Chapter of the Year is a program that encourages members to get involved at the local, state, and national levels. Many of the activities that will be discussed in this blog also correlate with the Summer Starter section of the new national program Champion Chapter (check out the Champion Chapter blog for more information). Summer Starter submissions will be open from August 1 to September 15; the main focus of these activities is on chapter building and membership strategy (for more details, look at the Champion Chapter-Summer Starter blog). Make sure you accurately document each activity for both Chapter of the Year and Champion Chapter.
Activity 3.3 of Chapter of the Year involves conducting an officer planning session at the beginning of the year. However, the foundation of this activity is the election of a local officer team. While each chapter’s election process may vary, all chapters should have an officer team designed to organize activities for the members. This planning session can be conducted alongside officer training. If your chapter attended SLOTS, one of the SLOTS activities involved planning out the year. The planning session will count towards activity 3.3 of Chapter of the Year (25 points). By uploading the training session agenda, chapters can also receive a maximum of 250 points for this activity for Champion Chapter Summer Starter #1.
Activity 3.2 is the creation of a chapter Program of Work. A Program of Work allows chapters to visualize what activities they want to do throughout the year. Remember that a Program of Work is dynamic – it should change throughout the year as your chapter discusses new ideas. Build your Program of Work by using any ideas from your previous FBLA year or trying out new and engaging ideas. Chapters who attended SLOTS or watched the recorded videos already began this process. By uploading a copy of your chapter’s Program of Work with at least three recruitment activities, your chapter can receive up to 100 points for Champion Chapter Summer Starter #2, as well as 25 Chapter of the Year points.
Activity 4.1 focuses on a chapter social media plan for the year. This social media plan does not have to be precise, but your chapter should have a general idea of what posts are going out for each month. For example, you might want to schedule a post a week before your chapter’s RLC payment deadline reminding members to pay their fees. Another post might advertise your chapter’s upcoming ice cream social. A social media plan will also help coordinate information within your chapter. By uploading a copy of your chapter’s social media plan, your chapter can be awarded a maximum of 100 points for Champion Chapter Summer Starter #3, and 20 Chapter of the Year points.
