What's So Special About Special Interest Groups?
Participation in ACLEA Special Interest Groups (SIGs) is one of the most popular benefits of ACLEA membership. SIGs make it easy to connect with others in ACLEA who share the unique professional interests and concerns you experience in your daily role within the larger CLE provider network.
What is a SIG?
A Special Interest Group is a self-selected subdivision of the larger ACLEA membership. Just as CLE providers turn to ACLEA for professional networking within the CLE community, ACLEA members rely on SIGs to identify others in the Association who have the same specialized professional responsibilities, interests and concerns and offer a more targeted information-exchange opportunity among the broader resource pool of ACLEA colleagues.
A Valued Tradition
ACLEA members who share common professional responsibilities and interests have been networking for years at ACLEA Midyear and Annual Meetings. Once an informal activity, our SIGs have evolved to become a reliable and welcome presence in both our annual and midyear meetings through dedicated direction by our SIG leaders and active participation by SIG members. Regularly scheduled meetings and lunch discussions at annual and midyear ACLEA meetings make it easy for members, especially those newer to the organization, to identify their peer groups and connect with them to exchange ideas and discuss timely concerns. SIGs also play a crucial role in the planning and execution of our annual and midyear meetings by suggesting topics and finding panelists.
Becoming Actively Involved
SIG members go beyond their informative discussions and networking to contribute more broadly to ACLEA, advising our meeting planning chairs on program ideas, serving as faculty, volunteering for special projects related to their focus area and reaching out to members between meetings with electronic and other forms of communication. There are always SIG members who step up to support ACLEA's mission of "serving the CLE professional through education and leadership" in a variety of ways from creating new publications for ACLEA members to developing teleconferencing seminars to contributing to the association's newsletter. SIG members seem to find this active involvement as professionally stimulating as the networking and informational exchanges.
SIGs are a great way to develop your leadership potential and feel actively engaged in ACLEA. Whether you contribute a great program idea or offer to lead a series of e-mail discussions between meetings, our SIGs provide a welcoming and friendly forum for jumping into discussions and volunteer activities.
