to participate in the NARFE-NET, which is a network of California members who receive state and local NARFE information from our NARFE-NET Coordinator.  Please send an e-mail to me at (membership chair e-mail address), and I will be happy to forward your e-mail address to our State Coordinator, who will also sign you up for the Global Electronic Messaging System (GEMS) which will allow you to receive Legislative information and special information from headquarters.  Please note, your e-mail address will not be used for any solicitation purposes. 

 

            Both the California Federation (state) and NARFE (nationally) provide Web Sites which may be of interest to you.  The Federation Web Site is www.csfcnarfe.org and the National Web Site is www.narfe.org.  There is quite of bit of valuable information contained on these Web Sites and we invite you to check them out at your leisure.

 

            In addition, we would like to get to know you and a little about your background, so we could put a brief article of you in our chapter newsletter.  Please call me at (membership chair phone number) and let me know the agency where you work, the position you hold, when you plan to retire, a little about your family and your interests.  I am looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Finally, we invite you to participate in the workings of our chapter.  We do have various chapter committees and would welcome your participation with any of them.  The more people involved the more ideas, and the better the chapter; we are always looking for new ideas.  Please give some consideration to serving the chapter by volunteering for one of the tasks identified on the attached sheet.

 

Again, welcome to (name of chapter) Chapter (chapter #), and we look forward to hearing from you soon. 

                                                                        Sincerely,                                                                     

                                                                        (Signature and Name)                                                                                                                            Membership Chair

 

I WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN MY NARFE CHAPTER BY VOLUNTEERING FOR:

 

Newsletter_____ Legislation_____ Membership_____ Service_____ Telephone______

 

Public Relations_____ President_____ Vice President_____ Secretary_____  Treasurer_____

 

NEWSLETTER - issues a monthly newsletter.  Assembles articles from various Committee Chairmen, prepares layout of newsletter, obtains printing services and mails, and/or e-mails newsletter to membership.

 

LEGISLATION - keeps membership up-to-date on issues in Congress that may affect your earned benefits.

 

MEMBERSHIP - works to retain current members and attempts to recruit new members for NARFE.  The number of members is extremely important when we lobby in Washington to retain our earned benefits.  The more members we have, the better chance that Congress will listen to our wishes.

 

SERVICE - assists members in areas formerly performed by the Human Resource Office where you worked.  Most importantly, assists survivors in filing necessary forms for insurance and survivor annuity upon death of annuitant.

 

TELEPHONE - contacts members and informs them of meetings and Legislative Alerts. 

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS - takes an active role in publicizing NARFE events in local newspapers, radio, television, and publications as well as informing the public about NARFE and its purpose.

 

PRESIDENT - leads the meeting and represents the Chapter at higher levels.  With assistance from Committee Chairmen, informs members of important issues which directly affect your benefits.

 

VICE PRESIDENT - assists the President and leads the meeting in the absence of the President. May serve as Program Chair; Legislation Chair; Membership Chair; depending on chapter 

 

SECRETARY - takes minutes of the meetings, reads correspondence at meetings, and writes correspondence for the Chapter. Maintains chapter records and orders supplies.

 

TREASURER - maintains financial records for the Chapter; writes checks authorized by the budget.

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS: You need to be willing to do the job and perhaps give some valuable assistance and innovative ideas to the chapter.  Our chapter needs an infusion of new ways to get the job done and members willing to get involved to continue the valuable work of NARFE members who have been serving in leadership capacities for many years. 

 

 

GET INVOLVED TODAY – THE BENEFITS YOU SAVE ARE YOUR OWN!

 

 

 

Name__________________________________________ Phone______________________________