Chapter Success in Albany, New York
Kip Webster, Field Coordinator for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Eastern Pennsylvania
We have many active and successful Chapters in the northeastern region of New York, but by far the most active and successful is in the Albany area. In the past three years, Section Leader Ed Clements, Chapter Leader Dominic Fulgieri, and Chapter Secretary Diane Clements have built a formidable chapter that has 116 members, with over 48 of them joining this year. This incredible rise in membership is a direct result of excellent leadership, a well-organized game plan, the ability to adapt to wildly changing times, and the courage to try new ideas when traditional methods are no longer practical.
Up until the COVID “pandemic” hit, the Albany Chapter was hosting monthly Information & Action meetings at a local restaurant, educating members and prospects via JBS video presentations, and gaining a healthy number of new members. They supplemented this activity by hosting JBS information tables. When the lockdown hit and people were forced inside, everything came to a halt. Not knowing how long the lockdown would last, they began to investigate alternative ways of continuing their outreach program. It soon became evident that Zoom meetings would be a viable way to stay in touch with their members and provide JBS information to prospects.
After several weeks of research and planning, Albany members hosted their first Zoom meeting in early spring. They were pleasantly surprised to have a huge turnout. They perfected their meetings over the next few months, gradually incorporating newsfeeds from JBS.org and TheNewAmerican.com websites and lining up guest speakers such as Alex Newman and the courageous doctors exposing the dangers of the official COVID narrative.
Within a few weeks, the number of people registering for these meetings began to grow, along with membership application requests. When the Chapter took things a step higher by hosting monthly online webinars, they drew over 100 viewers, and by the time the restaurants opened again, several new members per week were joining. Our Albany Chapter has set a standard of excellence that Chapters throughout the region are planning to emulate.