Note from the Associate Editorial Director: Luck of the Irish surprise for local chapter members

By Melissa Varnavas

My family goes all out for St. Patrick’s Day. Dad has green suspenders with day-glow green shot glasses. Mom has a Dr. Seussian green and white top hat. My nephew wears a green plaid fedora. There’s green beer, traditional corned beef and cabbage, the collection of “traditional” Irish folk music playing on cassette tape in the background. All this makes sense—everyone knows how the Greeks celebrate (actually, my mother does trace some of her genealogy back to the Emerald Isle).

It doesn’t matter. Everyone gets to claim Irish heritage on St. Patrick’s Day.

Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for ACDIS’ local chapters. If you are a member of ACDIS national, you aren’t automatically enrolled in your local chapter or networking interest group. To join a local chapter you need to use the online membership roster. Also, be sure to visit the local chapter pages for information about the volunteer chapter leadership, upcoming events, photos, and other important information.

Conversely, if you are a local chapter member, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are member of ACDIS national. Local chapter members always received a discount off national membership—to obtain it, local chapter members need to sign up for their local chapter via the online membership roster. If you think you signed up last year or you think you remember signing up via your local chapter leaders but aren’t sure—please take a moment to update your information in the online membership roster.

Local chapter members are expected to update their information on a quarterly basis at a minimum. This helps our volunteer leadership maintain their membership databases without manually entering email or name changes. More importantly, the roster allows you an opportunity to volunteer to help the chapter by presenting, hosting, or helping out on the leadership team.

Just as anyone can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we thought we’d extend a “luck of the Irish” gift to local chapter members who haven’t yet joined the national organization. So, if you update your information on the local chapter online membership roster we’ll send you a special discount on national membership.

You don’t need the luck of the Irish to take your CDI career to the next level—joining your local chapter as well as the national organization may prove to be your own special pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Oh, and I’ll save some corned beef for you!

Editor’s note: Varnavas is the associate editorial director of ACDIS. Contact her at mvarnavas@acdis.org.