1996 Annual General Meeting
Membership Committee Report
The CCN Membership committee is responsible for managing the recruitment
and retention of members in the Chebucto Community Net Society, and
providing for their
needs. Core responsibilities include managing the membership renewal system,
implementing membership policy and expanding CCN membership services.
Membership Statistics
CCN membership continued to grow throughout 1996. At the end of March
1997, CCN had over 3500 active members. This includes only members of the
CCN Society, and does not include users who have opted not to join the
society.
Policy
The most significant initiative of 1996 was the new membership renewal
policy. CCN's original membership policy allowed account holders to keep
their accounts indefinately. This tied up system resources devoted to
accounts no longer being used, allowed our membership information to
become outdated, and encouraged members to allow membership to lapse.
Our new policy requires annual renewals of all accounts, for members and
non-members. Implementation of this policy has reduced dormant accounts,
helped to maintain a current member information database, and encouraged
donations. Membership continues to increase, and membership revenue has
improved dramatically over 1995.
Membership Services
As the number of members increases, the challenge will be to maintain a
high standard of membership service, with the minimal resources at our
disposal. Key among these challenges is to maintain communication with
the thousands of CCN members and users.
Currently, the membership committee is a committee only in name -- chair
Robert Currie is the only member. While the membership committee does not
need the number of volunteers of some other committees, it needs to be
enlarged. This is a priority for 1997.
Communicating the benefits of membership to members, CCN users, and the
general is a vital objective. CCN membership should be seen to benefit
both the individual users and the general community. A number of
possibilities, including better recognition of membership, will e
investigated in the coming year.
Special recognition is due to office administrator Blaine Murphy, who has
gone out of his way to handle membership business with speed and
courtesy. His presence in the CCN office has greatly helped the
delivery of membership services.