Nominations for July 2012 – June 2013 LA chapter board year are now open.

If you are a current IABC member and interested in volunteering to advance your career, expand your network, gain management experience, or develop your communications skills, please review the board and volunteer positions listed below and contact Paula Cassin, at la-president@iabc.com or 805 758-3392 to discuss!  We welcome all help, of all sorts and sizes.  We do have people expressing interest in many of the roles listed, but can always find a match for your personal goals and what’s needed to run the chapter. 

The deadline for nominations is midnight Saturday, the 12th of May.

IABC Los Angeles is a unique professional association, known for its friendliness and for providing access to network of 14,000 professionals around the world. The Los Angeles Chapter has been providing face-to-face, quality networking and professional development events for all communicators in the LA area for decades, all through a rotating volunteer board.IABC Logo

Serving on the board provides an incomparable professional development experience, creates lifelong friendships, and provides opportunities for communicators to expand their skill set in areas that may not be available at work.

Potential projects for 2012-2013 include planning the events program for 2012-2013,  rethinking event structure (virtual events? can we tie in social media more deeply at live events? partnering with other organizations? experimenting with the cutting edge in comms), overhauling how we showcase members online and at events, expanding our membership to new groups of practitioners.

Board level roles include the opportunity to travel to IABC Leadership Institute (Scottsdale, AZ in 2013) and regional IABC meetings, to meet with peers from around the world and also to regional chapter meetings and conferences.

Chapter board level roles:

President 2012-2013 – (Dana Edler)

Past President 2012-2013 – (Paula Cassin)

President Elect – Position Responsibilities:

  • Automatic succession to the position of president
  • Perform duties assigned by the president
  • Act on the president’s behalf in case of their absence
  • Act as the chapter’s main contact person for the Pacific Plains Regional Board
  • Manage the development of the official slate of next fiscal year’s Board members and work with the president to issue the final slate for voting to IABC-LA’s members
  • Manage the volunteering director and help establish  a healthy turnover of volunteers
  • Provide advice and counsel to the president on the direction and progress of the chapter

VP of Communications – Position Responsibilities:

  • Maintain the chapter’s broadcast communications calendar and craft the communications plan for the year (using past resources, best practice templates/work plans, and own initiative)
  • Manage and coach the social media, email, newsletter and website directors as needed to get content posted and broadcast.
  • Ensure all member mailings reflect the IABC-LA brand
  • Create and maintain a style book that reflects IABC-LA’s preferred look and feel for all member communications
  • Collect and publish member profiles
  • Work with the newsletter director to deliver the monthly e-mail newsletter for members

VP of Membership – Position Responsibilities:

  • Advocate and coach chapter volunteers on membership value and craft a membership promotion for the year (using past examples, best practice templates/work plans, and own initiative)
  • Member outreach – new, renewing, and lapsing members
  • Email new member packets monthly to all new IABC-LA members
  • Call members on their anniversary to thank them for their membership and ask for their feedback about events etc. being offered
  • Reach out to prospective new members and encourage them to join – through email, phone or mailings
  • Manage and coach new member welcome volunteers
  • Promote membership deals that IABC International offers by asking Website Chair to post details on the LA site and sharing that information with regional event planners so they can announce opportunities at monthly events.

VP of Professional Development (Programming, Events) – Position Responsibilities:

  • Lead Programming Committee to determine event calendar for September 2012- June 2013
  • Responsible for event calendar changes, updates, and relaying info to website director for posting
  • Manage and coach regional event directors, helping them stay on track, flag any problems
  • Responsibility for maintaining central database/info on topics, speakers, venues
  • Maintain a list of locations that have hosted events in the area for use by future Board members
  • Update Board on event status monthly

Treasurer – Position Responsibilities:

  • Must have served on the IABC-LA Board of Directors for one full fiscal year prior to accepting the role of Treasurer
  • Ensure the financial health of the chapter by monitoring the budget, managing all financial accounts, monitoring all financial transactions and issuing payments to vendors
  • Reimburse board members for expenses
  • Store and maintain all financial receipts and records
  • Prepare financial reports for IABC as requested by IABC
  • Manage new vendor contracts as necessary

 Directors (reporting to and coached by a board member, varying levels of commitment required):

Social Media – responsible for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Group, and promoting chapter members and activities through social media

Events, South Bay – organize an event for a particular month in a particular region

Events, Pasadena/Burbank – organize an event for a particular month in a particular region

Events, Downtown- organize an event for a particular month in a particular region

Events, Woodland Hills/Westlake- organize an event for a particular month in a particular region

Website – post news, event information, member profiles, event photos/video on our website

Monthly Newsletter – monthly round up of events, activities, notable news from IABC that goes out to members and non-members

Email communications – manage email broadcasts and eventbrite broadcasts during the year

Job Board  – receive and post job openings provided for SoCal during the year (5-10 per month currently), promote and spread awareness of our members-only free channel

Event volunteer – check in registrants, print out badges, etc)

Secretary/Administrator – attend board meetings, take minutes and post, print name badges,

New Member Welcome Committee – volunteers who contact new IABC members, find them a buddy, assist the VP Membership,  introduce new members at events

Programming Committee – volunteers who meet during June and July 2012 to agree and schedule the event calendar for 2012-2013

Volunteering – connect with members and non-members interested in volunteering and connect them to the right director or VP.