So far the top 10 in each category:

Large Chapters
1.    Chicago Headline Club – 204 new or renewing members
2.    New York Deadline Club – 162
3.    D.C. Pro – 134
4.    Los Angeles Pro – 114
5.    Northern California – 104
6.    Colorado – 102
7.    San Diego – 93
8.    Western Washington – 73
9.    Long Island – 71
10.    Minnesota – 68

Small Chapters
1.    New Mexico – 41 (Kudos to New Mexico, who just launched its chapter this year!)
2.    Maryland Pro – 39
3.    Louisville Pro – 38
4.    St. Louis – 38
5.    Eastern Tennessee – 37
6.    Utah – 33
7.    Mid-Michigan – 31
8.    Middle Tennessee Pro – 31
9.    Alabama Pro – 27
10.    Arkansas Pro – 26

Campus Chapters
1.    University of Florida – 36
2.    University of Missouri – 24
3.    DePaul – 19
4.    California State – Fullerton – 16
5.    Ohio – 14
6.    IUPUI – 11
7.    Alabama – 11
8.    Baylor – 10
9.    Lincoln – 10
10.    Several with 9

You still have plenty of time to take the lead!

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

Last week I contacted a new member in Florida who had a question about how to get involved with a local chapter. I was able to give him that chapter’s website and also sent his contact information to the membership chair of that chapter.

It likely that new member might have waited several months before connecting with a local chapter. By taking a few minutes to call these new members, I was able to help speed along that connection.

I urge individual chapters to take on a similar effort in contacting new members in their area, welcoming them to SPJ, answering questions, providing resources and inviting them to the next chapter event. And if your chapter already does this, that’s terrific. I’d love to hear some success stories.

This would better serve chapters that need some last-minute promotional materials or just want a handful of items for an event.

Are there particular items you’d like to see available? Feel free to offer up suggestions and we can take those into consideration.

And in tough times, you need a support system. That’s were SPJ comes in handy. Once you join, you’re connected to a few thousand friends and supporters – people willing to lend a hand, offer advice or encouragement or simply listen if you’re worried about your future. SPJ members also can give you a professional boost by connecting you to job openings, introducing you to hiring managers, serving as mentors and giving your resume an editor’s eye.

SPJ as an organization provides a host of conferences – national and regional – along with various professional development workshops and programs aimed at helping you learn new skills so you can be part of a new world of journalism.

I’d say that’s pretty good deal for $72.

Think of the things people will drop $72 for without a second though: a pair of jeans, date night, concert tickets, a few too many Starbucks trips … and the list goes on. Look at all the people who jumped at the chance to buy a new $500 iPad.

All those are one-time expenses for items that are either immediately consumed or eventually replaced. But growing a network of lifelong professional contacts (and friends), learning new skills and figuring out a way to stay in a business that changes almost daily – those lessons won’t be gone in the time it takes you sip a latte or polish off a fine dinner.

SPJ has staying power – but only if you join the network and only if you stay.

I’ve been giving a great deal of thought about a message I want to send to colleagues and friends who aren’t members asking them to join. SPJ does many different things for many different people. Some may find it valuable for networking, others for training, some for the freelance job directory and still another group who believe strongly in the power of journalism.

All of those reasons are compelling, but I’m wondering what would make me join SPJ now if I had never been a member (or hadn’t been a member in a long time)? I’m curious to hear from new members about what prompted them to join now. And long-time members, what would make you join now?

Is a goal of 2010 members in the year 2010 ambitious? As Mickey Mouse (I have a toddler) would say, “You betcha!” Is it doable? Another “You betcha!” I know of few organizations whose members are as dedicated, devoted and enthusiastic as SPJ’s. We can easily channel that enthusiasm into a membership campaign and I firmly believe we can achieve our goal.

With the journalism profession as we’ve known it for years crumbling around us, I definitely want to be part of a solid journalism organization and surround myself with other great journalists.

In the next few weeks, start making a list of the journalists you know who are not SPJ members. Now would be a great time to invite them to a program, send them a brochure or point out all the great programs SPJ has. Will they join? I’m going to say, “You betcha!”

Here are the contest guidelines:

 We will have three categories: large chapter, small chapter and campus chapter.

1. You should recruit new members at every opportunity…awards, professional development programs, mixers, in the hallway, at the park, in the bathroom, etc. Just ask!

2. Anyone from your area who signs up during the year (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31) will automatically be awarded to your chapter. Meaning, someone doesn’t have to sign up at a chapter event for you to get credit. We are going to assume that your chapter has spread the word and people came to us because of your great work.

3. We will track the results at HQ, but provide regular updates so all can see how the contest is going.

4. Membership applications and payment (mailed or online) must be received by Dec. 31, 2010, HQ to be counted.

5. To up the ante a bit, we will count new AND renewing members. After all, it doesn’t do us much good to sign up 2,010 new members if we lose 3,000. In addition to recruiting, we need you to focus on meeting the needs of those already in your ranks, and showing them value of SPJ.

 The chapters who finish in the top three in each category will win:
1^st place – three complimentary convention registrations for 2011 (no travel or meal costs included). A $555 value.

2^nd place – two complimentary convention registrations for 2011 (no travel or meal costs included). A $370 value.

3^rd place – one complimentary convention registration for 2011 (no travel or meal costs included). A $185 value.