So I call the bank/ phone company/… to ask a question about my latest statement, for example, and  I get a voice mail prompt to enter my account number. After several more auto-queries (and often quite a few expletives), I get a human on the other end of the line. The first question they ask is…”What is your account number?”

Peggy challenges us all in her post Meme Time! How are you going to change the world in 2012? to post our goals for the coming year. For me it means continuing our project Association Volunteers! where we shine the spotlight on those people who give their time and talent to their professional associations. The project was launched in 2010 with the Association Volunteers! Facebook fan page where fans can share stories, find inspiration, and give thanks to those that have made a difference.

Maddie Grant kicked off a Meme, in response to Craig Newmark’s post, asking all association peeps to answer “how are you going to change the world in 2012”.

In 2012, I hope to help associations reinvent the volunteer model. With my intrepid partner, Peter, and a host of very cool peeps (like my fellow ASAE Executive Management Section Council team and good friend Leslie White), my goal is to deconstruct the volunteer model. Then, tapping cool examples from the community-service sector along with innovative ideas coming out of a few associations, we’ll explore lots of options, ideas and possibilities.

We know that volunteers are what make associations unique as organizations and fuel our success. But,  even as we in associations embrace new technologies and – to a more limited degree – new business models, we haven’t addressed the volunteer model. We are still recruiting, developing, managing and rewarding as we did decades ago even though this no longer works. ASAE's Decision To Volunteer study sent out an alarm in 2008 that we can expect a turnover rate in our most active volunteers of up to 28%.  It’s time to change.

We’ll get some help on this journey through ASAE. A group of us from the EMS Council submitted an idea for a think tank project that I understand has been selected for funding in 2012. Also, two of us from the Council have submitted a very cool session for Annual Meeting on the topic (fingers crossed!). And, we have an informal group of association execs who are exploring, through open conversations, new models and sharing their own association’s journey. (We welcome more to the table for those conversations – just contact me for details.)

Lastly, to help inspire people to volunteer for their association and to shine the light on the great contribution association volunteers make, we launched a Facebook page Association Volunteers! Join us there, like it, add your own comments, and celebrate volunteers you know!

Happy to hear from others … join the meme (hint, hint Leslie White, KiKi L’Italien, Cynthia D’Amour, Frank Fortin,  Kerry Stackpole, Kim Howard).

In the December 14th posting on the Personal Branding Blog, Roger Parker discusses his strategies on a successful content marketing in 7 Content Marketing Tip for Small Business Success. The one point that really struck me was to think of your readers as students and you as the teacher.

Our next volunteer is a little different because he is the unique position of being on both sides of the association world: as a professional for a large national association and as a volunteer for his state association. As he puts it...

Meet Chaz Miller, Director of State Programs for the National Solid Wastes Management Association, a North American trade association representing for-profit companies in the waste services industry. In his spare time, Chaz is an active volunteer with the Maryland Recycling Network (MRN), a Maryland based association of individuals and organizations whose mission is to promote and practice the 3 “Rs” of recycling. Chaz's volunteer experience as includes past positions with ASAE –The Center for Association Leadership on the CAE group and the Government Affairs group. But it's through NSWM and MRN, that Chaz, a long-time advocate of recycling, has found a way to contribute to his personal mission on both the national (NSWMA) and local levels (MRN), proving that one person can make a difference.

One of my last group projects in college was to develop a PR strategy for a new major on digital communications. Naturally, one tactic discussed by each group was to develop an online presence. During my group’s discussion, I mentioned that creating Facebook accounts and online forums was one thing…getting people to come and participate was another. One classmate said that getting people to the sites wasn’t our problem. After all, we can only put it out there; we can’t force them to come. My response was…then what’s the point?

Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief, Daily Beast-Newsweek, closed her remarks at #ASAE11 with a statement: "I hope you become our readers in every way." How easy -- and life-changing for an association -- to substitute member for reader. Let us help our constituents become members in every way.

Member engagement is a "popular topic" now. I realize that in associations we must talk a topic or trend to death before we act. Soon we must act. And Tina gave us a game plan.

This morning I opened a new container of a certain product only to discover that it was barely 2/3 full. Of course, the container was marked with the standard “Packaged by weight not volume. Contents may settle during shipping and handling,” but this was a simple powder. How much settling could have occurred? Now I don’t necessarily have a problem with the actual amount in that container—it is, after all, what I paid for. I just have a problem with the initial appearance of much more.

Each year we do something utterly crazy – move the business to the mountains for a month. Eagles Mere Lake to be precise. And every year this is a treat for my creativity, my awareness and even my clients (given that we always come back refreshed and this cool ideas).

For some reason this year the importance of vacation has been appearing it seems everywhere I look. Here are two that really resonated with me ...

12 Most Important Reasons to Take Off (resounding yes to #2)

4 Reasons Why Your Boss Should Take a Vacation

Every year though some great thoughts and ideas are lost. So I’ve made a promise to myself to capture those in 30 posts. Lake-side thoughts if you will. And I hope my ponderings will yield some comments!

The headline read “Faith Hill Joins Oscars Lineup at Moment's Notice.” This happened at the 2000 Oscars when Whitney Houston cancelled at the last moment due to illness and country icon Faith Hill stepped in at the last minute. I remember that broadcast because regardless of the last minute rehearsals, Faith Hill performed flawlessly, proving that she is the epitome of a professional.