Page 14 - Branch Leader Guide

Charcot-Marie-Tooth
Association

If you call a regular member, mention just how much his/her participation means to you
and to the group, and encourage him/her to attend the next meeting. If you can do all
this with genuine enthusiasm, you are bound to have great attendance at your meetings.

After a few meetings, you might consider creating a phone tree, whereby you ask others
to participate in calling people to tell them about the upcoming meeting or just to check
in. This is just another way to create community and build strong relationships while
making individuals feel valued and appreciated.

Appoint a Co-Leader

A co-leader works hand-in-hand with the leader, sharing responsibilities and tasks to
keep the group running smoothly. Each leader brings a different set of skills to the table,
making the group diverse and interesting for the participants. (Spouses are discouraged
from becoming co-leaders.) To avoid burnout, we strongly encourage you to find a co-
leader who can help you with branch planning and duties. This should be someone on
whom you can rely to take on some group undertakings, or even the entire meeting, if
you need a break, become ill or go on vacation. Important note about co-leaders: If you
have someone you would like to become your co-leader, make sure they go through the
branch leader approval process before you add their bio to your branch page.

Reach Out to the Community
Ask someone to be responsible for getting the meeting information into local papers and
distributing and posting flyers in the community. Media possibilities include, but are not
limited to, radio spots, TV coverage and published articles on CMT-related subjects.
Community outreach volunteers can also publicize fundraising events.

Keep Members’ Information Current

Put someone in charge of your member database. Have him or her add new member
information and modify information about existing members. Also ask this volunteer to
encourage members to join the branch on the CMTA website. With access to the
member database, a branch secretary could also serve as the branch treasurer, keeping
track of money at fundraisers and other events.

Greet New Members

A greeter welcomes new members to the group and makes them feel comfortable by
introducing them to other members and answering questions. The greeter is responsible
for name tags and collecting new member contact information. Greeters may also
create a skills/contact sheet to collect information that could benefit the CMTA either
locally or nationally. Find out for example, if a member has personal contacts who may
be interested in helping the CMTA on a local or national level. Also find out if a member

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