NEWiRE president's message: The benefits of belonging

If you think about it, we spend a good portion of our lives in groups with other people. And we join those groups for various reasons, both personal and professional. With so many groups vying for people's time and attention, NEWiRE must continually strive to provide its members not only with reasons to join, but with reasons to stay. This hinges upon providing value and benefits to our members. As we begin our annual membership renewal drive, let's focus upon the big picture. While a NEWiRE membership offers numerous benefits, it is important to think about the reasons why people join and remain as members of our group. What motivates them to commit their time and energy to our organization? These are the top three that come to mind: 1) To Prosper: The basic premise of NEWiRE is to promote the advancement of women in commercial real estate. The NEWiRE membership represents all disciplines in the commercial real estate industry, providing opportunities to learn from, network with, and put together a project development team of highly talented professionals. Our members consider NEWiRE an important networking hub for making important connections and doing business together. They can do this through various avenues including: * Networking events. * Committee involvement. * CREW Network affiliation with over 8,000 members across North America. 2) To Relate: NEWiRE is a community where members can share experiences and ideas. For many members, mentoring is a big part of their experience. NEWiRE provides invaluable opportunities for both formal and informal mentoring. Both are tools for productive communications between professionals, fostering development and providing opportunities to give and receive professional advice and learn from experts in the industry. The NEWiRE membership is not only diverse by discipline, but, by level of experience. Our Rising Leaders Networking Group, for example, is tailored to members who are 40 years of age or under and offers a forum to discuss professional issues as well as provide networking opportunities. At the same time, our Legacy Council prompts discussion and the exchange of ideas among our most experienced and longstanding members. 3) To Grow: Perhaps the most compelling reason why members join and stay with NEWiRE is that they are changed in some way by their involvement with our organization. They learn new things, meet new people and find their membership invaluable and empowering. We provide an environment that encourages, supports, and develops members in a multitude of ways including: * Educational programs and seminars. * Leadership opportunities. * Community Outreach. Again these are just a few reasons why people join NEWiRE based upon my personal experience and feedback we get from our members every day. They see the benefits of belonging. And after hearing what they get out of it, the question I would pose is: why wouldn't you want to join or remain a member of NEWiRE? To learn more about NEWiRE and upcoming events visit www.newire.org, find us on LinkedIn, or follow us on Twitter @NEWiREBoston. Holly Nelson is the managing director at TriSail Capital Corporation/BAML and the 2012-2013 president of New England Women in Real Estate (NEWiRE), Boston.