Secretary s Department Newsletter

Volume 7 Issue 2 August 2007 The United States Power Squadrons Secretary s Department Newsletter Greetings from the National Secretary Secretary s Department COMMITTEES www.usps.org/national/natsec/ Flag & Etiquette www.usps.org/national/fecom/ Historian www.usps.org/national/historian/ Information Technology www.usps.org/national/itcom/ Operations Manual www.usps.org/national/om/ Publications www.usps.org/national/pubcom/ Ship s Store www.usps.org/national/shipstore/ The Ensign www.usps.org/national/ensign/ Headquarters www.usps.org Editor/Web Publisher Webmaster In this issue: Greetings from the Nat l 1 Secretary The Ensign / Publications 3 Information Technology 4 Communications 4 Headquarters / Flag & 5 Ettiquette Calendar 6 Ships Store Flyer 2003-2007 United States Power Squadrons The Secretary s Department has been working hard in support of our members and squadrons. The departmental committees and the Headquarters staff have introduced several tools aimed at assisting members to find information and conduct squadron business. Here is some of what s new: Many new tools have been added to our website. A What s New link has been added to the home page. This drop down menu links to sites changed in the past week. A Squadron Officer s Guide page has been added, as well. This is the go to site for squadron officers looking for information, links, or forms. Many squadrons have begun to enter new member data on-line at: http:// www.usps.org/php/membership/memberprocess.php. Using this link speeds member processing so your new member can be enrolled in their next class faster. USPS News and USPS Bulletin are really taking off. Access USPS News from the home page for the latest and hottest news about USPS. Bulletin, targeted for announcements by and for members, can be accessed from the site index. Many squadrons are linking to USPS News from their website, for information on how to do this, email the ITCom Help Desk. R/C Dave Hinders, SN, compiled again for this meeting the official meeting CD with content from all over USPS. This CD contains documents, handouts, tools, and presentations from the committee meetings held prior to the meeting. This is a valuable tool for members to take home to use or distribute. CD s can be requested with your activities registration. Please be sure to request one for Dallas. Realizing that some news can t wait for the printed publication, Compass, our new electronic newsletter, was launched in January. Compass is targeted at members, partners, and the boating public. The fourth edition, just out, was emailed to over 19,800 members. Members and the public not on the list can subscribe at the Compass link on our home page, www.usps.org. Current and archived issues are also available here. Many thanks to Ms Yvonne Hill, THE ENSIGN Editor, R/C Margie Baraff, AP, and The Ensign Committee for their tremendous effort to bring Compass to our members. Cont d on next page Privacy Statement Copyright 2003 2007 by United States Power Squadrons. "THE ENSIGN," "United States Power Squadrons," "USPS," "America's Boating Club," "America's Boating Course," the ensign design, the ship's wheel and ensign design, the trident design, "The Squadron" design, "The Ensign" design, the "Boat Smart" name and design, and the "Jet Smart" name and design are all registered trademarks of United States Power Squadrons. Trademarks Disclaimer

Volume 7, Issue 2 August 2007 2 Greetings from the National Secretary - Cont d from Page 1 Your District can earn 20 percent of total Ship s Store kit sales from it s District meeting? The Operations Manual can be found on the USPS Web site Click Here Historian Com Information and forms can be found at www.usps.org/national/historian/ R/C Baraff reports that this year s photo contest set an all time record for submissions. New this year, the photos were submitted electronically. Final judging is to be completed at Expo in Norfolk. The test of electronic submission of merit marks held last fall was such a success that it s been made available to all squadrons and districts this year. P/C/C Robert L. Woods, SN, Stf/C John R. Bradley, SN, and P/D/C J. Kenneth Guscott, JN worked with the area monitors to design and implement this faster, more efficient way of merit mark processing. Feedback has been very positive. R/C Sandra Johnson, AP, and the Ship s Store Players are to present a VIP seminar in Norfolk on holding a district ship s store. Be sure to come by and check it out. Also, special VIP seminar door prize coupons are good for purchasing merchandise in Norfolk. Don t forget when members purchase items online or at 888-FOR-USPS, 5% of the purchase price will be split between the member s district and squadron. Don t miss this opportunity to expose your members to quality Power Squadron merchandise and to raise funds at the same time. R/C Kent Simpson, AP and the Operations Manual Committee maintain an up to date copy of the Operations Manual on the committee s newly redesigned website. Please check it often to get the latest data. R/C Phyllis Millan, P and the Historians Committee announce that squadron and district forms can be submitted on line. Also, a DB2000 version with electronic submission is in the works. Now, it s easier than ever before to keep you squadrons' historian records up to date. R/C Phil Arcuni, SN and the Information Technology Committee announce new, Vista compliant versions of DB2000 and Boating Class Administrator (BCA). ITCom will present a seminar on Electronic Merit Mark submission in Norfolk. Headquarters has been busy supporting traditional and Headquarters collection of dues. 75% of members were invoiced through Headquarters Collection and Anniversary Billing (HQAB) in the latest cycle. Remember, several thousand members now have anniversary dates other than 1 June. Squadrons should check their member status reports regularly to ensure these members are contacted and personally asked to renew. The status reports are available online at www.usps.org/dues/reports/. Tom Kemp has joined Headquarters as Manager of Headquarters Marketing and Development Services. Tom's job is to marshal Headquarters resources in support of the USPS marketing and development effort. Tom will work closely with and support the USPS Marketing Committee and lead other efforts. Tom s focus for the first 18 months is member sales, including the Ship's Store and educational products, membership recruitment and retention, and development including targeting contributions to the general, Century and Educational funds. As you can see, the entire department is striving to make USPS the best. V/C Robert Baldridge, SN, National Secretary 2003-2007 2002 United States Power Power Squadrons Squadrons Page 2

