A Remembered Call

Cattleman, The, Jul 2007 by Wood, Kathy

The Santa Gertrudis Breeders International recently had me on the hot seat answering questions about membership. They are in the trenches of working on their long-range plan.

Because it is so hard to actually quantify its success, I reluctantly mentioned the Association Promotion Committee's efforts to make sure delinquent or dropped members get letters and phone calls from our volunteer leadership. This is one of the best programs we have for retaining membership, but there isn't really a good way to track its effect.

As soon as I mentioned this program, Allen Grainger of Brenham, a Santa Gertrudis breeder and TSCRA member, gave an awesome testimonial!

A few years ago Grainger's membership slipped. TSCRA Director Mike Wirtz, DVM, of Brenham called and asked him if there was anything TSCRA could do to get him to rejoin. Wirtz didn't know Grainger, but he made a lasting impression.

Grainger never forgot Wirtz. In fact, he recently called Wirtz because he had learned of new regulations that prevented him from returning his feed sacks to his local feed dealer for reimbursement. Grainger wanted Wirtz and TSCRA to know about this issue and to see if anything could be done.

Grainger was happy to have a TSCRA contact. I was ecstatic to hear this story. There are many more examples out there. So, if you are writing letters, keep up the good work. Or, if you are on the receiving end, take advantage of your contact with TSCRA leadership. We want to hear from you.

By Kathy Wood

kathy@ texascattleraisers.org

800/242-7820, ext. 123