Posted by Jen Levine-Fried, Membership Manager
PRIM&R’s members are the heart and soul of the organization. There’s nothing I enjoy more than connecting the names and voices from e-mail and the phone with the faces of all the wonderful members I met recently at the 2008 Advancing Ethical Research Conference. This year’s conference was particularly exciting because so many attendees took advantage of our Join and Save registration package and opted into membership when they registered. Nearly three-quarters of our attendees this year were members, which is a remarkable increase over previous years.
But I am not the only one who benefits from this expanded membership attendance at the annual conference! This year member attendees had numerous opportunities to connect—in person—with other members:
- At the Membership Orientation and Continental Breakfast, PRIM&R Board member and Membership Committee Chair David Borasky welcomed new members and offered an overview of membership benefits.
- Both member and non-member attendees made new connections at the Common Ground Luncheon. Colorful balloons represented different areas of the country (and the world!) so attendees could forge new relationships with others from their region.
- Many participants in the Mentoring Program and the Ambassador Program finally had a chance to meet their “matches” in person.