AICI OH/PA Chapter Membership Meeting Minutes 12.06.08

Akron, OH

9: 00 a.m. – 9: 30 a.m. Breakfast & Networking
The meeting began promptly at 9:00 a.m. Erica Torres-Dudziak welcomed everyone to the meeting and started the icebreaker and introductions. Those present at the meeting included:
Candace Bradfield
Michelle Pratt
Erica Torres-Dudziak
Amanda Levy
Tonya Woods
Jennifer Betts
Francoise Litch
Brenda Johnson
Latasha Morgan

At the beginning of the meeting attendees led a discussion on networking and ideas to increase business. Some ideas included participating in social media outlets, women’s events such as trade shows and bridal fairs, weight loss programs and senior citizen living center programs.

Other ideas included possibly hosting an “Image Consulting Convention” that includes different specialties of image consulting and have outside vendors in the beauty industry pay to be part of the event.

Attendees also talked about business referrals. Some helpful sources included the AICI Web site, data service and working with vendors in the beauty industry. To help with challenges of gaining new clients attendees shared their innovative ideas on how to increase their business.

9:30 a.m. – 10: 30 a.m. Association/Chapter Updates

VISION
Erica started off the chapter and association updates by providing the following information to attendees:

a. Changes: The OH/PA chapter has undergone several changes in the past couple of months. The rest of 2008 and all of 2009 will be about planning and setting “long term” goals to sustain the chapter and its projected growth.

b. Expansion: We have expanded by having meetings in the PA area for members who could previously not participate--Historically our OH meetings have been in Columbus. We are going to try new locations/topics/events this year to see what works. The chapter is also pleased to announce that membership has been expanding since 2007. The following expansion goals were given:

The chapter’s current membership: 34
Chapter Board Goal for this year: 50
Average # of participant per meetings: 5-10 (between OH & PA meetings)
Number of attendees per meeting goal: increase to 40% of membership

d. Chapter meeting schedule: Our next meeting is planned for Friday March 20th, 2009 and we are planning to have a social event at a restaurant in the evening and get some dining etiquette training from one of Ohio’s most sought after Business Image Consultant’s, Danielle Turcola!

e. Increase membership involvement and expertise: We want to have more CEU education topics and bring awareness about certification opportunities—if anyone is interested in a phone study group please let Erica know. For a local study group for FLC exam email Erica@positiveperceptions.info and we can gauge interest and see how we can set something up.

f. Increase membership: The chapter will offer a Member of the Year Award to help increase chapter involvement.

g. Increase media presence: In order to continue to grow the chapter we will look to add a VP of Marketing for 2009 to focus on creating a voice for the chapter through press releases, publicity through AICI publication and connecting with philanthropic opportunities. If you are interested in this opportunity for next year please contact Erica.

h. Increase board 2009-2010: As mentioned we would like to add a VP marketing and have committee sign ups with voting. Erica will be bringing “Role Descriptions” to the next meeting in March to start gauging interest.

CHAPTER BOARD
Erica introduced the current board members:
President- Erica Torres-Dudziak
Treasurer- Brian Lipstein
Secretary- Amanda Levy
VP Education/President Elect- Michelle Pratt
VP Membership- Tonya Woods

Michelle led a discussion on her role as VP of Education. Michelle will plan the 2009 Education retreat as well as create innovative programming to increase chapter involvement. She also talked about and how members can get CEU’s as well as participate in an upcoming Education retreat and Education committee:

a. Michelle outlined the benefits of attending AICI’s annual conference and that it is the best venue to earn CEUs.
b. Michelle also reminded attendees that our local chapter can host CEU events and topics can be certified ahead of time by AICI. Topics can vary and can include working with outside organizations/individuals to increase attendance at events.
c. Having certification by taking the FLC or earning your CIM or CIP is a great way to establish credibility for yourself and your chapter. Visit AICI’s Web site at www.aici.org to learn more.
d. Michelle is currently planning the 2009 Education Retreat and is looking for volunteers to be on the Education Committee.

Tonya Woods, the chapter’s current VP of Membership talked about her role. She will welcome new members and reinforce benefits of attending meetings and being part of AICI. Her recruitment strategies to help increase involvement in 2009 include:

a. The chapter’s goal is to increase membership to 50 members and to keep moving forward as a chapter.
b. Tonya’s goal is to find interactive ways to make recruitment fun. Meeting attendance has been a challenge and she is currently looking for ideas to help increase involvement.
c. Tonya challenged members to try to recruit at least one person to the chapter to help reach 2009 goal.
d. The chapter has completed a membership feedback survey to help determine recruitment needs/opportunities.
e. Please contact Tonya directly if you are interested in being on the Membership Committee to help with the 2009 Recruitment Strategy.

