Posted by Vaughn Mordecai on Wed, Jan 20, 2010 @ 02:28 PM
I've been involved with the MRA (Marketing Research Association) and more specifically, the SWMRA (Southwest Chapter) for quite some time. I always look for ways to volunteer, get involved, and to try to help the association as best I can. I believe that when members volunteer, good Kharma comes back seven-fold. In the course of this volunteerism, I've run across a concerning trend. VERY FEW PEOPLE VOTE IN OUR ELECTIONS...Few people seem to vote for our chapter leaders, our bylaw changes, and the processes that alter the make up of the association. Granted, most of my experience with this has taken place at the chapter level, I'd assume that the same "problem" exists nationally. I don't claim to know what the actual figures are...but I find this SHOCKING. At the chapter level, bylaw changes typically have to go through more than one voting cycle as a result of low participation in the approval process. It makes me wonder why so few members vote for the leaders and guidelines that represent them and their companies in the market research industry. I came to a few conclusions:
1. Voter Apathy - members may not be interested or do not care.
2. Members may not see a difference between any of the candidates...or don't know them to begin with.
3. Members may not understand the value of the MRA for anything more than networking purposes...they may not know what the MRA brings to the table.
4. The members are too darn busy to vote or the process is confusing and just isn't any fun.
What do you think? Am I correct in my conclusions?
I'm unaware of anyone who has EVER...ACTUALLY...staged a campaign for the MRA national election process. To that end, Melissa Pepper, Tammadge Research's CSO & Vaughn Mordecai, Discovery Research Group's President, have formed "The Committee to Elect Melissa Pepper and Vaughn Mordecai to the MRA Board of Directors". The name of the committee is intended to be long and "tongue-in-cheek", as is the slogan "Brought to you by 'The Committee to Elect Melissa Pepper & Vaughn Mordecai to the MRA Board of Directors' - you know you want them (on the board)." Among other things...yet to be announced...Pepper & Mordecai are running on the assumption (aka...the platform) that it's important for the membership to vote, that we can have some fun with the election process, and that the process will result in good "representation" of the MRA membership at the National MRA level. Simply, we are experimenting with social media to see if it can have any impact whatsoever on the MRA election process...the jury's still out.
If you'd like to join our committee, we've set up a couple of social media avenues for folks to have some fun with...knock yourself out:
Our Facebook group is located here!
Our LinkedIn Group is located here!
Whether you love us...whether you hate us...whether you know us or not...vote...for someone...in the MRA election in the upcoming months. Come on...it takes like five minutes!
I look forward to your comments.
Posted by Vaughn Mordecai on Tue, Oct 06, 2009 @ 12:00 PM
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