Volume 7, Issue 2 August 2007 3 o n line The Ensign Committee is working hard to bring you the latest information in three formats. COMPASS is the fastest means of communication. It s updated as soon as necessary to bring you the latest, breaking news in USPS. Go to www.usps.org and click on COMPASS to register for e-notification of a new edition. You ll find Governing Board notices, Ship s Store hot items, Boating Safety alerts and more. Access The Ensign On Line from our USPS website s main page too. View the latest edition and know what s happening before you can even say, traditional mail delivery. Print articles for use in classes. Save graphics. Read The Ensign early and be the first to know. And, as always, THE ENSIGN magazine is mailed to you six times a year. Now in its new format with even brighter graphics and more information it s not only informative but eye catching as well. Reminder: And, most importantly, The Ensign Committee needs your involvement. All squadron newsletter editors should include their assigned Ensign Reader on their mailing list. Your Ensign Readers are hard at work throughout the year searching for articles appropriate for publication. They are your direct line to authorship in The Ensign. R/C Marjorie Baraff, AP Chairman, The Ensign Committee baraff.katz@juno.com PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE The Publications Committee will not have its regular Parade of Publications table at the Governing Board but instead will be part of Expo. Committee members will be present to discuss squadron and district newsletters; the Distinction in Journalism Award procedure; and the PubCom blog. Squadron/ district newsletters that are brought to the meeting will also be on display in our booth. R/C Arthur A. Mollica, SN Chairman, Publications Committee artmollica@usfamily.net Publications will be part of Expo at the Norfolk GB 2003-2007 United States Power Squadrons Page 3

Volume 7, Issue 2 August 2007 4 Information Technology The ability to submit Merit Marks electronically will be available this Fall to all Commanders ITCom Visit our Web Site at www.usps.org/national/itcom Electronic Merit Marks The ability to submit Merit Marks electronically will be available this Fall to all Commanders with Merit Mark responsibility. Electronic submission is now included in the Merit Mark section of DB2000. It was tested last year by Rear Commanders. It was praised at all levels. It makes review by Area Monitors much simpler, and speeds communication among Area Monitors and all officers involved. Electronic Merit Mark submission will be the principle topic at the ITCom Open Meeting on Friday morning at the Norfolk Governing Board meeting. All commanders are urged to attend. The Power Point presentation is quite detailed, and a copy will be on the CD available at the weekend meeting. Squadron and District Commanders have already received a password for submitting the merit marks. This must be used or the submission will not go through. Please ensure that you have the latest version of DB2000. Email Addresses Email is a fast and easy method for mass communication among members at all levels of USPS. Soon, all broadcast messages will be sent using the address from the members database at Headquarters. If these addresses are not accurate, important information broadcast by email will be lost. In the past, members have been asked to list their email address in different places. With the use of addresses from the master database, members will only need to maintain their addresses in one location. Please ensure that your email address in the Headquarters database is accurate. Squadron secretaries can enter updates quickly using DB2000. R/C Philip Arcuni, SN Chairman, Information Technology Update on Communications Communications was a topic of discussion in the last issue as it probably will be for some time to come. At the Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, we had an interesting discussion at the department Open Meeting which reinforced the need for improved communications. We were fortunate to have Catherine McLeod, National Secretary of CPS in attendance. Catherine explained how CPS handles communications and following the meeting provided documentation which we are working to adapt to USPS needs. We would all like to see the phrase USPS, the best kept secret in boating become a thing of the past. To do this, we need to tell the boating world what we do, how it helps, and how much fun we have doing it. There are a number of ways to do this. The Austin Power Squadron is producing a webcast video highlighting their squadron activities locally. They have also provided the webcast to USPS News where it is published on the national pages. Cont d on page six 2003-2007 2002 United States Power Power Squadrons Squadrons Page 4

