Happy Black Friday to our American readers! If you got up at all hours of the night to start shopping, more power to you. (I prefer to complete my holiday shopping online.) Anyway, there were a few great Thanksgiving-related posts out there this week so I wanted to give a quick shout-out to them.

1. Jeff Hurt gave thanks for his community — both online and offline. A great blog post to remind us all to reflect on our communities.

2. At the Acronym blog, Carolyn Hook wrote about a few associations she’s thankful for, including The Deanna Durbin Society, the American Automobile Association and the American Fertility Association. I think it’s great to recognize the associations — big and small — that help us every day.

3. Bruce Hammond discussed a few great ways to give thanks for the people in your work and personal life. He reminds us that it’s a good idea to not wait for the holidays to show some gratitude, though.

4. I really enjoyed Jeffrey Cufaude’s post, titled An Attitude of Gratitude. He asks, would any credible, successful HR professional manage paid staff the way volunteers are managed in your organization?

5. Finally, David M. Patt wrote about the necessity of being thankful for something important. He discusses being thankful for the First Amendment, which is something I’m extremely thankful for as well!

We hope everyone enjoys their weekends full of leftovers and holiday sales!

Image source: Kevin Patrick

U.S. readers are likely gearing up right now for a long weekend filled with food, family, football and giving thanks. But how is your small staff association observing Thanksgiving?

Sure, it’s the time of year when we all reflect on our own blessings, whatever they may be. But does your association thank the many volunteers who help keep the organization going?

Although thanking your volunteers shouldn’t be a once-a-year occurrence, it’s especially important to remember to thank them around the holidays. This is often a busy time of year as people prepare for out-of-town guests (or to travel), buy presents for loved ones and finish up the school semester.

I think the most important thing to remember when thanking volunteer (and coworkers, too!) is to make it personal. If you’re just going to give a generic “thank you” card with little or nothing written inside, you probably shouldn’t waste the effort. Take the time to think about how each staffer or volunteer has helped make your association better, and include that in your thank you card. Everyone has that unique “something” that makes them important to their associations.

Whether it’s a thank you card, a kind word or a huge gesture or gift, don’t forget to thank the lifeblood of your association: your volunteers.

Image source

In honor of Black Friday, I thought I’d share a few interesting holiday shopping-related statistics. If you braved the crowds this morning, I hope you got some great deals!

• 172 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites last year (which was an increase from 2007′s 147 million) (National Retail Federation)
• Spending reached an estimated $41 billion (NRF)
• That averages out to about $372.57 per shopper (which was an increase from 2007′s $347.55 per shopper) (NRF)
• More than 47 percent of retailers will use social media this holiday season (NRF)
• About 60 percent of retailers have updated or improved their Facebook pages and/or Twitter streams (NRF)

(Image via besighyawn at Flickr)

We hosted an in-office potluck yesterday and ate tons of delicious food! Here are some highlights:

Just some of the canned goods we’ve collected for the Atlanta Food Community Bank.

Developer Aaron Gunn getting his veggie dip ready.

Product Expert Joel Walton and Developer Ian Snead prepping their contributions.

President Thomas Howard setting up plates by the desserts.

Director of Product Experience Kevin Patrick was very enthusiastic about the ham.

The final spread (desserts not included!).

Developers Matt Boetger and Ian Snead getting the party started with Solution Adviser Hannae Berhanu and Go Team Member Sarah Bigorowski

Nom nom nom

Huck and Matt Boetger facing off.

Developer Glenard Loy and Lead Maximizer Duncan McCreery (maker of delicious potatoes) enjoying the meal.

The crowd chowing down (and Hannae and I are laughing right in the middle!).

The aftermath

Matt Boetger perusing the many, many dessert options.

Thomas and Duncan chilling out and enjoying the desserts.

From the entire MemberClicks family, happy Thanksgiving! We wish everyone who celebrates a fantastic holiday!

Happy Monday! Here’s to a short workweek here at MemberClicks, and a very happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

A few weeks ago, we sent out our monthly newsletter to the organizations we work with and asked them to share what they’re thankful for. We got some great responses! To show our thanks for sharing, we picked three associations at random and sent a Harry & David Thanksgiving turkey to their offices — and they also get a very special shout-out on the blog!

Stacy Whittle, from Society for International Development-Washington, writes, SID-Washington is grateful that its employees. Janine, Stacy, Manoli and Joe are committed to advancing equitable development by bringing diverse constituencies together to debate critical ideas, policies, and practices that will shape our global future.

This small-staff association isn’t short on professional development, though. Its mission is put into action by the numerous workshops and events the association holds monthly — with more than 9,000 individual members, SID-Washington is the most active chapter. SID has more than 3,000 members in 65 countries, and SID-Washington is considered the flagship chapter of the organization. Its members include federal employees, UN staff, administrators, consultants, students, economists, technical specialists, diplomats and academics.

The Association of Professional Model Makers (APMM) is thankful for our membership – now nearly 800 strong — and thankful that we are celebrating our 16^th year as the only organization uniting and representing professional model makers in the world, writes Samanthi Martinez from APMM.

APMM offers its members professional communication, education and learning, leading technology and resource connection in order to honor traditional skills and modern innovations. This diverse industry includes appearance models, architecture, displays and exhibits, entertainment models, litigation models, product development, engineering prototypes and scientific and medical research support models. There are tons of awesome networking opportunities for students, professional individuals and model shops and studios. 

Last, but certainly not least, Brigitte Rupp Vacha from the Wisconsin Library Association writes that she is thankful to have my family, friends and coworkers in my life; it really is important to focus on the people in your life and to strengthen those relationships. (We couldn’t agree more!)

WLA brings together people from all types of Wisconsin libraries and advocates for the improvement and development of library and information systems. In addition to numerous networking opportunities and professional development events, there are also tons of opportunities for members to get more involved with WLA — including leading or serving on committees, writing an article for the newsletter, coordinating event programs and more. WLA also has its own blog!

Thank you to each and every person who shared what he or she is thankful for with us. If you haven’t already, please leave a comment and tell us what you’re thankful for! We wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!