Attend a Chapter Leadership Training Event
By Serena Kamps, Chapter Field Rep I, EAA Lifetime 1011028
September 2021 It’s the single most important step you can take toward improving your chapter. This is the message we emphasize to our chapter leaders regarding attendance at a chapter leadership training event. Why so important? These training sessions give you the opportunity to learn best practices for running your chapter, be inspired with fresh ideas, and, perhaps most importantly, interact with other chapter leaders who can provide different perspectives on many of the same issues you face in your own chapter. Formal session topics include:
- Recruiting and retaining chapter members
- Marketing strategies for your chapter
- Fundraising
- Insurance and risk management
- EAA resources for your chapter
- Media and public relations
- Tax-exempt status
- Programs and activities
Training is offered in two formats. Chapter Leadership Academies take place over two days and are held in Oshkosh. Both weekday and weekend sessions are offered to try to accommodate as many schedules as possible. Chapter Leadership Boot Camps are our condensed, one-day, on-the-road version of the same thing. They are hosted by chapters throughout various locations in the country to cover as large an area as possible.
At Academies, attendees are traditionally housed in the Air Academy Lodge and meals are provided. Evening entertainment is offered with special tours or presentations. Academies are your opportunity to get a glimpse of what Oshkosh looks like the other 51 weeks out of the year!
Boot Camps have a somewhat tighter schedule and can feel a lot like drinking from a fire hose. It’s a lot of information to take in in either format so a number of chapter leaders have chosen to attend multiple events as it can take a few times to fully absorb the material. Both formats are free except for the cost of getting there. You simply can’t beat that!
Training season is typically October-April with Academies held in October, January, and April and Boot Camps in November, February, and March. We have been unable to travel or host events since March 2020 but are excited to have our Academies for the next season scheduled and look forward to getting Boot Camps set up soon.
Registration is open for any of the following Oshkosh Academies:
- October 20-22, 2021
- January 14-16, 2022
- April 22-24, 2022
Stay tuned for further information on Boot Camps. You can check out the latest updates by going to EAA.org/ChapterTraining.
EAA’s chapter leadership training sessions are consistently given a very high satisfaction rating by those who attend. Comments such as the following are typical:
“…Material presented was very good. It can be translated throughout other aspects of life as well. I have been to employer sponsored leadership training that was not close to what EAA put on.”
“As a new president of a chapter, [these] presentations [were] useful to guide me…”
“Great information! Learned a huge amount of info about EAA. Will be very helpful in growing our chapter. Would recommend every chapter president do this.”
“Excellent material and presentations. I greatly appreciate all the effort that was put into providing the material and guidance to chapters. I plan on encouraging all of our current and future chapter leadership to attend.”
“Didn’t realize there were so many resources available to chapters through EAA! Enjoyed learning about all.”
As evidenced by these remarks, many attendees have found these training events so valuable that they require all new officers to attend. To so many, Chapter Leadership Academies and Boot Camps have provided just the shot in the arm their chapter needed. I hope you will strongly consider attending one this season. It’s guaranteed you’ll gain so much more than a recognition point for your chapter!
