As I enter the third-year of my term on the PTC Board of Governors and as chair of the PTC Membership Committee, I’d like to reflect on the past and look forward to 2021 and beyond.

At my very first Board of Governors meeting during PTC’19, I was asked and accepted the role of Membership Committee chair. I took this responsibility very seriously and set out to improve membership numbers while also enhancing the understanding of what being a member does for PTC.

I’ve been an active PTC Member for more than 20 years and I can tell you personally about the benefits I’ve experienced. PTC has become a year-round staple – from the PTC Webinar Series: Frictionless Business™, to interest groups, planning committees, and exclusive member activities (Members’ Soirée, regional events) – PTC’s Membership provides access to furthering education and fostering long-term professional and personal relationships, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

In January 2020, upon leaving PTC’20 on the plane (remember those?), I had no idea what challenges we were about to face, not only globally but as part of PTC and the Membership Committee. COVID-19 has changed the world forever. I wasn’t familiar with Zoom or other video conferencing platforms, which have now become a staple. However, these platforms cannot and will not replace the much-needed human interaction we all yearn to return to.

In planning PTC’21, we faced the difficulty of predicting how the world would look by January. The Secretariat worked tirelessly, along with the BG, imagining the best way forward, eventually landing on an entirely online event. On the membership front, our roster remained virtually intact, with an uptick thanks to all of you. We extended the membership term by several months because we were all focused on taking care of our businesses and managing our new normal.

Membership revenues contribute to the funding of PTC’s Outreach Initiatives including the PTC Academy, whose mission is to help rising industry leaders reach their potential through presentations, in-depth case studies, and interactive exercises. Also, we’ve created a millennial initiative in an attempt to get a new group of young, diverse, entrepreneurial women and men from around the world interested in the various businesses our industry represents.

I firmly believe that due to the hard work of everyone involved with PTC, our online conference was the best of the year. The sessions were well done with excellent content, and, not to mention, our outstanding platform! Without you, the members, none of this would have been possible.

I encourage each of you to reach out to your non-member colleagues around the globe, to become a PTC Member, and help us increase our membership, so future generations can enjoy the benefits that PTC Membership provides.

I look forward to hopefully seeing you next January in Honolulu!

Mahalo,

Mike Sauer
PTC Membership Committee Chair