|
Serving as a board member
for a national or state organization is an important
responsibility. As a board member, you help set the
organization's strategic vision and represent the members
of your organization to the media and to consumers and
elected leaders. The American Soybean Association (ASA)
State Board Training Program is a customized program
providing the skills, understanding and leadership
knowledge needed for soybean farmers to become more
dynamic leaders and stronger spokespeople for the soybean
industry.
The State Board Training
Program provides training in the following five areas:
ASA State Board Training is
an excellent leadership training opportunity for ALL state
board members – new and experienced. To encourage maximum
participation, this training is best conducted in
coordination with the organization’s board meeting.
Selection Process
Any state may request
participation in the ASA State Board Training Program.
Training will be provided for up to nine states in 2012.
Preference will be given to states based on the following:
Meeting Requirements
-
The training must take place
in calendar year 2012
-
A minimum of 4 hours and
maximum of 8 hours is to be scheduled for training
depending on the training area selected
-
Up to $5,000 is reimbursable
to the state for training expenses (This includes meeting
space and individual expenses - travel, lodging and meals
- for members of the state board of directors and
association staff only)
-
ASA will be responsible for
selecting, scheduling and preparing trainers/facilitators
(The cost of the trainers/facilitators is separate from
the $5,000 allowed for state expenses)
-
A $1,500 management fee will
be given to states to handle meeting logistics, which
includes responsibility for the following:
-
Securing participant lodging
including accommodations for ASA staff and
trainer/facilitator
-
Securing adequate meeting
space including potential breakout sessions
-
Securing all
audio/visual/Internet needs for trainers/facilitators
-
Planning all meals and
breaks
-
Process reimbursements for
all participants and then sending to ASA for state
reimbursement
Descriptions of Five
Training Programs
1.
Board Function and
Responsibilities
| This
area includes general training and information
regarding board function, roles and
responsibilities, governing documents and practices,
standards of conduct, board evaluation, committee
roles, board/staff relationship, membership,
state/national relations and the delegate process.
A second option for
training in this area would be to have a brief
review of the topics above and then focus extended
time on an aspect of specific need for the state in
this area, such as review/update of bylaws or
in-depth board evaluation. |
2.
Strategic Planning and
Advancement
|
Training in this area may be used to help a state
develop a first-time strategic plan or update a
current plan. A strategic plan includes such things
as mission, vision, values, goals, strategies,
tactics/actions and measurements of performance.
A second option for
training in this area is to focus on specific areas
of strategic advancement for the state, such as
completing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) analysis or enhanced
strategic development of a particular goal or goals.
|
3.
Membership Retention
and Development
| This
is hands-on membership planning and development. The
session includes such things as: elements of a good
membership plan, data to help plan for growth,
retention versus new growth, creating a successful
membership experience, building a recruiter program
and marketing membership, and utilizing social media
to increase the visibility of association and
encourage active participation from members and
prospective members. With this training
session, another option is to do a brief review of
the membership topics mentioned above and then focus
extended time on a specific aspect of membership
that the state association would like to develop or
improve on. |
4.
Leadership Skills and
Styles
|
Communication, motivation and leadership styles are
the focus of this area of training. An effective
leader is one that can clearly communicate ideas and
motivate others by recognizing their own leadership
style and using those strengths to the best
advantage. This training session will identify
individual leadership and communication styles and
look at the effect on others. Training will also
help identify the styles of others and show how to
adapt messages to different styles. |
5.
Grassroots Advocacy and
Activism
As
policy organizations that are based on individual
membership, ASA and the state associations are
responsible for grassroots advocacy of policies and
legislation that impact soybean farmers at the
national and state levels. This also includes
activating the grassroots membership to support and
help push policy and legislative initiatives
identified by ASA and the state. This training
session is for states that want to increase their
advocacy and activism efforts or improve their
current activities in this area.
- The components
of this training include:
- Understanding
elements and structure of an advocacy plan
- Identifying
audiences and key stakeholders
- Developing
effective messages to specific targeted audiences
- Understanding
and using the tools available to activate members
and engage intended target audiences (includes
utilizing social media effectively to impact
messaging)
- Engaging members
and other targeted audiences to carry out message
- Measuring the
success of your advocacy program(s)
|
Contact Information
ASA recognizes that focused
and continued leadership development is not only necessary
but a key element for success and growth. If you have
questions, please contact ASA Member Education & Program
Development Manager Byron Keelin at (314) 754-1355 or
bkeelin@soy.org.
ASA is
pleased to announce the support of Pioneer as the
continuing sponsor of the ASA 2012 State Board Training
Program.
 |
