2,400+ Members and Growing

By Kelly Foster, Chair, and Joe Murphy, Associate Chair

Happy Holidays from AAPOR Membership and Chapter Relations (MCR)! This time of year is a particularly busy one for MCR. We are currently in the process of making sure that all of our AAPOR members renew membership in order to keep their fantastic benefits for another year. If you haven't already renewed your membership, please do so quickly. Membership expires at the stroke of midnight on December 31! Remember, in addition to POQ, AAPORnet, the events calendar and job bank, AAPOR members receive a substantial discount to attend the annual conference.

As of year end, we have 2,399 active AAPOR members - the most in our 66 year history! Membership continues to grow, as does involvement in our regional chapters. The fall is a busy time for many of our regional chapters. The Southern Association for Public Opinion Research (SAPOR), Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR) and Pacific Association for Public Opinion Research (PAPOR) all held their regional conferences in the fourth quarter, and the New York and Washington, D.C. chapters have held workshops and discussions on nonresponse bias and the midterm elections. The regional chapters present opportunities for networking with colleagues in your area, so if you haven't looked into your regional chapter, please do so. Information on the chapters can be found on the AAPOR website.

We are very excited about new MCR initiatives for 2011. We have updated our marketing and membership materials, and are excited to identify new areas for growth within our membership. We are working to reinvigorate the mentor program, evaluate and expand member benefits, better keep and harness our member data and work with the Transparency Initiative to make it easier for members to become a part of this important movement. And, in what will likely prove challenging, we are in the process of designing a member and former member survey which we plan to field in the coming year. These surveys will help us to understand how members and former members view AAPOR and what benefits we can offer to our members in the future.

The Membership and Chapter Relations committee is always looking to hear from you, so if you have any comments or suggestions on the values and benefits of AAPOR membership, feel free to contact Kelly Foster or Joe Murphy.