Volume 7, Issue 2 August 2007 5 Headquarters The Marketing and Development Services Department has undertaken several ambitious projects that will have a positive impact on the future of USPS. A systematic evaluation of the operation of the Ship s Store with the goal of increasing member sales has been done. The study focuses on: The cost of items in Ship s Store inventory Comparison of good sellers and not so good sellers Conclusions have been drawn Recommendations are under consideration A study has begun looking at Recruiting and Retention and the loss of membership. The study will focus on: The percentage decrease over a number of years The way we look at the declining numbers and the relationship members have with the squadron, district and national Looking at recruiting/retention and view it as part of an integrated lifecycle system in various stages Look at this lifecycle in five stages: awareness, recruitment, engagement, interdependence and renewal An incentive reward program for individual members for bringing in new members WaterSmart from the Start sm, dedicated to KIDS OF ALL AGES that was developed by Drex Bradshaw under a grant from the Wallops-Breaux Foundation administered by the United States Coast Guard is now in Phase 3. USPS has been awarded a grant under Phase 3 for distribution and marketing in the amount of $195,000. Plans are underway to distribute this course at a very reasonable price (to be determined) and HQ will attend a conference in Washington, D.C. on 28, 29 August for a comprehensive overview of water-based youth programs in the United States. Thirty-two water based youth alliance organizations will be sending representatives and this will provide a good platform for USPS to push WaterSmart and ask for more marketing and distribution dollars. Tom Kemp Marketing and Development Services Flag & Etiquette We are in the process of approving one provisional burgee and three, 50 year burgees. We have a lot of communication with squadrons regarding the correct way to fly flags and the correct way to get burgees and flags approved. All Flag information should be sent to Stf/C E. J. Sacks @ ejsail@aol.com or to my self at wspraggins @aol.com... R/C Barbara A. Spraggins, AP Chairman, Flag & Etiquette Committee 2003-2007 United States Power Squadrons Headquarters Director Mary Catherine Berube berubemc@hq.usps.org National Headquarters Raleigh, North Carolina Page 5

Volume 7, Issue 2 August 2007 Update on Communications Cont d from page 4 When your squadron has news to share with the boating world, send it to uspsmember.usps-news@blogger.com with the title as the subject of the message. If there are photos, attach them to the message and copy uspsmember@yahoo.com. When your squadron members have written interesting articles, you can share them with the other squadrons of USPS via the Editor s Resource page (http://www.usps.org/national/natsec/pubcom/editresource.html ). All it takes to share an article is sending an email. www.usps.org is comprised of hundreds of pages of information and the number is growing all the time. As these pages are added or updated, it would be nice if they could be featured on the home page. Now they can. We ve added a What s New? dropdown list where links to these pages will appear for a week. All a webmaster has to do is send an email to ans@usps.org with the URL of the page and a brief descriptive title. Even with the Site Index and the How Do I? pages, squadron officers (especially new ones) have been spending considerable time searching for the pages they need to do their job. In an effort to reduce the time spent searching, we have added the Squadron Officers Guide page (http://www.usps.org/newpublic2/officersguide.htm ) which contains links to commonly referenced pages. Links to this guide can be found on the Site Index and How Do I? pages. Feedback is welcome. R/C Dave Hinders, SN Asst National Secretary 2007 National Meetings Calendar Governing Board Marriott Waterside Norfolk, VA Canadian S & P Annual General Meeting Ottawa 5-9 September 23-28 October Thank you to our Newsletter Article Contributors 2008 Annual Meeting Dallas Hyatt Dallas, TX Governing Board Marriott Renaissance Ctr Detroit, MI 2009 Annual Meeting Hyatt Regency Orange Cty Anaheim, CA Governing Board Kansas City, MO 19-24 February 3-8 September 2003-2005 United States Power Squadrons 14-22 February 6-9 September 2010 2011 Annual Meeting Orlando, FL Annual Meeting Orlando, FL 30 Jan-7 Feb 29 Jan-6 Feb P/D/C Gloria Schulke, JN Editor/Web Publisher E-mail Contact Gloria.Schulke@att.net Webmaster Click Here Home

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