SAE Update - December 2020 - 10

Cover Story

said Donna Edenhart, the team's director.
" Just like all other Teams, such as PreProfessional, Events, Standards, and
Professional Development, the entire
organization was charged with continuing
to advance the future of mobility from their
private residences. One of the benefits that
members enjoy the most is that they are
provided with numerous networking
opportunities, particularly through special
events at SAE meetings and section
activities. So we wanted to ensure that we
provided both our members, as well as our
volunteers, with activities and programs
that would keep them inspired and active.
Our team took a big swing at this
unanticipated curveball, and we actually
got a few hits. "
Luckily, Membership already had a longestablished online community (Member
Connection) specifically designed for
discussions and activities of the virtual
kind, so they were able to capitalize and
expand on that existing resource.
" Virtual mentor mixers " proved to be a
popular Member Connection feature in this
unusual year. In mixers, a selected group of
professionals volunteer to answer any
questions Member Connection visitors
might have on particular career theme. For
example, the mixer from January was on
the topic of " time management. " " Women
in engineering and effective
communication " was the theme of a
popular May mentor mixer that generated
90 comments. A third mixer, on

10

December 2020

The yearof the pivot


" relationship building and collaboration, "
was to be held in mid-November, too late
for coverage in this issue of Update.
" The virtual mentor mixers played an
especially important role in 2020 because
several face-to-face mentoring events were
cancelled along with the SAE meetings that
were to have served as physical venues for
them, " said Corey Dillon, the SAE Member
Relations Specialist who oversees Member
Connection. " We love to hear from our
older, more seasoned members who have
seen the transformation of the industry in
real time. "
Although not a new Member Connection
feature in 2020, the " chat with the experts "
series proved popular. Chats are somewhat
similar to mixers except with the former
there is only one host/presenter, and the
topic is sometimes more technically
oriented. Nineteen subject experts served
as hosts for the four 2020 chats.
Another Member Connection highlight in
2020 was creation of a special student
discussion community. " We don't hear a lot
from students in an open forum because
we learned that they are somewhat
intimidated by interacting with professional
members on technical topics, " said Dillon.
" But now they have their own space to talk
to each other, as well as learn about their
student-specific SAE benefits. "
Member Connection served the basis for
much, but not all, of Membership's virtual
engagement opportunities this year. The
Industrial Lecture Program for college

UPDATE

https://connection.sae.org/participate/chat-with-expert-discussions https://connection.sae.org/home https://connection.sae.org/home https://www.sae.org/participate/membership/collegiate-chapters/industrial-lecture-program?tab=2&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=COMVECDS20-0003

SAE Update - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAE Update - December 2020