ESSAE Recognizes Four Member Associations for Excellence

ALBANY, NY (02/19/2008)(readMedia)-- At its February 7, 2008 Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, the Empire State Society of Association Executives (ESSAE) recognized four associations for their creativity and talent in providing programs and services to their members. These four award-winning entries provide important models and benchmarks for other associations, and demonstrate the high level of service each association affords its members.

ESSAE’s Association Excellence Awards recognize achievements by an ESSAE member for a particular project, idea, publication, practice or membership service instituted by an association in the last 24 months in any of these seven categories: education, government relations, marketing/public relations, meetings and expositions, membership recruitment and retention, publications, and technology.

Award-winning submissions:

ESSAE Association Excellence Award for Publications: New York State Nurses Association

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) launched a redesign of its member publication in January 2007. What has been a tabloid-sized newspaper named Report became a magazine named New York Nurse. The redesign was done to meet several specific communication goals:

  • Encourage more members to read the publication
  • Contain information that would appeal to NYSNA’s diverse membership
  • Make information more accessible and easy to find

Changing the name to New York Nurse (which actually is a return to the name used in the 1950s) signaled to members that the publication is designed specifically for them - registered nurses practicing in New York State.

The smaller page size makes the publication easier for readers to handle and carry with them. It also encourages shorter articles. Writers are encouraged to keep stories to no longer than 650 words in length that emphasize the use of pull quotes, subheads and sidebars.

Each issue is planned to include a profile of an “everyday” association member or group of members who are doing extraordinary things. NYSNA also seeks to achieve a balance among the many professional interests of its members, which include advances in nursing practice, trends in collective bargaining, and the latest legislative and political developments.

The overall design, which emphasizes full-color photos and graphics, builds upon the recent introduction of a new logo and brand for NYSNA. The design promotes an energetic, forward-looking image for nurses and the association itself. The same design principles are used for the association Web site, www.nysna.org.

Other features include:

  • A table of contents organized by interest area (legislation, labor, nursing practice, etc.)
  • A regular column answering questions about labor relations, in addition to columns related to nursing practice and nursing research
  • A “Leading Voices” column that expands the former “President’s Column” to opinion pieces by other association leaders
  • Grouping all advertisements into the back of the publication to make them easy to find and increase layout flexibility for editorial

ESSAE Association Excellence Award for Education: Northeastern Retail Lumber Association

The Material Handling Training Program: Protecting People and Products was completed under the direction of staff member Laure-Jeanne Davignon, director of education, but represents the results of hundreds of hours of labor on the part of numerous NRLA staff members and volunteers.

NRLA represents independent lumber and building material retailers throughout the northeast. Staff safety and preventing loss of inventory through poor handling is a significant challenge for the membership, one that it asked NRLA to help resolve through education and outreach. NRLA recognized that an on-site training tool would most effectively reach the greatest number of material handlers. Since one did not exist in the industry, the NRLA elected to create such a program.

In September 2007, after years of research and production, the NRLA released the Material Handling Training Program: Protecting People and Products, which consists of a two-hour DVD program, student handbook and trainer’s guide. The Program focuses on five crucial areas: Characteristics of Building Materials; Yard Safety; Manual and Mechanical Material Handling; Load Building and Yard Organization.

The Program was taped wholly in member yards, and hosted and narrated by a member who is also an instructor for the NRLA. The content is original and was vetted to numerous member volunteers and also vendor companies specializing in material handling equipment and safety. The content is suitable for a novice employee, but has also given some of NRLA’s most experienced members fresh insight and tips on material handling practices.

The Student Handbook includes reinforcement of the program content, as well as activities, tips and tests designed to augment the value of the Program and provide a means of evaluating employee retention of the information.

The Trainer’s Guide provides explicit instructions on how to most effectively administer the program on-site, as well as reference and supporting materials for the trainer.

As a whole, the Program represents the only comprehensive training package for material handlers in the retail lumber and building material industry.

