By Heather Lawrie, USCM Intern
February 6, 2006

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Membership Standing Committee, Chaired by Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, met January 25 to discuss a number of membership issues. The “One Mayor – One Member” recruitment campaign was unveiled at the 2005 Leadership Meeting in Long Beach, California. In her opening remarks, Kautz said, “The Conference’s strength lies in the commitment and active involvement of its members — our organization is only as powerful as its members.”

The “One Mayor – One Member” recruitment plan consists of four components: membership recruitment, retention, benefits, and recruitment incentives. While its main goal is to expand the Conference of Mayors membership, it covers advocacy, communication and media strategies, and also establishes state recruitment chairs. Kautz reported that as a recruitment incentive, the registration fee for the Annual Meeting in Las Vegas will be waived for those mayors who recruit a new member between September 2005 and May 2006. Kautz also told committee members that “One Mayor – One Member” recruitment plan has already brought in some new mayor members this year.

Kautz spoke about annual mayoral events, such as the Annual Meeting, the Winter Meeting, and Issue Summits, and spoke about other meetings and events that provide mayors additional opportunities to participate in the Conference.

In highlighting mayoral networking, Kautz told committee members that the Conference offers many opportunities – beyond the Winter and Annual Meetings – for mayors to network. These include: the Conference’s award-winning website, live web-casts, blogs and the Conference of Mayors’ publication, U.S. Mayor.

After Kautz’s presentation, many of the mayors present gave suggestions on ways in which the Conference could increase membership and improve the overall experience of being part of the organization. Suggestions included having an orientation session not only at the Annual Meeting, but also at the Winter Meeting as well.

Kautz concluded the meeting by discussing some key goals for the Membership Committee in 2006. She specifically discussed expanding membership. She challenged committee members to help her meet this goal by recruiting one new member by the Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting, which will be held in Las Vegas, June 26, 2006.