Last week Rodgers Townsend (Thanks to Jen Oertli!) was kind enough to once again let us use their big conference room and facilities as REBUS plans for 2011 and '12. We were excited to have at least 30 attendees, many of whom were new faces . . . all of whom were enthusiastic about doing what they can to help REBUS grow and deliver even more value in the future.
We went into the meeting looking for volunteers for various positions, and got them. This does not mean we're "covered"! There is still room for more help in every category including writers (social media communicators) to help with the blog and the other REBUS online presence. 
There is room for writers of every level to contribute to the blog and Twitter. We're always looking for additional designers, especially those with html and online skills. We're creating a "video team" to cover our events, and any other videos we (they) decide to produce. We also need Special Event Managers. If you're interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Danny (Danny.Elchert@yahoo.com) or Rachel (Rachel.Barbieri@gmail.com), they'll hook you up.
The one other position that we are currently seeking candidates for is REBUS leadership in one of the co-Chair positions. It's time to start to rotate a new motivated young professional into the existing mix. If you're interested in applying for the position, just let Danny or Rachel know. The position is fun, rewarding and certainly one of the best advertising networking opportunity in town!
In addition to the normal monthly events at agencies, we're planning to start adding client visits to the schedule. St. Louis is home to a number of category leading companies who understand the value of marketing and advertising. We think we can get their support, and getting their perspective will be invaluable. There's no other association opportunity to have that unusual kind of dialog!
I'm personally very excited about several other events that were discussed. These might be beyond the normal monthly meetings, and could be "stand alone" events . . . some maybe taking a half or even full day. We're talking about "How Do Agencies Get Started?" (working title), which might also include, how do I get more freelance business . . . or how do I get my own (creative or marketing) business started (at any level)!?
We also discussed the possibility of a day long seminar on issues related to "Personal Branding for Career Success", which might include topics like how do I create an online brand for myself, and then market that brand. How do I get started understanding the value of and taking advantage of social media? It might include a portfolio track . . . We plan to make it what people want.
We also discussed REBUS supporting some sort of "Outreach to area High Schools". The advertising industry as a whole nationally is not doing a good job of recruiting the best and the brighest, like it once did. There was a time when (for example) graduates from Ivy League Universities enthusiastically sought, and would be proud to win an assistant AE position on Madison Avenue. There was an excitement about advertising as a career and amazingly enough, it was harder to get that first job then, than it is now! This outreach could also help address some of the diversity in recruitment issues that advertising is confronting on a national level. Some in attendance thought that explaining to high school students the value, excitement and fun of advertising or marketing as a career was something REBUS could do very well . . . I agree.
What do you think about some of these events? We'd love to hear suggestions from you about other events or speakers you'd like to see in St. Louis! As I said to those in attendance . . . there's no excuse. We can do whatever anyone wants. All we need is the volunteer power to pull it off!
