First of all, I seem to remember that when new members or first-time event attendees showed up at a national event, we would give them "New Member" ribbons they could wear on their event badge. If we're still doing this, we should continue to do so and veteran ACE members should be encouraged to make contact with these new members. If not, it is a program we should re-implement. We should encourage the passion of these new members, especially if we meet someone who is already enthusiastic about history and preservation, as we need people who are ready and willing to contribute to this very important aspect of our hobby.
Elected and appointed officials must also be accessible to new members. Too often, Executive Committee members work in such close quarters with each other that they don't remember to reintegrate and interface with the rest of the membership when not directly pursuing their duties. When I was a regional rep, I would often hold informal gatherings at our local parks, mainly so that if members wanted to talk to me one-on-one, they knew they could meet me and chat. Sometimes numerous members showed up to these gatherings and sometimes I was the only one there, but the opportunity for interface existed. It might not be a horrible idea for EC members to designate "office hours" at national events they attend. These would be two or three hours of guaranteed availability to any member in attendance in a specific location where members could be afforded the opportunity to chat without feeling like they're being a distraction or risking getting ignored. Email makes things expedient but there's nothing like a one-on-one chat to really have a clear exchange of ideas.
