NAPM HOUSTON INC., Updated July 5, 2010 The following items may help answer questions about membership dues, meeting times, membership levels, certain association activities and other useful information. Note that some of the answers contain links to other areas of the webpage where relevant information is explained or expanded. We’ve divided questions up into topics that may make your answers easier to find. HOW DO I JOIN? Q How do I join the association? Joining NAPM Houston is easy and much like joining any other organization. Fill out one of our membership applications (you can download from this website) and send it along with your check to the address on the form. click here for application form Q What does it cost to join? Regular membership is $170.00 annually and includes membership in both Houston and the national association. National charges an additional $20.00 Orientation Fee for the first year. Houston accepts "Associate" Members for annual dues of $70.00 but certain restrictions apply. Q Can I use a credit card to pay membership dues? A Yes you can! Information about that is on the application and/or website. Q How do I know when I become a member? All applications are reviewed by the Immediate Past President for compliance with membership requirements and a recommendation is made to our Board of Directors. If the application is approved, you will receive a letter welcoming you to our association. Q How long is my membership good? Membership in the Association is good through December 31, plus a prorated credit toward the following years dues based on the month of election. Invoices for the following year are sent out in November and are due no later than the January dinner meeting. (Second Tuesday in January) Q I forgot to pay my dues. What do I do now? Members whose dues have lapsed can simply be reinstated by paying their dues before August 1 of the dues year, HOWEVER, dues not received by the deadline means a person is dropped from both our rolls AND national’s rolls. This WILL STOP all local and national mailings and other information normally provided to members. After August 1, a member must reapply with a new application. Q Where do I send late dues payments? ALL dues payments are sent to the associations Treasurer / Business Manager Ed Wahowski at P.O. Box 771203, Houston, TX 77215-1203. Q I just moved to Houston and want to transfer my membership. What do I need to do? NAPM Houston accepts transferees IF their dues were current at the association from which the member is transferring. A letter from the secretary of the former association needs to accompany the application to Houston confirming dues status. A transfer is good for the remainder of the Houston dues year. If the former association dues were not current, a person may simply send in a check with the Houston application and apply as a new member. WHAT ABOUT DINNER MEETINGS? Q When does the association hold meetings? Dinner meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month. No meetings are held during the months of July, August or December. Q How do I know when meetings are held? There is a variety of ways to learn about meeting times. Since meetings are always held on second Tuesdays, the easiest way is to simply mark your calendar. Members will receive an email reminder prior to the meeting. Meeting information is published in our monthly newsletter and information is posted to this website. A calendar is published in the monthly newsletter and in the association directory. Q Where are dinner meetings held? The association dinner meetings are currently held at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel at the juncture of Loop 610 and Highway 290. Q How long do meetings last? Dinner meeting times will vary but are usually concluded at about 8:15 p.m. Q What do you do at these meetings? Activities will vary, but, generally, there is a social hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. A Pre-Dinner Meeting is also held during this hour on a variety of subjects. Attendance at these is optional and is free. They are concluded in time for dinner. Following the meal, there are announcements of general association business and a speaker follows. The meeting adjourns when the speaker is finished. Q How much is the dinner meal? Dinner cost $27.00 with reservations, $30.00 without reservations the night of the meeting. Reservations must be made no later than 5:00 p.m. Thursday, before the meeting date. You will be charged the $27.00 dinner cost if you do not attend or cancel your reservation after 5:00 p.m. the Thursday before the monthly meeting. E-mail: napmhouston@napmhouston.org Reservations will be considered firm upon receipt of voice mail or e-mail. Please do not duplicate reservations by using both avenues. Payment of $27.00 for those with advance reservations is made via cash or check payable to NAPM Houston at our registration table the night of the dinner meeting. We also accept credit card payments (Master Charge, Visa, American Express & Discover only) and you are requested to complete the attached credit card charge authorization prior to the meeting to speed out dinner meeting registration process. click here to download the dinner meeting credit card authorization form The cost without a reservation is $30.00 the night of the meeting, we request advance reservations to assist us in coordinating our meeting attendance with the hotel in advance. Q Can I attend as a guest? Yes. Reservations are required if you wish to have dinner and guests are subject to billing for their meal if they fail to cancel. A guest is not required to have dinner if they choose not to. Q I have special dietary requirements. Can I order a different meal? Meals meeting special dietary requirements are available, however, the request for that meal MUST BE PLACED AT THE TIME RESERVATIONS ARE MADE. Orders for special meals cannot be taken at the dinner meeting. HOW DO I CHANGE MY PHONE/MAILING INFORMATION? Q Where do I report changes in my phone, mailing or other communications information? DO