Reaching out to SPJ members whose memberships have lapsed and those who are up for renewal are key to membership retention. That’s exactly what the Connecticut Pro Chapter is doing as it reminds members of SPJ’s many benefits and services. A big thanks to Don Stacom, chapter membership co-chair, for sharing these letters in case other chapters would like to borrow the idea.

For Lapsed Members

Good morning [member],

In a lousy economy with a tough job market, does it make sense to rejoin SPJ?

Yes – much more than ever.

In this past year, Connecticut SPJ members have gotten:

• Insider details about teachers’ contracts and covering negotiations;
• A behind-the-scenes tour of the Quinnipiac Q Poll;
• Dozens of real-world tips for reporting great stories about the Census;
• Discount admission at the Manhattan regional conference featuring Pulitzer-winner David Barstow of The New York Times;
• Deep reductions on award nominations in our Excellence in Journalism contest;
• Free admission to David Cuillier’s powerful forum on using FOI for investigative stories from any beat;
• Our Connecticut newsletter, access to SPJ’s national jobs bank, Quill magazine, the Freelancer Directory … and much more.

Even better, they’ve been able to take part in the strongest journalism networking in Connecticut. With our industry & job market changing so quickly, that’s invaluable.

Connecticut SPJ has more great things coming for the next year; we invite you to be part of it all.  You can use our membership form, or go through www.spj.org/join.asp.

And if you’d like to recommend friends or colleagues, there’s a convenient form for that, too. Just route it back to me at Don Stacom, [insert address].

On behalf of the Connecticut SPJ board, we hope you’ll be with us this year!  Don Stacom, dstacom@ctspj.org

For Members Needing to Renew

Time to renew? Is your Connecticut SPJ membership running out this month?

We don’t want you to lose out on any of the great benefits … just visit www.spj.org/members_login.asp and you won’t miss a step.

Stay connected for:

• the first word about our 2010 and 2011 Connecticut forums and professional development workshops … and free or reduced admission!;
• discount rates for the SPJ National Conference in Las Vegas this October;
• access to SPJ’s national jobs bank;
• Quill magazine;
• the Freelancer Directory;
• discounts on SPJ award nominations;
• our Connecticut chapter newsletter, the latest news about the Connecticut SPJ 2011 Awards Dinner … and much more!

And thank you for continuing to support SPJ as it advocates for Freedom of Information laws, First Amendment protections and American journalism.

Questions about your membership?

Just call your SPJ office at 317-927-8000 ext. 200 or e-mail membership@spj.org.

And as always, let us know how we can help you,

Don Stacom, Membership Co-Chair, dstacom@ctsjp.org

Jodie Mozdzer, Membership Co-Chair, jmozdzer@ctspj.org