This blog is Part II of a two-part series highlighting the NAPO Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter and their recent recognition as the Chapter of the Year.  Winning this award during its inaugural year has put NAPO-DFW in the spotlight and illuminated the efforts that were made by the Chapter over the last year to achieve some measurable goals.  During this two-part series, Awards and Recognition Chair, Sara Skillen (pictured right) interviews NAPO-DFW President Shirley Falls (pictured left) to discuss what it takes to not only imagine change, but to produce it.

Sara Skillen: In the first half of our interview we covered creating a business plan for the Chapter, establishing goals and focusing on member engagement.  Regarding some of your practices, do you find social media engagement for your chapter to be more helpful internally for members, for community awareness, or both? How do you measure the success of your social media presence?

Shirley Falls:  I personally feel our social media presence increases awareness by the public and potential members while providing exposure to our chapter and individual members. We post productivity and organizing tips from our members as well as their testimonials about being part of our chapter. We also re-post content from NAPO and other NAPO members outside our chapter. We measured our success by targeting a specific number of followers over the period of a year.

Sara Skillen:  What was your chapter’s role in the NAPO Texas Regional Conference? What advice do you have for other chapters who are contemplating a big event, or  about partnering with another NAPO chapter?

Shirley Falls:  Liana George, President of NAPO Houston, reached out to me to arrange a meeting whereby members from each board met half way between Houston and Dallas to share ideas and experiences. It was during that meeting that Liana shared their vision to have a regional conference in Texas. The Houston chapter did the majority of the work in putting on an extremely successful conference that was enjoyed by all! NAPO-DFW gave financial support and provided volunteers to work on the committee to select break-out session speakers  and to work during the conference in a variety of roles.

Partnering with another NAPO chapter just makes sense to advance mutual purposes. Not only does partnering multiple the available resources but it also increases the likelihood of reaching those mutual interests and extends our impact. Key factors to consider when forming a partnership with another NAPO chapter:

• Ensure there is a strong purpose for the partnership with potential benefits outweighing financial and time commitments.
• Establish a clear understanding of chapter roles and responsibilities.
• Sustain a level of trust in order to work together effectively and honestly.
• Be open minded and flexible as partnerships provide a great opportunity for learning from each other.
• Maintain communication at all levels.
• Recognize the contribution of all members.

Sara Skillen:  What’s next for you all?  What do you see as your chapter’s biggest challenge for this year?

Shirley Falls:  As you know, the 2018-2019 board year began on May 15th. Our board has approved our new business plan for this year and is on its way to meeting our new objectives and goals. During this process, the board identified several challenges/opportunities we face including finding volunteers, identifying and training leaders, members and potential members not finding value of association, and lack of public awareness. Our plans to address these issues include a campaign marketing to area NAPO members who are not NAPO-DFW members, establishing a member referral program, implementing a formal retention plan, holding a “digital” GO Month, optimizing our newly designed website, identifying and training leaders, and fostering member and non-member engagement.

Let me end by saying that I had the privilege of working with a very dedicated and talented board this past year.

2017-2018 NAPO-DFW Board of Directors

Shirley Falls – President

Anita Sisler  – Vice President

Judy Kogutt – Treasurer

Ashley Barnett – Secretary

Michelle Schroeder – Past President and Acting Marketing Director

Carole Smith – Administration Director

Pam Bowers – Business Partner Director

Anita Blanks – Communications & Technology Director

Crystal Ryan – Membership Director

Libby Huffines – Professional Development Director

I cannot sufficiently express our pleasure and gratitude for NAPO-DFW being recognized as NAPO’s first ever Chapter of the Year. We are looking forward to the upcoming year and hope to see all of you at NAPO2019 in Cowtown (aka Fort Worth)!

Thanks so much to Shirley for all of this wonderful information – I know it will be an inspiration to many chapter boards across the country! The Awards & Recognition Committee is grateful to all of the chapters who took the time to submit a nomination.  If you think your chapter has some spectacular things going on (or you would like to submit again), be on the lookout for the 2019 Chapter of the Year nomination window to open later this year.

Sara Skillen, CPO®, SkillSet Organizing

Immediate Past Chair, Awards & Recognition Committee