MDI Newsletter (Partial), January 2009
The following is from an email sent to the MDI membership in January 2009. It contained a link to the "Membership bylaws.pdf" file, and described the Associate member class in greater detail. Only that part of the newsletter is included here.
from No Reply
date Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 18:41
subject News from the MDI Board of Directors - Jan 09
mailed-by memberize.com
News from the MDI Board of Directors
January, 2009
In this issue:
- A message from MDI's new President
- Associate Membership is here: How it works
- Your new MDI Membership Handbook is available here
- Signed Liability Waivers now a requirement of membership: Get yours here
- Some men won't see this news!
- Getting Feedback from the membership
("From our new President" section omitted)
Associate Membership Status Approved by the Board
After several months of discussion and feedback, the Board has approved the creation of an Associate Membership status. The exact text is here (login instructions omitted) :
PDF Document-Membership Bylaws as of January 2009
We understand that for some regions this is merely a codification of what has already been going on in the way they treat new men. For other Regions this may appear to be a dramatic departure from "our way of being." Here is some of the thinking behind the creation of Associate Membership.
How many times have you been at an open house or a team meeting
where a guest said they liked what they saw but could not make a
firm commitment to attend a weekend event that might be four, five
or six months off into the future?
Associate membership is designed to open the door to those men and give them the opportunity to commit to something right then and there — to join MDI for a year with a commitment to begin to walk the path toward General membership and complete the necessary requirements to become a full fledged member of MDI within one year.
Associate members:
- Pay full dues, $45 a quarter — The payment of dues takes away the stigma of just being a guest. Associate members are now stakeholders in their team and MDI and have the right to be heard and demand what they need.
- Agree to abide by the MDI Chain of Command, Code of Honor, Purpose, Mission & Core Values. We have the right to hold these men to the same standards we hold ourselves to.
- Cannot vote for leadership positions. While we expect men to commit to a specific way of being, until they have signed on for the long term it is imprudent to vest them with the power to choose our leaders.
- May not hold any leadership position that relates to any MDI-sanctioned or sponsored events. While we may trust these newer men to lead our Teams, Divisions, etc. we can also provide close mentoring in these settings. However, we want to ensure that MDI events present the best possible face to those men and women and that may be getting their first glimpses of MDI.
- Will have successfully completed an initiation process sanctioned by the board of directors within one year after becoming an Associate member. This ensures that men are in action around doing what they need to do to become full members and they do not use Associate member status to lapse into permanent "renter" mode.
- Are included on the complete MDI membership list. One of the benefits of membership is to be reachable as "one of the men".
- Have access to the MDI Web site. Another benefit is having access to our collective wisdom.
- Receive all member trainings at the member discount rate — As does any full member.
To make this work we need your involvement. If you've had a recurring guest, offer him the option to become an Associate Member. Upon paying dues this man should be included on all Team, Division and Regional rosters with the designation "Assoc. M" and the date they joined MDI.
The intention is that providing for Associate Member status changes the enrollment conversion from doing a weekend to joining us.
Howard Spierer & Brian Childers
The new MDI Membership Handbook available here
A team of experienced MDI leaders recently published a Members Handbook that will help you navigate our organization. This tool communicates who we are, how we are structured and where to go to get things done. The membership handbook is a product of the Board Development Committee Chaired by Stu Faigen. Contributors include Michael Fowlkes, Rich O'Keeffe, Charles Gjers, Howard Spierer, Chris Rushforth, Jack Rutledge, and Brian Childers.
Download your own copy of this document by clicking here on PDF Document-MDI Membership Handbook v8 (login instructions omitted) Chris Rushforth and Phil Zenner
(Remaining sections omitted)
Back to MDI Membership Chronology
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