NOT REPORT YOUR CHANGE TO NATIONAL!! All members are asked to report their change information in writing to the Association Treasurer / Business Ed Wahowski, as soon as possible by fax: 281-494-0822 or email: edmw1@windstream.net Our Treasurer / Business Manager reports all updates. committees. Companies having three or more members also have a "Company Coordinator". You may report all relevant changes to that person and he/she will report it to our Treasurer / Business Manager. Q Who reports changes to National? The Treasurer / Business Manager reports all known changes to National each month. Twice a year a membership reconciliation and update is made thru the associations Treasurer / Business Manager. Q If I want to receive my mail at home, is that ok? All members have the option of receiving their mail at home or at their office. Please note that we wish to keep both addresses on file so that we have a backup if your mail is returned to us. You simply need to specify which address you prefer for mailing purposes. Q What changes do I need to report? Report any and every thing that changes – your name, phone number, fax number, email address; your company name and/or new employer, PO Box, street address and/or zip code. When you use a P.O. Box, please be sure your zip code matches that for the box rather than your street address. The reverse is also true if you use a street address. Of course, this is needed if your employer relocates, but it is also true when you move within your office and your phone/fax numbers, etc. change. Q How confidential is the information I supply to the association. We make every effort to keep data private if the member alerts us to that. We publish a directory annually, but that is the only place it is published. We also make a substantial effort to keep directories in the hands of our members only. Q Does the association sell directory information or release the information to sales people? Am I going to get a lot of junk mail? We certainly hope not. We
do not sell or release directories to non members. Once we have
published, we cannot guarantee that the information won’t be pirated by
someone, but we try to keep all data as private as possible. I WOULD LIKE C.P.M. INFORMATION Q Where can I get information on the C.P.M. exam? Certification is the sole province of the National Organization. All reservations, test information and fees should be directed to the National office in Tempe, Arizona. You may review the data on this website or contact National directly at 1-800-888-6276 or http://www.ism.ws/ Q How much does the test cost? Test costs are discounted to association members. Please contact the National office for specifics. Q How often are tests held? Written exams are offered annually during NAPM's International Conference which is normally held in late April or May at a different location each year. One can schedule a C.P.M. exam on the computer at any time during the year. You should contact NAPM National at 1-800-888-6276 for additional information. Q Do you have seminars about the C.P.M. exam? The association usually sponsors seminars about a month prior to each National exam date. Information is posted to this website and in the monthly newsletter. Additional information may also be available thru the Professional Development Committee. OTHER SEMINARS, MEETINGS, MISCELLANEOUS Q How can I get a new name badge? Please go to the FORMS
page on the Web. The form itself gives directions on how to complete and
where to send it. As a second option, contact MAC (Membership Activities
Committee) Chair. Q Other than monthly meetings, does the association have other meetings or seminars? The association sponsors or co-sponsors professional development meetings and seminars during the course of the year. The Professional Development Committee handles these. Information about their activities is posted to this website. A special table is also set up at monthly meetings providing information on upcoming events and C.P.M. activities. Association committees have meetings at varying times. Q I am interested in joining a committee. What kinds of committees do you have? A large association such has Houston has a wide variety of committee activity and Committee Chairs are always glad to have participants. Committees range from Greeters at general meetings to our fund raising events to professional development. All members are encouraged to participate as their circumstances permit. Many jobs do not require extensive participation time – sometimes only for a particular event or on an as needed basis. Of course time will vary depending upon the scope of committee work. Anyone interested in joining a committee can find contacts here at the website. Q How can I find out about association events? NAPM-Houston has several avenues thru which anyone can find out about events and activities. Obviously, this website is one. The Communications Committee also sends out email notices relative to upcoming events on an as needed basis including a notice about the general meetings held each month. If your company has a Company Coordinator, information is also available thru them. Persons attending general meetings will hear various announcements about our upcoming events as well. If greater detail is needed, one should contact the chair of the committee handling the event. These Chairs are printed in the association directory, the monthly newsletter and on the website. They will be happy to assist you. Q Does the association furnish publications? The association publishes a monthly newsletter that is posted on our association website approximately 7-10 days prior to the monthly meetings. Limited newsletter mailings are made to members that do not have a valid email address listed in our association records. Regular members also receive a monthly newsletter publication and other mailings from National. Associate members do not receive National’s mailings. All local information is also posted to this website. |
This site best experienced with
Copyright 1997 - 2010 NAPM Houston Inc.