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. “Branding”- Michelle Pratt
The meeting’s guest speaker was Michelle Pratt, MBA, founder and principal of Chelle Belle, The Image Advocate, an image consulting and special event planning company. Michelle is also the current VP of Education and President Elect.

Her presentation titled “Branding” offered the following learning objectives:
Understanding branding; Assessing your business mission; Analyze your market; Understand benefit vs. feature; Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP); Determine your brand message; Create a tagline and Develop brand identity.

Throughout her presentation Michelle asked attendees to participate in writing exercises that helped give attendees an objective and tactical view of their own current business practices. After the presentation attendees understood how to create effective message to help strengthen both their personal brand and their company’s branding.

11:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Color Training Opportunity
The chapter has received several requests to offer color training locally. Candace Bradfield presented a color training opportunity through Colour me Beautiful which will be taught by Pat Henshaw co-author of “Color Me Confident”. This color analysis system is different from the “four seasons” color technique and offers clients wallets with their selected colors.

The color training opportunity is still in the planning stages but will be a three-day course held tentatively in Cleveland in June 2009. The specific location of the meeting is still being determined. Please continue to check the chapter Web site and blog for updates.

11:50 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Wrap Up/ Surveys
Membership feedback surveys were given out to all attendees and were filled out before the end of the meeting. Erica provided closing comments and thanked everyone for attending. The next OH/PA chapter meeting will be held on Friday, March 20 in the evening. The location is to be determined.

The meeting concluded at 12:00 p.m.

AICI Ohio December Member Meeting

When: Saturday, December 6th, 2008

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12: 00 p.m.

Location

Yocono's Italian Foods

1666 W. Exchange St.

Akron, OH 44313

Education Topic: "Branding"

Cost

Members $21.00 (Breakfast Included)

Non Members $35.00 (Breakfast Included)

RSVP

By December 4th, 2006

Join us for networking, fellowship, and information on how you can grow your business!

Our education topic speaker, Michelle Pratt, MBA, is founder and principal of Chelle Belle, The Image Advocate, an image consulting and special event planning company.

Register at http://aicidecembermembermtg-emailinvite.eventbrite.com

Recent Chapter Transition & December Member Meeting

Greetings,

Our OH/PA AICI Chapter is very excited to bring new workshops and opportunities to you!

Due to a recent change in our board of directors I am excited to present our chapter’s 2008-2009 Board of Directors to you:

President: Erica Torres-Dudziak

President Elect/VP Education: Michelle Pratt

Treasurer: Brian Lipstein

Secretary: Amanda Levy

VP Membership: Tonya Woods

This is going to be an exciting year for our chapter. Our chapter has grown in size by almost 100% in the past year and we are striving to continue to see new faces and hear new voices.

With new people comes new ideas, and creativity is definitely a characteristic of our chapter. This chapter year we are going to try different city locations so that more of you can have a chance to participate in an educational session.

If you would like to learn more about image consulting, network with other consultants and affiliates, promote your products or training programs, than you will definitely benefit from our next chapter meeting being held on Saturday, December 6th 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 12: 00 p.m.

This meeting will consist of networking, AICI national and local updates, an educational component, and the last 20-30 minutes will be reserved to learn about local training providers or products that could benefit your business.

The meeting location and details will be sent out via Event Brite within the next few days. If you would be interested in talking about your training/product please email me so that I can add you to the agenda.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Erica Torres-Dudziak
President
AICI OH/PA Chapter

AICI OH/PA 10.12.08 Meeting Minutes

AICI OH/PA Chapter Meeting
Meeting Minutes

October 12, 2008
Attended: Kristen Kaleal- Chapter President, Erica Torres-Dudziak- Chapter Vice President, Tonya Woods- Chapter VP of Membership, Michelle Pratt- Chapter VP of Education, Danielle Turcola, Jocelyne Elyse, Jennifer Betts, Dawn Zima, Theresa Olson


Survey Results
We went over the Survey Monkey results on increasing meeting/chapter participation (results on spreadsheet distributed)

Adding CEU’s
 Michelle Pratt will look into how to get programs certified for CEU
offerings

Distance
 Have the 2 larger groups (OH/PA) meet quarterly
 Have nearby cities have more informal meetings throughout the year
 Ohio’s central meeting location will be in Mansfield- locations for
secretary to research are: Comfort Inn, Ashland University, Libraries,
nearby Amish restaurant (Camp Mohican for longer OH events)

Day/Time
 Alternate quarterly meetings from Friday evenings to Saturday mornings
 2 meetings on Friday (6pm- 9pm) evenings and 2 meetings on Saturday mornings (9am-12pm)
 Shorter meetings with snacks included (i.e. Friday meeting 3 hrs with a snack during meeting)
 Erica Torres-Dudziak will send out a revised tentative meeting schedule for 2008-2009 AICI OH/PA Chapter year.

