What's Next?

Typically after an International Convention is over, one of the first thoughts to cross my mind is, “what’s next?” After spending close to a year focused on a single event it’s easy to find one’s self on the other side with no clues as to what to do now. Quite often it takes me a few days to get my bearings and find the next project to work on.

This year, however, is quite different because I already know what comes next.

Next week I’ll be helping out the American Fraternal Alliance, reporting live from their annual meeting via social media! About a month ago they called and asked if I’d be interested in helping them increase the social media coverage of their big event and build more engagement with those who belong to the Alliance, but were unable to attend.

If you aren’t familiar with the Alliance, they were formed in 1886 and unite the not-for-profit fraternal benefit societies operating in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.  Alliance member societies represent nearly 10.5 million individuals, making it one of America’s largest member-volunteer networks.

Obviously I jumped at the opportunity! To me, this is exactly what fraternalism is all about: helping others. Being asked to assist an organization that has done so much for Sons of Norway and other fraternals throughout North America was a no-brainer decision for me. I’m really looking forward to helping the Alliance engage its members and share a bit of the annual meeting experience with them!

So, next week, from September 5-9, I’ll be a guest writer on their Fraternalsblog, tweeting at @Fratalliance and posting on their facebook page! I’ve included links to their social media outlets, because I hope that you’ll continue to follow me via their channels while I’m away. If you do, you’ll not only learn a little more about an organization that is fundamentally important to the fraternal industry, but you’ll also learn about a number of topics that are important to Sons of Norway membership, like governance, dispute resolution, social media, leadership and more! 

As you can see, the event promises to be extremely entertaining and educational, so I hope you’ll follow along as I share an insider’s viewpoint of the annual meeting!