The CAS New Members Committee (NMC) was honored for its innovative member video, “Attending Your First CAS Meeting,” which earned a Silver EXCEL Award in the category of “Best Video–Membership.” The EXCEL Awards, hosted by Association Media & Publishing, recognize excellence in nonprofit association publishing, marketing and communications. The NMC works to effectively integrate new members into the CAS and pays close attention to new member feedback. “The EXCEL Award shows the dedication of the committee and what we are able to accomplish with just a small, but powerful idea,” said NMC Chairperson Shane Barnes (FCAS 2012).
The video’s concept sprang from a roundtable discussion for New Associates at the 2015 CAS Spring Meeting in Colorado Springs. Some of the new Associates said that they were not fully prepared for the meeting’s demands. Following the conversation, two of the roundtable hosts, Paul Grammens (FCAS 2015) and CAS Membership & Volunteer Manager Matt Caruso, summarized the discussion for the NMC. Grammens then showed Caruso a video he had made on his iPhone. Grammens offered to create a video that would better prepare new members for a CAS meeting.
The full NMC enthusiastically signed on to the project and got to work. NMC members drafted and edited a script and then developed thumbnail sketches for content. Dan Watt (ACAS 2015) was recruited as illustrator. The drawing stage of the video took eight hours of pre-work, with three hours total filming shot in a hand-animated style on Grammens’ iPhone. Grammens edited the content in iMovie and performed voice-over narration along with Bill Lewis, a coworker of Grammens and Watt. The end result guides newcomers through the on-site registration process, dedicated new member receptions, class photos and educational sessions.
Winners of the highly competitive EXCEL Awards contest were honored at the EXCEL Awards Gala on June 27 in Washington, D.C.
“The New Members Committee dedicated personal time, creativity and resources to bring this project together,” Caruso said. “It is an honor to see that vision rewarded with recognition from this contest.”