Topics
Suggested meeting topics:
a) Product Development
b) Business Development (insurance, umbrella policies, LLC vs. Partnership, etc.)
c) Best Business Practices
d) Dining Etiquette (Danielle volunteered to give workshop at no cost to the chapter)
e) Personal Branding, Internet marketing, Dressing Men

Mentorship Program
 It was suggested to have a mentorship program for OH/PA Members ONLY
 Members should email Erica Torres-Dudziak their availability and expertise they could share as a mentor to other OH/PA members
 The idea would be we would learn and grow from each other

FaceBook
 Important media tool
 You can link YOUTUBE on it
 Twitter is another great networking in conjunction with Facebook (microblogging service)

Education Day
 We are looking to have an education day on a Saturday in October 2009 potentially in Pittsburgh
 All day program offering CEU’s
 Potentially 1 key CEU speaker and a couple non CEU presentations from our members (topics may be on: Basic Color Theory/Principles, body/style, dressing men?)
 Education Committee will have a teleconference call scheduled for November to sstart the planning process

Action Steps
 Michelle will get details on how to get programs CEU certified
 Erica will send out a tentative 08-09 chapter meeting schedule with new location
 City leaders will take initiative to set up mini meetings (if desired) in their area with local members
 Members will email Erica their expertise and availability for Mentorship Program
 Erica will coordinate with Michelle to set up Education Committee teleconference for November

Saks Fifth Avenue Tour
Kristen Kaleal set up a tour of the Saks Fifth Avenue Club Tour with Dixie Lee Davis. We learned about the protocol of geographical inventory, tips on dressing the cost conscious man, and we were able to see how our clients could benefit from working together with an image consultant and a Saks Personal Shopper.

For information on AICI's OH/PA Chapter please contact Erica Torres-Dudziak at Erica@positiveperceptions.info

Congrats!

Congratulations to our members who completed
New Member/Image Review Training!

Jennifer Betts

Kathy Callan

Amanda Levy

Brian Lipstein

Theresa Olson

Jocelyne Walker

How to blog with Blogger

1. Create a Gmail account


2. Go to www.blogger.com and log in with your gmail account.


3. Click on the blog you want to contribute to. It will most likely be the Chapter
Archive.


4. Click “new post” and type away or paste text. Sometimes you will have to alter the
layout of the text, but it shouldn’t be too difficult.

The blog defaults to the correct font and size.

You can add photos, links, etc with the toolbar.


5. Include labels. Click “show all” and pick the labels that apply to your post. Or create a new label if you need to.


6. When you’re finished, click “publish post.”


7. You will have the option to view the blog in a new window or edit your post.

Definitely check on your post and see if it needs edits. If you edit, just publish and check again until it looks right.

Board Meeting - September 8, 2008

1. Ethics

2. Goals

- Increase Membership

- Increase Revenue

- Support Tools

3. Chapter Records

4. Member of the Year

5. Positions & Responsibilities

- President / Kristen Kaleal

- Vice-President / Erica Torres-Dudziak

- Treasurer / Brian Lipstein

- Secretary / Amanda Levy

- VP Membership / Tonya Woods

- VP Education / Michelle Pratt

6. Education Weekend

7. Planning Ahead

8. Chapter Survey

9. Notes

Board Meeting - 7/29/08

Brief History of Chapter

GOALS

Grow & sustain membership

Increase profitability from meetings and

Education Weekend (August 2009)

DUTIES

All

Participate in AICI counterpart calls 2-3 times a year

Attend quarterly board teleconference

Learn to utilize the chapter blog (need a Gmail account)

President – Kristen Kaleal

Main contact

Marketing & Communications officer

Vice-President – Erica Torres-Dudziak

Education Weekend point person

Plan & promote quarterly board meetings (week before or week after meetings)

Manage Member of the Year program

Treasurer – Brian Lipstein

Fiduciary contact

Budget

Secretary – Amanda Levy

Books venue for Ohio meetings

Records chapter meeting and board meeting minutes

VP Education – Michelle Pratt

Coordinate speakers and programs for events

Lead Education Committee (Jennifer Betts and Kathy Callan)

VP Membership – Tonya Woods

Create and manage prospect database

Send welcome note to new members

Member/prospect surveys

Check our chapter email and respond to requests

2008 Member of the Year

Congratulations to our 2008 Member of the Year, chapter president Kristen Kaleal!

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