ESSAE Association Excellence Award for Marketing & Public Relations: NYS Council of School Superintendents

Rebranding is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand or company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. This involves radical changes to the brand’s logo, brand name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes.

Theresa Wutzer, assistant director for publications and corporate support, took the NYS Council of School Superintendents through a rebranding process in which a new logo was selected and all promotional materials were redesigned. Theresa worked with the staff, executive committee and leadership of the organization through the entire process. The result has been amazing.

Theresa’s prior work experience in the marketing department of an architectural firm was put to use. She coordinated an internal audit of NYSCOSS collateral materials, and helped the organization decide on a firm to design a new logo and all materials. She has been working with the staff in the roll-out of all of the new materials so that everything produced from the organization is consistent with its “brand.”

Theresa also put together a graphic standards guide for all staff to make sure that everyone was using the same font, colors, logos, etc. The organization has received extremely positive feedback from its membership about the new logo and all of its materials.

ESSAE Association Excellence Award for Educational Marketing: New York Housing Association

History: The Consumer Guide to Factory-Built Housing, prepared by the New York Housing Association, began in 2002 as an idea of a former staff person who held the position of local government affairs director. Through discussions with the executive director and leaders of the Association a dual concept emerged. Not only did consumers need guidance in purchasing a factory-built home, finding a location, land development and all of the related issues relevant to land development; many front line sales people at the retail sales level were not as knowledgeable as they could be in assisting that potential home buyer on these issues. Over the next five years, research was conducted and chapters were developed for the Consumer Guide. The Guidebook had to be generic enough to meet all of the needs of the various membership categories of the association, be effective for all types of factory-built housing for consumers and industry, and yet be accurate and specific enough to really assist the potential homeowners in their quest to obtain the American dream of home ownership.

From the beginning, the project was about the concept and little thought was given to a budget. The development of the chapters and of the design the Guidebook were completed entirely by association staff and completed in house. Unfortunately, during the course of the Guidebook’s development the originator of the concept contracted cancer and passed away in 2005. The Guide is dedicated to this individual. The project stepped into high gear in 2006 and was released in April 2007 during Factory-Built Housing Week, a statewide marketing campaign to increase the awareness about the quality and wide variety of Factory-Built Housing options for New Yorkers.

Purpose: The purpose of the Consumer Guide to Factory-Built Housing first and foremost is intended to educate and assist potential homeowners about the many choices and decisions that are involved in purchasing a home and finding the best location for their family’s lifestyle. The secondary purpose of the Guidebook is to offer it as a training tool to new sales staff at the retail sales center. The outline of the chapters included in the Guide is a step-by-step process from beginning to end for both consumers and sales personnel.

Distribution and Reaction: The Consumer Guide was completely designed in house. The total cost of production for 3500 copies was $3,017. Announcements, press releases and order forms were distributed beginning in January of 2007. Consumers would be able to receive the Guidebook either directly from the New York Housing Association’s office or by visiting a retail sales center. All Association members were sent a free copy of the Consumer Guide in February of 2007. Members have two ways of obtaining copies of the Guidebook. The first way is for every $10 members donate to the association’s dedicated building fund, they receive one Guidebook FREE. The second way is by purchasing them for $1 each. The response has been extremely positive by both consumers and members. Since release of the Guidebooks in April, eight months, the Association has distributed approximately 2550 copies.

Next Level: The Association has received requests from members to make available to them the ability to have their business name and logo printed on the front cover along side that of the Association. This option has been researched and for a nominal fee to each company, this option will be available in 2008.

ESSAE comprises nearly 600 association and supplier members, and represents executives employed by trade, business and professional associations. ESSAE is committed to providing its members a means to exchange ideas and encourages high professional standards through educational forums, publications, industry resources and networking luncheons. ESSAE is affiliated with The American Society of Association Executives, whose headquarters is in Washington, D.C.