Happy Friday and merry Christmas Eve (Eve). (And for those who “celebrate,” Happy Festivus.)

Things are winding down here at MemberClicks. With fewer than 2 days to go until Christmas, the office is festive and there are treats everywhere. It’s become our Friday tradition, though, to share five of our fave association blog posts from the community. If you have time during your busy holiday weekend, be sure to check these out.

1. Do you clearly establish expectations of your association’s officers? Cindy Butts recommends not requiring officers to do certain tasks “just because.” Rather, find the right volunteer for certain tasks. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; use them appropriately.

2. Jeff Hurt reminds association leaders of one simple truth: you have too much to do because your association does too much! He examines the complexity and structure of organizations and encourages associations to embrace simplicity. Removing the excess is hard. Focusing on what you do best isn’t always hard. In a nutshell, identify your organization’s core purpose and then do it.

3. David M. Patt shares words of wisdom with association professionals – marketing is not something you should flip on and off. It doesn’t matter if you have an event coming up or not, you should be connecting with your members and potential members. Wise words, and a great reminder.

4. Shelly Alcorn shares how she’ll use the time between Christmas and New Year’s to focus on reflecting on the coming year and determine her “five terms” to focus on in 2012. Share your own in the comments and help inspire others!

5. If your association isn’t thinking about mobile yet … well, why aren’t you?! Jamie Notter reflects on the ASAE Technology Conference and its major theme: mobile. Smartphone use is only increasing, and, although the desktop won’t become obsolete, people are accessing the Internet from more devices than ever before.

That’s all from us this week! No matter what you choose to celebrate, Happy Holidays!

The association community has lost a dear friend in Mark Bledsoe. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.

By Thomas Howard, MemberClicks Founder

Associations are all about people and the causes important to them. The vast majority of these groups are run by small teams of mission-minded individuals who tirelessly promote the causes they love.

Everywhere across America, small staff associations represent the diverse passions of this country. There’s the Denver Coach Foundation. The Northwest Polygraph Examiners Association. The Southern Snow Seekers. The San Diego Recruiters Roundtable. The Minnesota Paralegal Association. The National Recycling Coalition. The National Storytelling Network. The New England Science Writers. The list goes on and on and on.

These are the associations that define the very identity of America. But unlike their larger counterparts, they face significant challenges with respect to budget, time, technology and manpower.

That’s why we take what we do at MemberClicks so seriously. It’s why we do what we do. We’re not just a business. We also define ourselves by our mission to champion small-staff associations and help them overcome their obstacles.

Unlike other companies who are widening their scopes and entering the small staff association space, “small staff” isn’t just a trendy buzzword or new market opportunity to us. We live and breathe it each and every day, and have since 1998.

We have a first-hand understanding of the challenges they face. We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach to membership software doesn’t work in their unique world. We realize the magnitude of our responsibility to help them focus on their missions instead getting caught up in the details of technology.

Technology allows small staff associations to expand their reaches and grow their causes. If we do our job and do it well — if we can play even a small role in advancing the causes of the vital small staff associations we serve — we consider ourselves successful.

Good morning and happy Friday! I’m not sure how we’re halfway through July, though – doesn’t it seem like 2011 is just flying by? It’s just about time for ASAE’s Annual Meeting again! (Didn’t I just get over my jet lag from LA?!) Seriously, though, it’s been a great year so far here at MemberClicks and we’re excited to meet as many small staff association professionals as possible.

Obviously, it’s time for me to share some of my favorite posts from the association blogosphere to help kick of the weekend. Ready? Set? Go!

1. Valeria Maltoni’s The 5 E’s of Content Marketing is definitely worth a read for association professionals. My personal favorite E? Enthusiasm! I think it’s really obvious when someone’s just not that into what they’re writing about, and being enthusiastic in your writing absolutely makes a difference.

2. Erik Schonher posted some early results from the 2011 Membership Benchmarking Survey and good news! -membership is on the rise compared to 2009 and 2010! New member recruitment also seems to be on the rise, which, according to Erik, accounts for the increase in membership.

3. Elizabeth Engel has been posting insights and learnings from Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” for quite awhile now, and this week’s post was examines the quote, “What are we going to do about the negative effects of freedom?”. Through technology, people now have the freedom to form all kinds of groups, which, obviously, can be tough for associations.

4. At the Acronym blog, Joe Rominiecki examines the life cycle of a board – namely, is a year too short? It’s difficult for some board members to get acclimated in that amount of time, and thus, your board could be less effective. What do you think? Do you lower your expectations of the board or train them more?

5. I have really been into Jeffrey Cufaude’s posts in recent months, and it’s likely showing with every Friday Top Five I write. This week, Jeffrey points out that today can be the perfect day to … share a big dream, ask a question to reframe a conversation, give encouraging feedback, clarify perspectives and more.

We’re (almost) halfway through the workweek! I hope everyone’s week has been busy and productive, because there’s nothing worse than being … bored and unproductive. Right?

This morning, I wanted to share a few slideshows/presentations that I found recently with our readers. Please let me know what you think!

Happy Monday! I’m still reveling in an amazing weekend that included  a music festival, sunshine in the park, dancing and running, and I can already tell it’s going to be an awesome week.

In what’s rapidly becoming a bit of a Monday tradition, I’ve got a few awesome presentations/slideshows to share with our readers. I love discovering these resources and I hope small staff association professionals can learn from them!