Why Join Four Rivers SHRM?

by Melissa Yates, BFW Marcum
2025 Chapter President

I am excited to serve as your FRSHRM Chapter President in 2025! It is an honor to represent our chapter locally and on the state level with KRSHRM. I am grateful for this opportunity.

I want to take a moment and thank everyone who has already renewed their membership for this year. If you have not renewed your membership, I ask you to do so now because it is going to be an incredible year, and you do not want to miss out!

As you might recall, in 2024 our chapter won a national SHRM Pinnacle Award. What you might not appreciate is what a big deal that is for a chapter like ours. There are approximately 575 SHRM affiliate chapters in the United States but only 12 were recognized by national SHRM for their contributions to the field and our relatively small chapter of 94 people was one of them. I was truly honored to step on that stage and accept this award on behalf of our chapter. We have our Past President, Catherine Lanier, to thank for her vision and effort in applying for that award.

Reflecting on that experience and my new role as the leader of this chapter brings me to a bigger question: “Why do people join FRSHRM and how can we make it a valuable experience for our members?”

Sometimes, in our profession, we are frequently maligned, sometimes we are scapegoated, very often we are misunderstood, and we serve as the keepers of a great deal of confidential information. Managing those things and the feelings they give us can be challenging and isolating. They say it’s lonely at the top, but these factors combined can make it lonely in HR too. This year, my goal is to increase our sense of community within our chapter. Another reason for joining FRSHRM is that while some of us are full-time HR, many people who work for smaller businesses probably don’t even think of themselves as HR but handle some traditional HR duties. Even as an attorney with 19 years of experience in employment and corporate law, when I entered HR, I had a lot to learn. I am five years in, and I still learn something every single day. Regardless of your perspective and what your role is at your company, whether you are new to HR or seasoned, full-time HR, or just tasked with some traditional HR duties such as new hire paperwork, helping with orientation of new employees, payroll, interviewing, etc., you need resources to help you and your company be successful and stay in compliance.

Joining FRSHRM provides valuable networking and social benefits that can enhance your personal and professional growth. Our members gain access to a community of HR professionals, fostering connections that can lead to mentorship, job opportunities, and industry insights. Local chapter events, workshops, and conferences provide platforms to exchange best practices, discuss emerging trends, and collaborate on workplace challenges. Additionally, engaging in chapter activities helps develop leadership skills and expand professional visibility within the HR field. The social aspect also plays a key role, as members build meaningful relationships, creating a supportive network that extends beyond the workplace.

In December, the FRSHRM board met to develop our strategy and goals for 2025. Several of our goals are centered around driving membership to increase the experience, resources, and network of all our members. We ended 2024 with 94 members and the Board decided that in 2025 we wanted to exceed the 100-member threshold. National SHRM also looks at how many of our members are members of both local chapters and the national chapter, so we decided we’d like to increase our dual membership by 5% which is just adding two more dual members.

I am sure you are thinking to yourself “Great, Melissa, but what does this have to do with me?” I am so glad you asked! KYSHRM has challenged FRSHRM to bring in 6 new members during their March Madness Membership Drive. If we bring in the most members across the state, KYSHRM will treat our entire chapter to a catered luncheon. Our annual conference is on March 21st, and our board members are working tirelessly to pull that event together, so the only way we can meet this goal is if our members assist. To encourage you to help us reach this goal, every member who gets someone to join FRSHRM before our conference on March 21, 2025, will have their name and the new members’ name entered in a drawing for a chance to win a free registration to attend the KYSHRM conference in August 2025!

What are the Selling Points for FRSHRM?

1. The quality professional development we offer. FRSHRM monthly meetings give educational opportunities to all members. Additionally, our annual conference in March is incredible, providing both practical and inspirational content that appeals to a wide variety of HR professionals.

2. The relationship and networking opportunities are excellent. I see our chapter branching out into new territory this year for in-person opportunities. Over the past three years, joining FRSHRM opened so many opportunities for me to get to know other people in my field who struggle with some of the same challenges I do. I have developed relationships that provide me with concrete solutions to everyday problems and a sense of community in my professional role.

3. Meetings are mostly virtual, so they don’t unnecessarily interrupt your workday. You don’t have to leave your office to attend, which saves time, and we are all looking for more time.

4. The annual membership fee is $149, which includes registration to our Annual Conference. The Annual Conference alone costs $50 and even that is underpriced compared to the value of attendance.

In conclusion, I am asking for your help in reaching this milestone goal for our FRSHRM Chapter. We only need 6 new members during March, and I have no doubt this chapter can do it! Thank you so much for your support!