Education Law Association

As we begin to review comments added to our recent membership survey, I’d like to address one comment in particular for today’s blog. This member commented that we spend too much time promoting membership. Excellent point, and well-timed!  (if you have not yet completed the membership survey yet, please do so immediately at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XBQZKMK )

As a member-driven organization, it is sometimes difficult to balance the needs of the organization with the needs of the individual members, for one cannot survive without the other. In reviewing the trend of our membership numbers over the last few years, and reaching out to individuals whose memberships have lapsed, we realized that our downturn in the number of members is both a direct and indirect result of the economy. Members we spoke with were allowing their membership to expire mainly for one of two reasons, (1) their school/firm/company was no longer assisting with the payment of dues or (2) because of restructuring, the member was no longer working in the field of education law.

In response, our Membership Committee decided to try something new!  Rather than constantly trying to recruit new members, they decided to ask the Board of Directors and the state committee chairs to really concentrate their efforts during the month of April. We expanded on this idea and are reaching out to ALL members to be a part of this membership drive. 

Any current member that recruits colleagues to become full regular members shall receive $20 credit for each new regular member ($145/year) toward their annual conference registration!

NEW members will receive 14 months for the price of 12, a copy of The Law of Teacher Evaluation (2^nd Ed.), a leather bookmark, and other incentives that together have a retail value of about $60!

I am asking each of you to reach out to your colleagues to share your experience with ELA. If you would like some membership brochures or additional copies of ELA Notes or the School Law Reporter to share, just give us a call at 937-229-3589. If you are not comfortable doing so, please provide us with their contact information and we will be happy to reach out to them for you.

This is a very important time of year for ELA and working together we can make a difference that can result in additional member benefits and better membership services for everyone, so hang in there and work with me over the next few weeks to build and even better and stronger ELA.

Member News

Jody L. Thornburg has been the publications manager for ELA since 2005 and is the person who handles all the book editing, brochure designing, and ad marketing for the association. She also handles some of the responsibilities of the website. Jody earned her bachelor’s from Cedarville University in Ohio in 2002, with a degree in Technical and Professional Communication. Jody is tremendous at her job and often serves as the soft voice of reason in the office too, when things get hectic!
Jody and her husband Matt have been married for 6½ years, and they have a two-year-old son named Beck. Aren’t they an adorable family?! They recently purchased a new home and are excited to begin the moving process! In Jody’s spare time, she enjoys spending time being a wife and mom, serving in her church community, and gardening in the summer.

Office Staff