Karen Emery, NSA’s Commitment to Frontline Chapter Relations Visits New Jersey

EATONTOWN, N.J. - April 21, 2013 - PRLog -- Karen Emery, Manager of Chapter Relations for National Speakers Association (NSA), traveled from Tempe, Arizona to attend Speaker University and spend the day with New Jersey Chapter leaders and members.  NSA-NJ’s Speakers University was held on Saturday April 20, 2013, at  SCAN Learning Center, Monmouth Mall, 180 Hwy 35 S., Eatontown, NJ 07724.

During her visit with NSA-NJ, we had the opportunity to interview Karen Emery, to get the latest on her position and NSA’s commitment to motivating, and supporting Chapters and members.   Read on to learn what she had to say!

1.  As NSA’s Manager of Chapter Relations, “What are you focusing on right now?”  What brings you to the New Jersey Chapter on April 20th?

The NSA Manager of Chapter Relations position is new to NSA, created in 2011 in response to a national, grass roots effort by our membership to examine the status of our association’s Chapter relationships.  A taskforce comprised of NSA members, Chapter leaders, Chapter Leadership Committee (CLC) members, and NSA Board members was formed and went through various iterations for several years.  While the taskforce unearthed several strategies and ideas that NSA has been researching and implementing, one of the overarching themes uncovered was that our association could do better connecting:  from national to Chapters, from Chapters to national -- AND from Chapter to Chapter.  I’m now traveling to visit all of our Chapters across the country to help improve our connection and communication.

2.  Why did you accept this new role?

My passion for the last 20-plus-years has been to increase access to, and involvement in, education and workforce development.  I’ve focused my career on leveraging community relations and communications to improve access ever since obtaining my Master of Mass Communications degree from the Walter Cronkite School.  When I heard that NSA was seeking a Manager of Chapter Relations through a colleague, it impressed me as a great opportunity to use my skills to help support the professional development of a talented group of people.

3.  What do you want to accomplish with your recent chapter visits, including your visit to the NJ Chapter?

These visits are “mission critical” for me as they are the beginnings of strengthening the organization across the country.  By meeting everyone face-to-face, I hope to improve communications in both directions:  from the national offices to the Chapters and from the Chapters back to the national offices.  At the national level the NSA Board, NSA Staff and various committees work together to get feedback from our membership and build tools, programs and services to improve the Chapter experience and increase the value of membership.  We want to keep the doors of communication open so that we can ensure that these various strategies are meeting the needs of our membership.

4.  What two things can a NSA Chapter do to ensure it stays vibrant?

With such unique Chapters staffed by very talented individuals who are experts in many different fields (including Leadership Management and Training and Development), there are many ideas about what Chapters can do to stay vibrant and relevant.  Truthfully, the approach taken depends upon the individual Chapter’s constituency.  That said, I’d venture to say that some more universal ideas might include: a) ensuring a variety of new speakers and educational topics are presented throughout the Programming year, with an eye to representing topics reflecting each of NSA’s Essential Core Competencies (Eloquence, Expertise, Enterprise and Ethics); and b) utilizing a variety of communication channels and keeping up with new technology and social media in order to reach both your current and prospective members.  We know that various people prefer different communication channels, and sometimes this is reflective of the generation in which they were raised.  It’s important to honor and respect those ideas that have been working in the past for our current membership, while also venturing out into new channels that are preferred by up and coming Generation X and Y prospective members.

5.  What are the largest returns on investments for becoming an NSA member?

It is so interesting that you ask this because recently this very question was asked of NSA member David Glickman, CSP (Chair, 2013 NSA Convention) and he wrote an article for the April 2013 issue of Speaker magazine on the subject (“NSA Convention Provides ROI and ROF”).  David has been attending NSA Conventions since 1999 and in the article he explains how he and his wife Susan, a CPA, literally measure the ROI of his attendance at Convention each year.  To get an idea of how they calculate that, I’ll let you read the article, but suffice to say, David says, “My lowest return from my investment to attend an NSA Convention was 300 percent.  Not too shabby!”  What we hear from David and other members, is that members achieve ROI from dollars generated or saved as a direct result of learning a specific technique, meeting someone who becomes a mentor or peer coach, or implementing a specific inspirational idea they develop as a result of attending Convention, reading Speaker magazine, attending a webinar, listening to our audio magazine Voices of Experience, or engaging in our various NSA social media groups on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

6.  How do you relax? or “What is your favorite hobby right now?”  

Interesting question -- When I’m not at work, I enjoy engaging in my community via some public service.  I am an Appointed Public Officer serving on a regional board for Arizona’s first voter-initiated state agency (First Things First (FTF), initiated in 2006 to utilize state tobacco taxes to support and create programs and services for Arizona’s children from birth to age 5) and I serve as a Docent at the Arizona Humane Society (AHS).  I have to admit that my time down at the AHS Barn with the horses, goats and pigs has been a WONDERFUL “zen way” to unwind -- it forces me to slow down and be still while I groom, exercise and feed the animals.

About NSA-NJ:

NSA-NJ is the New Jersey Chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA). The chapter was formed in 2005. Membership is open to anyone who is already a member of NSA. However, everyone is welcome to participate in our meetings and events. Visit NSA-NJ's Web site at www.nsa-nj.org

About The National Speakers Association (NSA):

The National Speakers Association (NSA) is the leading organization for those who speak professionally. NSA's thousands of members include experts in a variety of industries and disciplines, who reach audiences as trainers, educators, humorists, motivators, consultants, authors and more.  Visit NSA's Web site at www.nsaspeaker.org