Brianna Durkin
President
Columbia Basin Chapter
COLUMBIA BASIN
What is the most rewarding aspect of being
an NCMA chapter president?
What is one significant challenge you have
faced as a chapter leader, and how did you
overcome it?
The biggest challenge I’ve had to overcome is one that I know a lot
of other chapters struggle with: generating member involvement
on the board and with committees. NCMA is a volunteer organization, and it is difficult to convince people to give up their free time
if they don’t fully appreciate the value of the organization or have
a personal connection to what NCMA can or has provided to them.
I try to ignite a passion for NCMA and what it can bring to members. They just need to tap into what’s available on a national level.
That’s how I first got involved with NCMA, actually. A seasoned
board member said let’s get you involved. The experiences I had
in my first year working with NCMA on a national level is what
keeps me involved and what keeps me inspired to continue to
encourage others to get active in seeking out opportunities to do
more with their membership and to give back to the organization
that can give so much to them.
What does success look like for the Columbia
Basin Chapter? How do you define or
measure it?
Success to our chapter means members not only actively participating, but also providing positive feedback on events and
education. We’re trying to foster an environment of making our
members feel connected to the organization, and we solicit their
Connect with
brianna!
»
ncmacolumbiabasin.com
How have you had success engaging
members?
We survey and pulse our member community on a regular basis
for what topics they might be interested in, as well as any new
innovative event ideas they may have. We also meet with local
contractor procurement directors on hot topics, industry and site
initiatives, company goals, and training objectives to align our
curriculum with what’s relevant and specific to our members’ job
functions and to increase support from their employers. We feel
like this shows our members several things: their input is valuable,
we exist as a chapter for them, and the door is always open for
suggestions.
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Being at the forefront of planning events for our members and
looking for sources of inspiration for member events. I enjoy having the influence and taking the initiative to shake things up; to try
something new to generate an increase in member involvement
by doing things we haven’t been bold enough to try before. Since
the beginning of my term, I have sought to try to make this year
an impactful one that members will be sure to remember—with a
great lineup of educational and fun networking events.
feedback on a regular basis through emails, surveys, newsletters,
and in every welcome statement I make at each monthly event we
host. We take that the feedback to heart and really strive to create
education curricula and events that our members indicate they
enjoy and value—which results in, of course, increased member
event attendance. It’s all about our members finding their value for
their money in their membership!
Again, we want our members to get value for their money and
their time. It’s all about finding their “hot buttons” so that offerings
become personal, which helps to boost member engagement.
What advice do you have for your fellow
NCMA chapter leaders?
I think all chapters want to emulate and eventually become like
the “big” chapters—the ones with the big membership bases and
big budgets. Chapters need to recognize their own potential and
focus on what makes them unique. Columbia Basin isn’t a “big”
chapter, so we shouldn’t try to be! We can be great where we
are planted with the budget that we have and on a smaller, more
personal scale. With a little passion and creativity, we can do great
things—but we first need to find out and embrace what makes our
chapter unique. CM
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Contract Management ∕ April 2017
89