Did you hear about the avalanche in Albuquerque? REP headquarters was buried by the unbelievable response to our November member survey.
Executive Assistant Ruth Fish and her assistant, Wendy Fink, did yeoman’s work in compiling the information sent in by more than 75 percent of our active members and then sending out the hundreds of gift-membership packets that resulted from the survey. I am so thankful for Ruth and Wendy, and for all our engaged and enthusiastic members.
The survey had two primary purposes. First, we wanted to hear from you—our members—about what REP does well and what we could do better. Second, we hoped to find some common denominators among members that would help us fine tune our effort to continue to grow the organization. We also gave you plenty of space to make comments and suggestions.
In January, I visited the national office and read every survey to collate similar comments and ideas. I also responded directly to several members who asked for assistance. It was a very rewarding experience for me to learn more about each of you.
The Typical REP Member
At the heart of the process was our desire to figure out if a “typical REP member” exists. Almost without exception, our members belong to and are active in other environmental or conservation groups. Fifty-six percent belong to The Nature Conservancy or a local land conservancy. Can you guess where I’ll be looking for new members?
About one third of our members also belong to the National Wildlife Federation, the National Parks Conservation Association, the National Audubon Society, the Wilderness Society or the Sierra Club. Twenty percent hold membership in local conservation clubs, too. The next time you attend a function for one of these other groups, please remember that the person sitting next to you is a potential REP member and ask if she has ever heard of REP. According to the survey, more people joined REP because of a friend’s referral than for any other reason.
We asked you to tell us what you do for fun. More than half of us enjoy walking, hiking, traveling and gardening. Forty percent like bicycling, bird watching, camping, photography, and canoeing or kayaking. About one-quarter of us like to backpack, fish, and swim—not necessarily all at the same time! Hunting and skiing were mentioned by a good number of you, too.
More than sixty percent of our members describe themselves as general environmentalists and fiscal conservatives. Most of us say we’re life-long Republicans; but slightly more than half indicate a preference to pick and choose between GOP and non-GOP candidates. This goes hand-in-hand with a frequent comment made by prospective new members with whom I speak and that is, “I used to be a Republican, but the party left me.” Of course, REP exists to bring the party back to the strong conservation and environmental values held by its members.
Policy Concerns
Our members spoke with a uniform voice on issues of greatest concern. Respondents were nearly unanimous in listing global warming, energy resources and consumption, habitat and wildlife loss, public land protection, air and water quality, and sprawl as major concerns. The REP staff is fast at work on these issues. Our 2007 annual conference in San Antonio is going to tackle a variety of those topics.
A handful of members asked to whom they should send information on topics or issues that might not pop up on our radar screens or might be of regional or local interest. If there’s anything you’d like to pass along—including the names and contact info of potential members—send it to me at: rsisson@rep.org. Email makes it quick and convenient for me to forward your message to the appropriate staff member or chapter leader.
Suggestions
Some of you said that our web site could use improvement. President Martha Marks is working with our web guru to keep the site fresh and improve our capabilities to communicate with members. We will soon have the ability to better manage action alerts and let you share information with friends and colleagues. We hope to add a Members’ Only section to our web site, where you will be able to better manage your membership and discuss critical issues with staff and others inside the organization.
Several people recommended ways to connect REP members in local and regional areas. Many respondents voiced a desire to become more involved in REP. I have passed those names on to chapter presidents or state coordinators to help initiate the connections.
With an eye on the future, more than two dozen of you suggested that College Republicans would be a fertile organization from which REP could cultivate new members. I agree! That organization and its state affiliates are on my “to do” list. I hope that the College Republicans will invite REP to provide a speaker at its next national convention. If anyone has children or grandchildren involved in the National Federation of College Republicans, please let me know.
Thanks to the information from our survey, we will be better able to identify like-minded Republicans who are not yet REP members and invite them to join us. We can target certain publications for ads or essays by Martha; our resident wordsmith, Jim DiPeso; or our man-in-Washington, Dave Jenkins.
We encourage you to write letters to the publication of any conservation or environmental organization to which you belong—and when you do, don’t forget to mention REP. Remember, more people have found REP through a friend’s recommendation than any other reason!
The great issues of our time wait for no man. They are global in significance and require America’s leadership. America cannot lead until both major political parties value conservation as a guiding principle.
That is why I am so excited to be a part of REP. When we are successful in leading our party to that principle, we will change the world.
Rob Sisson is the membership and development director of Republicans for Environmental Protection.
