October 3, 2011

Members Encouraged to Recruit New 2012 Members In October through December. While it is always a good time to recruit new members into AACE International, October is a great time invite a prospective member to join. New members joining AACE International after October 1, 2011, will pay 2012 dues and receive the remainder of 2011 for free. This means that new members will experience 15 months of membership benefits before making their first renewal decision.

To assist members in recruiting new members, AACE offers an online recruiting presentation featuring interactive narration of the numerous career advantages to new members. Among the new members-only benefits added recently are:

AACE International Presents: A monthly online presentation of a highly-ranked presentations from a recent Annual Meeting technical program. This members-only benefit allows members from the convenience of their own computer to listen to respected presenters narrate their own slides and then participate in online discussion forums on that month’s topic. A great way for members to keep up with new ideas without leaving the office!

Visual Total Cost Management Framework: The Technical Board has combined the power of the Total Cost Management Framework with emerging technology to create an interactive visual rendition of the total cost management concept. The easy to use reference guide places the power of TCM at a member’s fingertips.

Mentoring: AACE International has launched a comprehensive mentoring program using resources by a leading mentoring expert experienced in working with the engineering community. The AACE International mentoring program employs software from Boxwood Technology that is widely used by professional associations to support the mentor/mentee matching process.

International Total Cost Management Conference: AACE International will sponsor its first major educational meeting outside of North America November 14-15, 2012, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The two-day meeting will be modeled after the Annual Meeting but will have a distinct international flavor.

Other improved membership features:

Cost Engineering Journal: In 2011, we introduced a completely redesigned Cost Engineering journal with a more contemporary layout design and greater editorial emphasis on practical, transferable ideas and techniques.

AACE International Website: We completely redesigned the AACE International website with improved ease of navigation, cleaner look and more engaging graphics and functionality. The result has been a two-fold increase in web traffic to the site and a 46% increase in time visited per user. The website also includes industry news from a variety of source around the world. Users may now sign up for RSS feeds that automatically notify members when new stories are added to the website association news feature.

Career Center: The enhanced Career Center makes it easier for members to post their resumes and to find employers offering new career options. Features include advice on seeking a new job as well as email alerts that notify you when a new job in your area of interest has been posted.

Expanded Virtual Library: The Virtual Library now boasts more than 4,700 articles and technical papers on almost every aspect of practice of total cost management. In 2011, the Transactions from the 2010 Annual Meeting were added to the library. AACE adds the technical papers from the Annual Meeting one year after the completion of the event. In the interim, members may purchase the 2011 Transactions for $75-$90.

Revised Canons of Ethics: Effective January 1, 2012, AACE International will introduce a revised Canons of Ethics that will affect all members and individuals with AACE certifications. The revised ethics addresses intellectual property issues, updates certain provisions to reflect current practices and also creates an affirmative responsibility for members to report ethical violations to the newly created Ethics Committee. The Association also introduced more rigorous plagiarism screening of technical papers submitted for certifications to assure the integrity of the certification process.

Improved Resources for Section Leaders: AACE International expanded its resources for section officers and leaders by providing an online leadership orientation as well as introducing Section Connection, a bimonthly e-newsletter designed to keep section leaders abreast of their responsibilities and new opportunities for sections and members. AACE has also improved the process of notifying section leaders when new members join from within their service area.

Scholarship Program Expanded Internationally: At the request of the Educational Board, AACE International will expand its scholarship program in the future to include applicants from outside of North America. Previously five dollars of each membership from North America had been set aside for the scholarship program but now that will include international membership as well. The Education Board will determine how the scholarship funds will be awarded but in the interim international funds will be accumulated in segregated funds beginning in 2012.

Improved Membership Infrastructure: Effective in 2012, AACE International will convert to a new association management system that will provide members with an easier-to-use system that betters support e-commerce and other administrative activities. The Association also moved to new office space in July 2011 that promised to provide a more efficient and effective office environment for the professional staff in Morgantown, WV.

Resources and Incentives to Recruit New Members: Members wishing to recruit a new member can refer potential members to the membership recruitment presentation on the AACE website. The presentation provides an informative overview of the benefits of membership with interactive links to key membership features. Members may also download an online membership brochure to use in promoting membership.

Members who sponsor a new member will be automatically entered into a drawing held for an all expenses paid trip to the next Annual Meeting. In addition, a drawing will be conducted on a quarterly basis from among sponsors. The winner of the drawing will receive $250 toward the purchase of AACE International logo clothing from Lands End.

AACE International membership has increased by over 9% in 2011 over the same time in 2010. As of July 31, 2011, the Association has 7,661 members, an increase of more than 50% since 2006.