For many of us, school has just begun and the craze to increase chapter membership has likewise kicked into high gear. DECA membership ranges from competitive, noncompetitive, and alumni though all are beneficial to a DECA chapter in their respective rights. However, it's important to remember why exactly we strive to achieve higher membership numbers in the first place. Remember that while it's still great to increase membership, we must still create interpersonal connections with all members and ensure they are all included in the DECA chapter's activities instead of merely getting lost in the busyness of school life and DECA craziness.
One of the greatest benefits of increasing chapter membership is gaining a unique perspectives on issues and increasing the pool size for potential ideas. By increasing the number of people, each with their own individual viewpoints and thoughts, we can gain an insight into how we can approach situations differently and/or gain new, original ideas of what we can do that would have otherwise been lacking.
Another advantage to increased membership is having more people to network with each other throughout the year. With the addition of new members to a DECA chapter, we can network with and meet more people than we would have been able to otherwise in a smaller chapters. As we are preparing students for life after high school with interpersonal and speaking skills, the opportunity to meet even more new people would be a great asset to those in your DECA chapter.
Finally, increased membership can greatly benefit your DECA chapter by increasing your capabilities for chapter campaigns over the year. A larger number of people in your chapter would allow you to have more members of all types utilizable for when your chapter needs as many helpers as possible. Therefore, the potential of your DECA chapter can increase greatly because of the new scope to utilize the increased number of members and their respective skills.
BY: MICHAEL NGUYEN
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