Ladies of the NAWIC Midwest Region, give yourself a pat on the back!  As the Midwest Region Membership Chair, I couldn’t be prouder of the work you all have been doing at recruiting new members to NAWIC.  Every two weeks I get a report of the new members that have joined our region and I send them out a welcome email.  I am happy to say there hasn’t been one list sent that I didn’t have to email a new member.  You ladies have definitely taken our NAWIC strategic plan goal of membership to heart.  As of today we have 84 new members in the Midwest Region!  As we move into Forum season remember to keep promoting NAWIC and inviting guest and potential new members to your NAWIC events.  Remember there will be membership awards at Forum!  Keep up the amazing work ladies!  Hoping to see you all in Omaha the end of April! ~Gin Aguinaga

Fargo-Moorhead, ND Chapter #246:
 
FM#246 have some great meetings planned for the next three months:
    February - We will learn what Terracon Consultants, Inc. specializes in from Kristen Uecker.
    March - Houston Engineering, Inc. will talk about the use of "Drones in Civil Engineering"
    April - Detroit #183 member, Kathi Dobson and her company Alberici will host a tour of their work on the Fargo Water Treatment Plant.
 
The Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead is sponsoring a booth for us at the Red River Valley Home & Garden Show, February 24th to 26th.  Members will be promoting the many careers that are available in the construction industry.
 
We are sending out press releases for all the events and have already been contacted for an interview with one of the many media sources in the area.

Our SEK #382 chapter has in the past completed projects such as:
 
Offering a “how to”  on simple things such as repairing a hole in the wall.
 
Had members of our chapter tell their personal stories and triumphs.
 
Showed a power point on what NAWIC is about, how it would benefit them and showed pictures and explained different projects and events that our local chapter has done.
 
We have had professionals from the community come in to educate us on new technology, safety/OSHA, and new Human Resource laws.
 
Pitt State student NAWIC chapter and the women’s chapter has joined forces to offer a demonstration on Pitt State’s drone, 3-d plan reading, experienced operating simulators, and had a speaker on how we all have photographic memory if we know how to access it.

St. Louis Chapter is very busy.  We are pushing ourselves out of the shadows and into the limelight.  We are making some noise (hopefully - pleasant noise).  January will have 4 Events (thanks, Katie!) - 2 Educational and 2 - Construction Outreach.  Our goal is to have at least 2+ events each month so every member has an opportunity to get involved.
NAWIC  yesterday - today and tomorrow.

Here is an update on OSHA reporting requirements.

One of the main reasons we do this program is to get kids excited about careers in construction. However, I have had many conversations with many people. The consensus is that it’s not enough to get kids excited about construction as a career, we need to get educators and parents to believe that it is a valid career choice.
 
There is a stigma to blue-collar work. Many assume that you get a blue-collar job if you weren’t smart enough to go to college. How can we change that perception? I know one of the things we have done in our own company is to create a comparison spreadsheet that shows earning potential and debt incurred for a tradesperson vs. a 4-year college grad. Money is definitely part of it, but I think pride in workmanship and the satisfaction of walking into a building and thinking to yourself “I helped build this” is also a very cool thing.
 
If we could come up with some ideas, I would be glad to do the parent presentation while the kids are getting organized and going over the rules. I’m just throwing this out there hoping that someone will have some good ideas. If we can’t come up with some good ideas, that’s fine too.
 
MARY BECKER
Contract Administrator
HiMEC MECHANICAL

Southeast Minnesota, Chapter #346

So, I have never been on a NAWIC membership committee before this October, crazy right?  But being as I am now my Chapter President and also Regional Membership Chair, I figured maybe it would be a good time to take a closer look at this thing called membership.  It is such an important part of our NAWIC Association.
I always knew that membership could be a struggle, getting people to come as guests and then turning those guests into members, and then trying to keep those members happy and stay.  I guess I was just preoccupied with other work and NAWIC things to take a hard look at it and kind of figured the membership committee had it taken care of.  (Which our membership committee has always been wonderful.)
After our 2015-2016 year our past president Brooke sent out of Survey Monkey on the year.  Some questions being specifically on membership:

• Is there anything you would like to see changed at our monthly membership meetings?
• What can we do to enhance your NAWIC membership?
• What type of programs would you like to see added?
• What can we do to attract new members?

94.5% of the responses were they’re great, we’re wonderful, more tours and DIYs, promote ourselves, keep recruiting.  What I found interesting was the not so positive responses.  The things we could do better or things that are keeping members from attending meetings or being involves.  The most common response is not being able to attend member meetings because of them being after work on the first Tuesday of every month.  The time just doesn’t work.  Another response we get about keeping members is to continue to be aware of new members and guests, get to know them better and show them how beneficial but also fun our NAWIC chapter is.

So this year our board and multiple committees decided to try something new in addition to our membership and board meetings.  We are doing a monthly social event!  This will be a less formal event were NAWIC can still be discussed, but there isn’t the structure or pressure of a meeting.   In November members and their family and friends were invited to a Sioux Falls Stampede Hockey game.  In December we are wrapping gifts at the mall and having a social hour afterwards.  Since the time is an issue for some we are also putting these at different times.  A few months we will have a breakfast or coffee get together and others a lunch get together and who knows, the possibilities are endless!
So as our chapter takes this journey of additional social events, I will keep you all in the loop!  I will share our successes, our growing pains and even failures if they happen!  Hopefully in the end it will help your membership!  Who knows, maybe your chapter will want to try something similar!

Here’s to increasing our NAWIC membership! Remember that BAG!

Gin Aguinaga | Manager Quotations Department
2810 N 1st Ave | Sioux Falls, SD 57104 | Office (605) 731-7937 | virginia.aguinaga@graybar.com

Proud Member of NAWIC - National Association of Women in Construction
Greater Sioux Falls Chapter #237, President

The National Association of Women in Construction.  How cool as that?  And our purpose is to promote women in the construction industry.  This is true – I see it every day.  But the coolest thing that I see is the innocent enthusiasm  of our dare I say it, our youngest members.  There is a warmth I feel when I hear and watch our strongest force rally for recruiting and support.  I applaud the young people in our organization as they teach the rest of us to take stake in the values around us – to share with one another.  We need to stop being the best kept secret.

JODI WIEMERSLAGE | PROJECT MANAGER/ESTIMATING | HUNT ELECTRIC
6301 Bandel Road NW #201  | Rochester, MN 55901
Phone 507-281-3226 | Fax 507-281-3995| Mobile 507-696-2193
 
National Association of Women in Construction
Southeast MN Chapter #346 Treasurer