COMMUNICATIONS & MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING
New York Building Congress
Tuesday, September 9, 2003

M I N U T E S

Attendance:
Michael S. Della Rocca, Jeffrey E. Levine; Co-Chairmen, Hamid Adib, Richard T. Anderson, Ronald Berger, Jeannie Bouchette, John Burke, Harvey Cohen, Judy Cooper, John Deermount, Joseph D. Goldreich, Rose Reichman, Tom Royman, Timothy Steinhilber, Jill Youngerman.

Guests: Bud Perrone, Rubenstein Associates; Leila Zogby, Consultant.

Staff: Cathy A. DelliCarpini-Kruse, Gini Shoykhet

Co-Chairmen Jeffrey E. Levine and Michael S. Della Rocca opened the meeting by welcoming members and guests. Mr. Della Rocca asked for and received approval of the minutes of the Membership Committee meeting of June 23, 2003.

Membership Discussion
Mr. Della Rocca summarized the latest membership report noting that we have received $792,900 in dues revenue against our 2003 budget of $830,000. This is $34,600 ahead of what was collected at the end of August, 2002 and represents a continued healthy pace for the year.

A final reminder to unpaid members was mailed at the end of June and was followed up by telephone calls from Building Congress staff. Despite these efforts, 53 unpaid members remain. Mr. Della Rocca and Mr. Levine reviewed the list of these members one by one and asked for volunteers among the Committee to telephone each firm. They asked for the calls to be completed within the next two weeks.

Membership & Events Manager Gini Shoykhet reported that 30 new members have joined the Building Congress this year which is significant but below the number added last year. In addition, 12 firms have elected not to renew their membership. Despite Ms. Shoykhet’s efforts to aggressively target prospective members since her hiring in January, recruitment has been difficult. She spoke about one of her recruitment goals which is to contact each member of the Board of Directors and each Communications and Membership Committee member to enlist their help recruiting two new members each. Ms. Shoykhet reminded the Committee that prospective members may be brought to upcoming Building Congress events as complimentary guests.

In discussion, members suggested ways to assist recruitment efforts including: circulating a list of non-member attendees at Building Congress events for follow-up by the Committee; providing non-members with different color nametags so they may be easily identified and greeted by a member of the Committee; and assigning a Committee member to a non-member at events. Staff will follow up on these suggestions.
Communications Campaign Discussion
Bud Perrone, Building Congress account executive from Rubenstein Associates, reported on continuing publications, issues management, media relations and event promotion activities. Mr. Perrone noted that the Building Congress support of siting the proposed Croton Water Filtration Plant in Mosholu Park, the Bronx, was successful. The industry united behind this proposal and demonstrated the positive impact that can have.

He reported that regular communication with, and the distribution of, Building Congress reports and other publications to media representatives and public officials is having a positive effect on the organization’s profile. As more opinion leaders become familiar with the Building Congress, and appreciate the quality events and publications produced, the image of the organization and the industry is enhanced. Mr. Perrone continues to push for coverage of Building Congress activities and profiles of its leadership. His work includes identifying issues that may require a statement, testimony or other action by the Building Congress. Recent efforts have included: discussions with the Mayor’s energy task force; letters to the Governor on emerging issues such as the August black-out and funding for CUNY/SUNY programs; and a meeting between Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson and editors of The New York Times metropolitan desk to discuss development, including that of Lower Manhattan and the far West Side.

Freelance writer Leila Zogby reported that her work on an article assessing the status of women in the design, construction and real estate industry is complete. Her article will be reformatted for use in several ways. Mr. Perrone will seek placement of all or part of the article in industry publications, appropriate newspaper sections and other media outlets. In addition, the article will be featured in the 2004 Building Congress Annual Report.

Other Business
Committee member Joseph D. Goldreich raised a question about how the Building Congress might recruit and involve more small firms in all sectors of the industry. In discussion, members noted that small firms, if not members themselves, are represented through the membership of their industry associations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC), and the Subcontractors Trade Association (STA). A suggestion was made to consider holding an event targeted to these and other association members to further involve their member companies. Staff will follow-up on this suggestion.

Adjournment
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:

Cathy A. DelliCarpini-Kruse
Senior Vice President
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