Chapter focus: Central Florida.

As host for FEI's Summit this May, the Central Florida Chapter is expecting to welcome nearly 1,000 members and their families to the Orlando area. This active group has redefined itself to improve services to both members and sponsors. It's growing the Chapter and enhancing its image by branding itself as "the only game in town for top financial people," stressing the value of networking with counterparts -- CFO to CFO, and CFO to the local business community.

Area Covered: Central Florida (Orlando and surrounding area)

Year Founded: 1984

Members: approximately 100

Select Member Companies: Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., Darden Inc., Harris Corp., Hughes Supply Corp., Tupperware Inc., Dixon Ticonderoga Co., EPIK Communications, Sun Trust Bank

Select University Affiliates: Stetson University, University of Central Florida, Rollins University, Florida Institute of Technology

Annual Dues: Regular: $320; Academic: $260; Out of Area: $260

Meetings: Dinner meetings, the first Thursday of each month September through May, averaging 70 attendees per meeting

Special Events: Sponsor's Breakfast with the Board, New Members' Breakfast with the Board, Co-Sponsorship of local CPE Seminars, Annual $1000 University Student Scholarships and Medallion Awards, Future Financial Leaders Night, (High-Profile) CEO Night, holiday social, free CPE for prepaid members.

Sponsors: Three categories

8 Gold Sponsors ($2,000 each): Sponsors one meeting, can bring guests to meetings, participates in a Chapter Committee, provides two hours of free CPE and is named sponsor of one of eight annual scholarships awarded to a local university's valedictorian student. The eight: Bank of America, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, G. A. Repple & Co., Grant Thornton LLP, Gray Harris Law Firm, KPMG LLP and Sprint.

20 Bronze Sponsors ($750 each): Can attend dinner meetings, and as a group, they sponsor the annual holiday social.

20 Friends of FEI ($100 each): Offered specific meeting attendance and are listed in the Chapter directory, both on the Web site and in print. Unique Qualities:

Over the past three years, the Chapter has revolutionized its governance -- having moved from the typical hierarchy to a consensus format, run by Strategic Committees with clear responsibility and accountability.

"We've redefined ourselves and now govern the Chapter through Strategic Committees," says Harry W. Zike, Vice President and CFO of Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. Zike serves as Chairman of the Chapter's Public Relations and Communications Committee. The other committees are: Strategic Partnerships, Membership, Academic Relations, Career Services, Finance & Administration and Programs.

The new structure works, says Zike, because the line of responsibility is made clear, and each Committee Chair is a full Chapter Board Member with an active voice at the Board table. "We have limited ourselves to three officers: President, Vice President and Treasurer, and have delegated the Chapter work to the Strategic Committees.

"Gold Sponsors actively participate in each Committee, thus you are keeping in touch with the people who provide funding, and new Chapter members are immediately placed on a Committee so you always have new ideas. With committees of three or four people, including a Chapter Board member, actions can be taken swiftly. Also, this structure ensures involvement of about 25 percent of the members in the Chapter's governance."

Achievements: Among the several milestones that have been reached over the past two years: meeting attendance tripled; sponsorship quadrupled; Committee membership doubled; and student scholarships doubled.

Eric Morris, CFO, Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers and Chapter President, cites three reasons for the success: 1) leadership capabilities of the Committee Chairpersons; 2) value propositions delivered to members and sponsors; and 3) knowledge gained from best practices of other FEI Chapters. Morris credits a good portion of the Chapter's success to Board members Rick Asta and Barry Blass, who implemented several best practices after attending FEI's Area Leadership Board meetings.

Goals: Goals are set by the Board, and targets and plans are put in place at summer planning sessions. The current leadership team has three main goals:

1. Increase membership by 20 percent (or target 10 new members, net). With six new members halfway through the year, Barry A. Blass, a partner with Tatum CFO Partners LLP, opines, "We're in pretty good shape." Attracting and landing members requires a combination of communication tools and personal attention. Members and gold sponsors extend complimentary invitations to potential members to attend a meeting. At the meeting, they are introduced to the group at large, and Committee members and others personally meet, speak and network with them.

"This is extremely effective with a new person," says Blass. Potential members come to a meeting to assess what this is all about, and whether it is a group of people that they want to network with. "Nine out of 10 times, they join," he says. Another strategy involves a mentoring program in which board members personally contact the top financial officers of local companies, and invite them to a dinner meeting -- as FEI's guest. That's a unique invitation, he says, "because we're not asking for money, just for their time to meet influential business leaders." Then, he says, once they attend meetings and find out about FEI, many leave asking, "Why am I not a member of this group?"

2. Increase member attendance at dinner meetings: Central Florida is making progress on several fronts: It emails meeting notices (CFO to CFO gets the best results), telephones individuals and encourages people to use the Chapter Web site to view the activities, the list of members and member companies and meeting content. "We try to communicate that this is 'the' professional association that you want to associate with -- that people should come, to one or two meetings. There's no high pressure that you must come, but [if you don't] you're missing out on something," says Richard A. Asta, EVP of Finance and CFO, Dixon Ticonderoga Co.

Members are reminded to "mark the meeting dates on their calendars." On average, 30 members attend meetings, up substantially from two years ago; 50 members are targeted. In total, attendees include sponsors, as well as potential members and guests.

3. Brand the Chapter: "We position ourselves as 'the only game in town' for the top financial people," says Zike, adding, "It is the only place where you are going to engage in the level of intellect, discussion and CFO banter that you can identify with. It's also the only place to get the feedback on executive-level financial issues and senior-level CFO to CFO networking." And, he adds, sponsors say the meetings provide opportunities to create solutions to issues being discussed.

The Chapter also leverages its status with the local media, positioning itself as who to go to, to check the pulse on local economic issues -- Are you hiring, or firing? Where is capital being invested? It electronically polls its members; and, in fact, the CFO of the largest local newspaper is a member. This relationship with the press also benefits the sponsors, and builds additional branding opportunities.

Visit the Chapter Web site at: www.fei-centralflorida.org or contact the Chapter Administrator, Jennifer Brooks, at [e-mail].