As we flew from Walla Walla into Seattle, the sight of Mt St Helen’s piercing the clouds and seeming to appear alongside the plane was breathtaking. This sight pushed the droning engine sound out-of-mind.

Landing in Seattle, the news awaited. Flights cancelled. As I reached to fill a water bottle, the sign above the

fountain said “the talking fountain.” With a twist of the handle, a refreshing bubbling sound emerged coaxing a smile and sigh that melted away the anxiety of waiting.

To St. Louis. Connecting flight delayed. A left turn off the main concourse and I was immersed in serenity – soothing music, no hustling and bustling. All the gates were dark in the quiet concourse – like an oasis.

The meeting I had left – the WADE (WA Association of Diabetes Educators) state conference where I spoke about using the social web to build connections without drive time – was an incredibly successful work of art. The first evening members were invited to go to dinner with peers, peers who they were paired with by interest or local networking group. A matchmaking exercise that drew raves.

The email subject line is “Your EarlyBird Check-In Refund.” You see my trip home from the WADE was way different from the plan. And I had paid extra to get the A seating. I lost my positioning in the change (but I did get home!). How wonderful I didn’t have to ask for that refund!

It’s the little surprises that make the day richer, the delays in airports less frustrating, the challenges more appealing, strangers like friends. Imagine if we could conjure simple surprises for our members?

I am one of this people who love to get holiday messages. I hang up all the cards I get. I play all the e-cards I get. From this year’s picks here a few stand-outs:

On Sunday, I joined with a two other women to complete a half-iron - that's a triathlon which generally consists of Swim 1.2 miles, Bike 56 miles, Run 13.1 miles. This one - The Half Full Triathlon a charity event to raise dollars for young adult cancer support - purposely set the mileage at 70.

So a recent poster on an ASAE listserv ended his request for feedback with the directive “You are allowed 15 minutes to deliberate and respond to this test question.  Please do not tweet your answers.”

I chuckled at first and of course had the immediate need to tweet. But then I paused – you mean you’re going to tell me how to answer? Not to mention when to answer?

Taggies is the nickname for the 2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards & Report created by Nancy Schwartz, who works with nonprofits and publishes Getting Attention blog and e-newsletter. This year the awards added a new category for programs – like your volunteer program.

The “trick” to building your volunteer base is matching members to the right job. Making a good match is as much art as science. The trouble is that in associations we haven’t been even practicing the science much less the art. Instead, what we do is list the jobs we need done and then put out a call.

What if we turned the process on its head? What if we applied a little e-harmony/match.com science and art to the process? E-harmony has its 29 Dimensions ® of Compatibility. What if associations did the same?

There have been so many good reads that I've been reading somuch more than blogging. Here are a few I think you might like:

• Leading Change: Getting Your Organization on Board with Social Media
• Learning to ride the leadership rollercoaster
• Good is no longer Good enough
• Best Conflict Tool Ever: Ladder of Inference
• Leadership Skills: Curiosity (this is 3rd in a series -read them all!)
• On Mobilizing Your Evangelists
• The White Magic of Listening
• Federal Report Finds US Volunteer Rate Increased over 2 Years
• 50 Power Twitter Tips

There are so many more ... check out my Delicous bookmarks! And tell me where your's are so I can follow!

In just a few short days, Buzz2010 launches with the frist of three breakfast meetings on hot, hot social media issues. Buzz2010 is both a great learning/networking opportunity and a great model to watch (and experience) unfold.

When your association surprises you - in a good way - they've remixed their membership. When your association does something worth modeling in your own organizations - they've remixed their membership. When those two things happened to me, I just had to pick up the phone and find out more. Check out my SmartBlog Insights posting for the rest of the story on how an association shifted how they looked at the membership cycle and rethought engagement.  Love to hear your feedback!

For those with "building community" on their list of goals for 2010, check out SmartBlog on Social Media's posting by Merritt Colaissi - Spike Jones' 11 Lessons to ignite a fan community. It was lesson #9 that caught my eye:

Movements live online and offline. 90% of WOM happens offline. It’s important to get people together offline.

We are spending much time, energy and dollars on our IT and virtual communities that we fail to see the importance of being face-to-face. Some associations are even going so far as to replace traditional events and, yes even chapters, with online learning and virtual chapters. But it's not a either-or proposition. As Jones learned in building Fiskars successful crafters movement, its the combination that wins.