Page 5 - OPTA Access Spring 2020

The Future is NOW at OPTA!
One of my favorite topics is how generational differences impact today’s volunteers . In fact, I love it
to the point where I speak on it annually at the Ohio Society of Association Executives’ (OSAE) Shane Yates Leadership Forum in my Volunteer Management session. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like a sexy topic, but when your volunteers are the backbone (see what I did there?) of your association, the topic becomes critical .
Let me start by saying that not all associations are created equal . By that I mean that there are varying levels of volunteer involvement in associations . Because OPTA is an individual membership organization, as opposed to a trade association, our volunteers tend to be more involved and “touch” the association more frequently . Trade associations join by company, and usually designate members
to be involved, so there may be a slight disconnect as employees transition in and out of a specific company . Trade associations pay company dues, OPTA (and other professional society) members pay their own dues; therefore, OPTA members seek more direct value and ROI for their membership dollars that are coming out of their own pockets
With that direct involvement—now more than ever—we are seeing how generational differences are manifesting themselves in the progression of an organization. According to APTA, millennials comprise the largest membership segment of the organization. Combine that population with the slow phase-out of the Baby Boomers and the practically invisible Gen Xers (smallest in numbers) and you have a new and interesting dynamic brewing.
What does this new dynamic mean for a membership organization? It means doing the same old thing isn’t going to cut it anymore . It means that we better listen carefully to “the ask” or we’re going to become stagnant and irrelevant . It means we must craft
our services to meet the need of today’s workforce .
It means we must become essential to the swiftly evolving daily business and clinical practices of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants . And it means we must clearly communicate the power of numbers of a membership organization and how that impacts public policy .
I always tell my group of association colleagues during these presentations how fortunate I am to work for an organization that can creatively pivot in developing products and services for our members and make a sharp U-turn when something’s not quite working. More specifically, how fortunate I am to see the future of the profession through the eyes of our Early Professionals . OPTA is proactively addressing the needs of today’s young professional through mentoring (OPTA CONNECT), programming (with
a focus on early professional and non-traditional practice models) and a variety of networking and communication channels . To say we’re excited is an understatement!
An interesting side note: there are four generations in my family of four—a Baby Boomer, a Gen Xer, a Millennial and a Gen Z . Family discussions can be “interesting,” and yes, they also serve as an unofficial test market for my random ideas .
Stay tuned—the future is now at OPTA!
For more information, contact Victoria at:
vgresh@ohiopt.org
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A Note from the Executive Director Victoria Gresh, CAE
OPTA | March 2020 | 5