President’s Message
by Rodger Van Ness
 
Retention and You
 
We will soon welcome spring – the season of regeneration and renewal. Not coincidentally, the Mercedes-Benz Club of America celebrates its 55th year in the midst of its own renewal. We hope you will participate in this pivotal time in our history.
 
According to the book Keeping Members: CEO Strategies for 21st Century Success, first-year members of most organizations register the lowest retention rates of any membership category. In fact, some associations report that more than 50 percent of first-year members don’t return for a second year. This statistic is staggering, and true for MBCA. Each month, we successfully acquire approximately 300 new members, but the same number fail to renew. Doing the math for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010, when our membership was more than 19,000 each year, that means nearly 10,000 new members joined MBCA during those three years. That’s an outstanding achievement considering the weak economy and the challenges organizations like MBCA face in today’s environment. Sadly, for the same years, 10,000 members chose not to renew their memberships.
These short-term “visitors” are often referred to as “checkbook” members in nonprofit organizations. They command our attention not for their level of involvement with the association, which is usually minimal, but for their high numbers (they usually represent the majority of members in most organizations, as they do in MBCA). Checkbook members initially join to receive a publication, sample a new product, support a cause, or list an affiliation on their resumes. The MBCA study reveals that roughly 15,000 of our 19,000 total members have one-year memberships, about 80 percent of our members.
In 2011, your Club wants to slow new members’ exodus from MBCA. And we’ll need your help. In an upcoming issue of The Star, we’ll uncover new research defining why members join and what (they tell us) will motivate them to stay. Each of you joined MBCA to have fun, and if your needs have not been met, contact your Section President or Regional Director to discuss your needs. After all, it’s your Club. We want you to have fun!
The election for 2011 officers has been held, and the National Officers are yours truly as president; Steve Dierks, vice president; Laura Simonds, treasurer; and Mary Alice Cozza, secretary. Newly elected to the board are Josie Lesler  as Director at Large and William Hopper, as Regional Director for the Eastern Region. I’m sure you join me in thanking them for accepting these positions and devoting their time to meeting the challenges of your Club.
Have fun!
 Rodger