Last night at our Chapter Council meeting we ended up devoting a portion of the meeting to how we might better engage with you the membership, and increase membership participation in the Institute here in South Australia.

Some initiatives get great membership engagement and are obviously of value, others not so much. It is something that has been a continuing topic of conversation over the six or so years that I have been on Chapter Council, and no doubt prior to that as well.

So while not a specific item on last night’s agenda, we all agreed that it is a perennial issue that requires more attention.

As a result, we are going to spend some time at our next meeting on Monday 25 July devoted specifically to this topic. But in order for it to be an effective discussion, we need your input.

Our annual Awards night is being held this Saturday evening. It is the one time each year when we get a large part of the profession together to celebrate our achievements for the year. And it is the one time each year where we can readily engage with a large group of members.

Most of the Chapter Council will be attending the awards, so I’d encourage you to spend five minutes chatting to them as well as me about how we can better engage with you, and what might increase your participation in Chapter activities. For instance, what might get you to events and forums, or what might lead you to become an active member of a task group, standing committee or nominate for Chapter Council.

And if you don’t know who your Councillors are, I’ll be inviting them onto the stage during my speech, so seek them out for a chat at some point during the course of the evening. Our ability to serve you as members can only be as good as the feedback that we get.

Of course, if you are not attending the awards on Saturday night, it isn’t the only opportunity for feedback – feel free to get in contact with the Chapter office anytime by phone 8402 5900 or email sa@architecture.com.au sometime before 22 July to provide your input for discussion in our meeting.

David Homburg, SA Chapter President