One initiative that surfaced was to build a new student member classification for BOMA. The formation and finalization of the student membership classification will create a student member status for assistant property managers and administrative personnel. “Right now our membership consists of associate members or regular members and that’s it,” says Hatfield.
Student membership will be less expensive and will not include all the benefits of a regular membership. However, the program will allow individuals that are up-and-comers in the real estate industry to have access to all the educational benefits BOMA offers, as well as networking opportunities. So far, the rights and restrictions for student membership has been ironed out, and Hatfield says the Membership Committee is ready to bring the initative to the board to nail down the finer points and come up with a marketing strategy for introducing the initiative. “We hope to have this rolled out to local colleges and universities by early March,” he says.
The initial marketing plan is still in the works, but Hatfield hopes to market the program to junior professional employers by showing that a small monetary investment will benefit employers in the long run. Sponsorship initiatives have not yet been decided as to the additional benefits or recognition businesses will receive by being a part of the student membership program. “What we need to do is let property managers, both senior and portfolio, know that they can get junior members involved in BOMA,” Hatfield says, “which will expose them to our ongoing educational initiatives, enrollment in certification classes at a reduced rate and articulate how it will benefit them as an organization since most of the time employers pay individual member dues.”
Marketing plans for college students include informing deans and faculty leaders about BOMA, what they offer and explain how some of the educational programs BOMA has may qualify for college credit. The main focus for college students is to demonstrate the networking value for those entering the industry through the association and how it will benefit them in their career searches. “It’s a pretty exciting project,” says Hatfield. “It’s something new to the chapter that myself and other leaders of BOMA think is the best way to grow BOMA and enhance its value.”
A major goal for the membership committee is to grow the Greater Phoenix chapter to become larger than it’s ever been, thereby giving the professional group a greater voice in promoting legislative initiatives. “The bigger we are the more commercial real estate industry we’ll represent, which will make us louder and give us more resources for our educational programs and networking opportunities,” says Hatfield. “That’s the main reason most associate members, like myself, join the association.”
www.bomaphoenix.org |
s a seasoned member of the Building Owners and Managers Association in Los Angeles and Phoenix, Jason Hatfield knows that further developing an organization sometimes means you have to start at the bottom in order to expand at the top. “In our strategy meetings we looked at things BOMA could do better to add value to the membership rather than making cold calls to marketing associations,” says Hatfield, board member and head of BOMA’s Membership Committee.
