BALTIMORE, Md. – The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) will soon be “One PGMS”, reports Matt Vehr, president of the 91-year-old green industry organization. It’s all part of a three-year effort to unite PGMS with its local branches.
Beginning January 2003, membership in PGMS will only be available through the national headquarters in Baltimore. Members will then be able to be a part of a local branch as part of their annual membership investment fee.
Previously, individuals could associate with a local branch of PGMS without having to necessarily belong to the headquarters organization. “This often caused confusion and misunderstanding about membership,” said Thomas Shaner, CAE, executive director for PGMS.
“From the outset the primary purpose for these initiatives was to develop a more professional society and to strengthen the recognition and professional standing of the individual members,” added Vehr, who was a leader in the Greater Cincinnati Branch before rising to become a director and officer of the national society. “The goal to accomplish this mission was brought about by an overall desire and directive given PGMS by its nearly 1,500 members and its branches.”
As part of the new program, PGMS will provide a variety of support and administrative services to its branches.
Prior to commencing the unity initiative, some branches of the society had little direct affiliation with the national membership and as such certain confusions of membership and representation were often created. Some individual branch members were often not “contributing” to the overall goals and objectives of PGMS, and in some cases were jeopardizing the good name of the society.
It was important that efforts be taken to protect the registered name and trademark of the society. The decision to bring all PGMS groups together under one membership was painstakingly reviewed by the PGMS Board of Directors and was brought about with the involvement of branch representatives from across the country. As a matter of fact, it was two branch representatives to the PGMS Board of Directors who moved and seconded the motion to establish the new membership/dues program.
“Several of our local branches have always required that members belong at both levels,” said Shaner. “Except for the requirement that a minimum of five individuals and the officers of the local be national members, we sometimes had situations where only a limited number of ‘local’ members belonged to the overall PGMS. Our new membership requirement will allow us to strengthen the society so that we will be able to do a far better job of enhancing the professional value of membership.”
Both Vehr and Shaner note that there will be some fall-out from local members who will not opt to take advantage of the new “united membership”, but as Vehr points out, “We’re really not losing members as these individuals were not our members in the first place.”
To bring about the united front, PGMS modified its membership fees to only $175, but as Shaner notes, this is not an increase but rather a savings to those members who have been members of both a branch and the national organization. National dues were $150 and branch dues were $50. Under the new dues arrangement, PGMS will rebate $50 of each branch member's dues back to the branch of his or her choice, resulting in a $25 decrease in net revenues to the Society.
To the individual who had a limited branch membership, the annual dues will now provide him or her membership in a much larger, more dynamic organization with a broader networking appeal. Branch members will be included in and receive the PGMS membership directory, the bi-monthly publication of the PGMS Forum, and they will be fully entitled to all benefits and services developed and provided by a stronger national society.
Additionally, PGMS “Affiliate Members,” individuals from the same company who already have one person from their organization paying the full $175 PGMS dues, will have annual dues of only $125 (not $150).
Members who are in areas that are presently not served by a local branch will have $50 of their annual fees set aside in a branch development fund to be used by PGMS to organize and assist local branches across the U.S.
“Local branches are another dynamic way in which PGMS members can increase the value of the membership by enhancing their networking opportunities,” points our Vehr.
For information on PGMS membership or its upcoming annual conference and Green Industry Expo at Gaylord’s Opryland Center in Nashville, contact the Society at 720 Light St., Baltimore, Md., 21230, or by fax at 410/752-8295, or email pgms@assnhqtrs.co. Membership applications are also available online at www.pgms.org.