Three Reasons to Attend Your Regional Caucus at Winter Conference

Do you plan on attending your Regional Caucus at Winter Conference? If your answer is no (or you are on the fence) and you’re open to a little friendly persuasion, read on.

First, some quick background: Arizona has more than 100,000 square miles of land, so it makes good sense to divide our state association into regions. Each of these five regions has a Regional Vice President (RVP) who is responsible for developing and maintaining effective communication and cooperation among the local associations and AAR.

Twice a year – once at Winter Conference in the spring and again at Leadership Conference in the fall – each region gets together to discuss issues affecting their business. These meetings are called Regional Caucuses and are usually facilitated by the RVP.

Sidebar: I realize that the word “caucus” does not exactly conjure up images of conga lines and champagne fountains. However, these meetings are good for your business. Here’s why:

Communication with Your State Association

When I was Region 1 RVP a few years ago, I learned that AAR leadership truly wants to hear from its members! We have a tremendous resource in AAR, ready to support us or take action on our behalf, but how are they to know what support or action we need without proper communication? This is where the Regional Caucus comes in.

The RVP also typically shares any updates from the Executive Committee and other agenda items for the upcoming Board of Directors meeting.

Strengthening Relationships Within Your Region

A few years ago several of the local associations in Region 1 joined together to form a regional MLS – no small task.

Although the topic had been discussed numerous times in the past, those talks always fell apart in the early stages before most members had even voiced their opinions.

This time around there was a rapport and level of trust among key players from each association that got the talks past the previous hurdles and into the hands of the membership for a vote.

Where did those relationships start? At the Regional Caucuses, naturally.

Networking and Referrals

Looking for a less lofty reason to attend your Regional Caucus? One that can directly impact your bottom line?

There are nearby cities within your region that are so close that you probably get fairly regular inquiries from prospective clients in those areas, yet just far enough away to be outside your service area. You need agents in these territories that will take good care of your referral clients, and what better way to find them than to spend an hour or so with them on Friday?

If you’re making the trip to Prescott this week and plan on staying the night on Thursday, I hope you’ll carve 90 minutes out of your schedule to attend your Regional Caucus on Friday from 9:00 am to 10:30 am. See your meeting packet for room locations.

Tags: Regional Caucus