Below is a letter from Catherine Andrews, who serves as the Vice President of Image and Membership (IMD) at ISA.  As a member of ISA, please review this information and provide any feedback here in a comment, talk to your local Section or District leader, or email Catherine directly. This motion will be voted on at ISA Fall Leader's Meeting in Orlando at the Council of Society Delegates.

Dear Fellow Leaders,

In early 2012, the Image & Membership Department appointed a sub-committee comprised of your fellow Section, Division and Department leaders. The goal was to examine ISA membership value and price, with considerations to the increasing costs of delivering membership benefits, our enhanced resources and benefits, and the changes in membership dues of other scientific and engineering societies serving the automation industry since last studied in 2008. The sub-committee met for two months via telecom and discussions over email. Many options and ideas were discussed—so many, in fact, a permanent Committee has been formed by the IMD to continually review our benefit structure and value. This Committee will be chaired by the Image & Membership Department VP-Elect.

The findings of the sub-committee, along with details regarding the proposed membership dues increase, are presented in the ISA Membership Dues Increase Proposal Summary and FAQ document. This document was presented to the District, Department, and Executive Boards during the recent Summer Leaders’ Meeting. Each board voted to indicate its support of the proposal, and the membership dues increase, effective 1 January 2013, will be considered and voted on by the Council of Society Delegates in September 2012.

The Image and Membership Department asks society leaders to review the proposal summary and encourages discussions within your Sections and Districts. Your leaders have purposefully proposed and supported a modest increase given the economic conditions we all face.

If you have any questions about the proposal, or the work of the Image and Membership Department, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your continued dedication to ISA, and I look forward to seeing each of you in September at the Fall Leaders' Meeting and ISA Automation Week.

Best Regards,

Catherine Andrews
Vice President, Image and Membership Department
Email:  candrews at hilealabama.com