In the Stretch— Building a Better Association

We are more than halfway through the 2022-2023 bar year and in the stretch to building a better, more resilient, and more sustainable association.

Our focus remains on four key areas: creating membership value, improving twoway communication between the association and the lawyers it serves, encouraging engagement at all levels, and making efficient use of limited resources.

Our efforts are paying off. With our renewed focus on member engagement and communication, we have reversed our trend of declining membership. I am thrilled to report we have 277 more members this year than we had last year. Thanks goes to our Board and staff who really worked extra hard this year to reach out to attorneys across the state and encourage them to take advantage of all the benefits the association has to offer.

I am also excited to report the Board has moved to cement those gains in the coming years. It approved the recommendation of the Membership Value Task Force, led by Jamie Jones, to engage The Institute for Association and Nonprofit Research to design and conduct a professional qualitative and quantitative survey of all our members to ask what they need and want from the association. The effort will ensure the association provides value and remains relevant over time.

The survey will roll out this spring. Based upon the results, the task force will present to the Board in June a slate of recommendations for programmatic changes which will ensure members get the value they want from the association and continue to renew their membership year after year.

Membership is important because—well, we are a membership association. But also because the association relies on membership dues to fund its member services.

Equally important is making sure the association is using its limited resources efficiently and to the best advantage of our members. The Board is actively addressing efficiency issues as well.

Earlier this year, the Board charged the Program Review Task Force with drafting a policy for consideration by the Board to evaluate both existing and new programming. The goal is to ensure each program provides value and is an effective use of resources. The task force, through its Chair Aaron Squyres, presented its report and recommendation to the Board in January.

The policy under consideration calls for the creation of a standing committee to annually review all programing. If adopted, the committee will evaluate each program using a mix of objective and subjective criteria—such as how well the program serves the mission of the association, its hard and soft costs, its potential funding sources, the number of members served, the impact on the profession and/ or the community, and the like. After its review, the committee will make a recommendation to the Board. The Board will then make a final determination of whether to adopt/continue the program, alter it, or discontinue it.

The Board will vote on the task force’s proposal at its March 31 meeting. You can review a copy of the proposal at https://qrco. de/bdifKz.

I am also pleased to report that the Finance Committee, under the leadership of Treasurer Brant Perkins, is hard at work on the 2023-2024 annual budget. The Association’s policies call for the Board to adopt an annual budget at its spring meeting and, as a matter of principle, the budget for each year should be balanced.

Recognizing some unique challenges related to the pandemic, last year the Board approved a $248,000 deficit budget. This year, leadership is committed to presenting a budget that is both realistic and balanced.

That will be particularly difficult, however, given the lingering effects of the pandemic, increased operational costs due to high inflation, decreased demand for CLE, and increased maintenance related to the Bar Center. The Finance Committee and the Board will have to make tough choices related to dues, programming, and operations. But I am confident the recommendations of the committee and the decisions of the Board will be sound and will move the association closer to greater stability and sustainability.

I would also like to mention, in January, trustees met and voted to approve a slate of proposed amendments to the association’s constitution, bylaws, and policy manual. The amendments were drafted by the Governance Drafting Committee, under the leadership of Chair Tim Cullen, to provide for greater transparency in the association's elections and legislative advocacy and greater efficiency and effectiveness in governance and management. I encourage you to review the proposed constitutional amendments on your 2023 election ballot, distributed in February, and vote in favor of their adoption.

I am so impressed with the work the Board is doing. We have a superb leadership group and an active Board working together to tackle some tough issues. We are making progress. I am confident with their leadership and with our renewed focus on member engagement, identifying and providing greater value, ensuring our programming is relevant and an effective use of resources, we can build a better, stronger, more sustainable association. ■