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Texas Association of College
Teachers
Serving Educators Since 1948
TACT Organizer's Manual
Compiled by
Dave Castle
Lamar University
June 1998
The suggestions offered in this manual reflect my experiences as a TACT chapter officer and my conversations with other TACT members throughout the state. Several persons will recognize their ideas among the suggestions that follow, especially: Mary Alice Baker, George Brown, David Carroll, Linda Dugger, Chuck Hempstead, Tom Hoffman, Joe Kemble, Kathleen Murray, Amy Pemberton, David Pratt, Paul Reed, George Roberts, and Faye Thames.
INCREASING CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP
Membership is the most important thing we do. All chapter vice presidents serve as local membership coordinators and are members of the State Membership Committee. As such, chapter vice presidents have primary responsibility for increasing TACT membership.
Have a plan. Chapter vice presidents/membership coordinators should begin each academic year with a recruiting plan that includes numerical goals for increasing membership and ideas for achieving those goals. Consider holding a reception for new faculty or have TACT be part of the new faculty orientation presentations on campus.
Knocking on doors does it. The most effective way to recruit new TACT members is face-to-face conversation. People join TACT when you tell them about the organization and ask them to join. My experience is that four out of every ten people asked will join.
Use the buddy system. Door-to-door recruiting is easier and more effective with a partner. A pair of TACT recruiters going door-to-door increases the likelihood that one of you will know the person being recruited, and that one of you can relate well to that person. TACT recruiters should agree to do a certain amount of door-to-door work together each week. Making this commitment increases the likelihood that you will actually do the work rather than find reasons to put it off or not do it. After all, you don't want to disappoint your buddy by not doing your share of the work.
Follow up on initial contacts. Have TACT members in the department you've visited follow up on the initial membership visits with their colleagues. The TACT recruiters themselves should follow up with thank you notes that include the names of TACT members in the department or the names of new TACT members on campus.
Don't get discouraged; the next person you talk to will join! And that is all it takes to make your recruiting efforts worthwhile. Signing up one new TACT member energizes you and makes you want to keep working.
They'll read it in the lunchroom. TACT literature and information should be readily available on campus. TACT Quarterly Bulletins, our 50 Years of Success publication, chapter newsletters, EPLI brochures, and membership forms should be in all the lunchrooms/faculty lounges on campus. Make visiting the lunch rooms part of your recruiting and membership maintenance plans.
Be creative. Think of other ways to get TACT literature and information to your colleagues. Put it in faculty mail boxes, distribute it at the fall semester convocation, have department chairs pass it out at department meetings, put in places in the library where faculty will see it.
Become identified with the product you're selling. Recruiters should wear TACT buttons or caps, or find other ways to be clearly identified with the organization. Remember that you're not just recruiting new members; seeing you out there working inspires your fellow TACT members. The members appreciate your efforts, and many of them will tell you so - which inspires you to keep working on membership.
Recruit the president and provost. Get them to join TACT, then use that as a recruiting tool to get the vice presidents, deans, department chairs, and senior staff to join.
Repeat as necessary. Increasing chapter membership requires constant effort. We have the tendency to work hard at recruiting during the annual fall membership drive and the first semester, then ease up during the spring semester, and finally do no recruiting during summer school. The result is that TACT membership peaks early in the academic year, then declines - leaving us with having to start all over again in rebuilding our chapters each fall. Chapter vice presidents/membership coordinators should plan for year-round recruiting.
MAINTAINING CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP
Membership maintenance is crucial. Recruiting new TACT members is important, but keeping them is more important. TACT chapter presidents and vice presidents should be active in membership maintenance activities.
Getting them to renew their membership is easier than recruiting new members. TACT chapter officers should have a plan for membership maintenance that includes ideas for making sure that new TACT members continue to be a part of the organization, that veteran members not allow their memberships to lapse, and that retirees continue to renew their membership. Use the monthly membership reports from the state office to identify lapsed members.
Let them know they are appreciated. At least once each year (but more often if possible) visit, phone, or write each TACT chapter member and thank them for their continued support of the organization. Note when members are due to renew and visit, call, or write them before they receive renewal notices from the state office.
Visit or call lapsed members. It is easy for people to ignore a written renewal notice from the state office; it is hard for them to ignore the personal request of a colleague to renew. Many times you will find that they simply misplaced the renewal notice or otherwise forgot to renew. And most TACT members are glad that you reminded them to renew. They are also glad to see that you care enough about the organization to remind them.
Keep the members aware and involved. Regular or special chapter meetings and newsletters keep members aware of and involved in TACT. Telephone and email distribution lists allow chapter officers to inform members of meetings or important developments. Consider establishing a TACT chapter home page on the World Wide Web.
How about lunch? TACT chapter members should meet for lunch at least once a week. The TACT lunches can range from completely informal drop-by affairs to more formal meetings that feature guest speakers such as campus leaders, state legislators, or other political candidates. TACT lunches should be held in places - on or off campus - frequented by faculty. This serves to advertise the organization and makes it easy to invite non-members to join us for lunch and conversation (a first step to getting them interested in becoming members).
Get retirees to renew their membership. Faculty who are scheduled to retire should be urged to renew their TACT membership by noting other retired faculty who do so, and noting ways in which TACT will continue to work on legislative issues that affect retirees. Our concern for what happens to our retired colleagues should serve to encourage them to maintain their membership. Honor retiring members at opportune times and in appropriate ways. Invite retired member(s) to scheduled TACT functions, and applaud their presence at these functions.
Elect TACT officers on a regular schedule. A key to maintaining membership is electing chapter officers on a regular and timely basis, so that officers and members know who is responsible for what chapter activities. Chapter officer elections should be held late in the spring semester of each academic year, with newly elected officers immediately assuming responsibility for maintaining the chapter. New officers' names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses should be transmitted immediately to the state office.
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
Establish good working relationships with state legislators. TACT is a political organization with most of our efforts directed toward influencing actions of the state legislature. It is crucial that TACT chapters make legislators aware of our legislative agenda.
Assign legislative liaison responsibility. TACT chapters should choose a member to serve as legislative liaison to assist the elected officers in working with state legislators and in providing legislative information to TACT members.
Influence those who influence the legislators. Develop good working relationships with legislators' district staff. When you invite a state senator or representative to a TACT function, invite the district staff director to accompany the legislator. Keep in mind that most of your dealings with legislators will initiate with the district staff.
Use the news media. Virtually every state legislator assigns the district staff to prepare and maintain a file of local newspaper stories, editorials, and opinion essays. TACT chapters should make sure that key elements of our legislative agenda appear in some form in local newspapers.
Send ideas for inclusion in the Organizer's Manual to:
TACT STATE OFFICE
5750 Balcones Drive, Ste 201
Austin, TX 78731
Email: - tactoff@tact.org - Phone 512-873-7404.
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