After 30 years of working in membership strategy, Charmaine Osborne knows what draws people in, what brings them together, and what keeps them around.
And she has brought that experience to her role as AISC’s new membership director, providing fresh insights on how AISC can connect with its members and best serve their needs.
Charmaine joins us from the American Society for Health Care Engineering of the American Hospital Association, where she spearheaded membership programs and served as chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Council. Just two weeks into her new role at AISC, Charmaine sat down with Kate Duby, AISC’s communications content specialist, to share her thoughts on membership, what she’s most looking forward to, and more.
Can you share a little bit about your new role as membership director?
At the core, I’ll be creating a membership strategy for AISC that provides the best member experience possible and builds membership value. Building relationships with our most engaged and involved members across the U.S. will keep me busy, traveling to meet different fabricators and attend regional meetings. I’ll be working with key AISC departments on building membership value, whether it’s how we educate our members about our programs and services or how we get them more involved with AISC.
Do you have any “trade secrets” for reaching people and encouraging them to be involved?
From my experience, it’s always been peer-to-peer: getting members to tell other members--and non-members--about us and who we are. When it comes from within their profession--when another member says, “Man, you need to go to NASCC: The Steel Conference; you’ll learn so much!”--then they really connect the value and understand why they should be a part of this.
What are you most excited about?
Building relationships with members! There’s nothing like that connection. Over the years, they become more than members; they become friends.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your experience working in membership?
Everyone has their own reason for joining, and most have a benefit or service that they’re connected to or that keeps them involved. I’ve learned throughout the years that communicating to members what’s in it for them is really key, because everybody’s needs are different. And AISC has so much to offer its members!
People say the decision to remain part of a member community starts the moment someone sends in an application or the moment they join, but I think it's even prior to that--it's once they discover who we are.
What should new and long-standing members know about you?
I am an advocate for the member in every aspect, from how we present a program to how we make it possible for every member to participate. Sometimes you’ll see me chime in during a meeting, asking, “How is this going to be communicated to the member? How are we going to bring more members in through this program?” I am always trying to advocate for them and make sure we continue to keep them educated and informed!