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had increased due to the current chapter president’s liberal use of virtual media,
indicating a need to continue virtual interactions. When meeting online, planning
executive board meetings and other special, called meetings using Zoom, the issue
of geography travel is not the challenge it was reported to be in past years.
One recommendation to provide even more support is to encourage members
to engage and participate in small-group meetings in their local areas, bringing
information to the larger group through reports that would indeed serve to enhance
the total chapter. Activities in one group could be shared and copied or incorporated
in other groups.
Engaging in service and participating in multiple areas may have seemed a
challenge to members, but the results of doing so ultimately helped individuals
strengthen their leadership skills. Recommendations to support leadership
development include taking advantage of opportunities and answering the call to
serve.
It is also critical to nurture the appreciation—to help members realize the
significance of the organization and the importance of membership. Members have
felt honored to be included—and rightly so. Leaders should also never hesitate
to recognize the achievements of members and reward them openly and often.
Educators go the extra mile—so often without recognition. In a group of educators,
this should not be the case. Strong leaders recognize, salute, and uphold chapter
members for the impact they make. By promoting members, they promote the entire
chapter and greater organization.

Limitations
The findings of this study were limited to a population from one chapter of a
professional educators’ group. Expanding this research to multiple chapters or state
organizations could result in more expansive perspectives. Exploring organizational
leadership in general with efforts to reach a broader group could offer more diverse
and in-depth detail.
The survey design proved to be a limitation as well due to the sample size of
this study. Other quantitative measures could be incorporated to provide more
comparative data.

Conclusions
This study highlights multiple considerations for civic and educational
organizations. In reviewing the data, the researchers concluded one finding was very
clear for the population under review and could well be true for other, different
organizations. Education-focused chapters are challenged to nurture fellowship,
friendship, and camaraderie within meetings and group opportunities. A clear need
to increase engagement and participation must be emphasized.
To attract and retain new, younger members, providing positive, supportive
experiences is critical for most organizations. An exchange of intergenerational
skills may help organizations to remain current, with younger members contributing
programs that bring in the latest technology for all but that may also serve to support
more veteran members who have not been exposed to as many opportunities for
growth in the area of technology. Similarly, the more veteran members could
provide programs in areas that would be most supportive of newer members, such as
coverage of support available through the state organization or international Society
or another similar topic.

44 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators