“Passing the Baton – to New Members”
The landscape of travel journalism is changing and evolving at rocket speed. I am so impressed with the number of longtime members who have done a stellar job at keeping pace with, and sometimes leading the charge in, positioning themselves on the cutting edge of our new media landscape.
But it is time to put out the call to every current member to recruit new BATW members. Our membership has remained somewhat static—one will drop out and a new member will fill the void.
It is time to grow our membership – specifically, to recruit the new generation of social media-conscious and voraciously productive younger travel journalists.
A modest proposal: Keep your eyes peeled for prospective new members, especially younger, tech/social media savvy producers who not only would benefit from participatory membership, but also will be able to lead BATW’s charge into the future.
A new, younger generation would be of invaluable service via presentations to membership and simultaneously ensuring the continuance of our organization. I, for one, am proud of my high miles, but it’s time to think of the future of BATW. I will forever remain indebted to members who recruited me long ago, and I sincerely want to pass the baton forward.
Just imagine the infusion of new energy and vitality of BATW if just a quarter of our existing members each recruited one new member of BATW, the premier travel journalist organization on the entire West Coast! Don’t forget, one really impressive recruiting tool for these potential new, younger members – as well as a perk for existing members – is the opportunity to have their work selected for publication in our books and to win awards in our contests, right out of the starting gate.
Onward and forward!
Tom Wilmer
BATW Vice President and Membership Chair