RSI Annual Report 2009 - Railway Supply Institute

22
2009 RSI Membership
Membership
Our strength in the industry
RSI is committed to retaining and building membership
by bringing value to our members. Our
programs, committee work, and advocacy in
Washington, DC are key to retaining and growing
our membership.
In 2009, our membership participated in a survey
to better gauge the needs of RSI members.
This survey indicated that the RSI membership
places value on efforts to improve access to customers
and on our Washington lobby activity. It
also reinforced the premise that we need to
increase the focus on communication within our
membership on issues of importance. This information
helped us to develop a plan which focuses
on member satisfaction. In order to take RSI in a
new direction, RSI hired SMS Marketing Services
to design a more modern logo to better represent
our corporate identity and the changing
direction RSI is taking.
Our new website is cleaner, easier to navigate,
and designed to be the main avenue of communication
between RSI and its membership. It also
includes more details on upcoming tradeshows
and marketing events, legislation that affects
your business, and other important information.
Look for frequent changes; we look forward to
adding a Members Only Section in 2010.
The value that RSI brings to its membership is
important to our existence. We continue to provide
value to our over 200 members in the rail
supply industry in various ways, including: releasing
timely information in our newsletters and
legislative alerts, educational programming,
trade shows and marketing events, and by creating
opportunities for our members to meet with
elected officials and other government decision
makers.
RSI also seeks diversity in its membership and
in its officers. Like our membership, our board of
directors and committee chairs represent many
facets of the rail supply industry from tank car
builders to maintenance of way manufacturers,
from large companies to small ones. With better
communication and outreach to customers, folks
on Capitol Hill, and you, RSI continues to effectively
address your needs and bring value to your
membership.
Balancing the needs and interests of the various
sized companies that belong to RSI is always
a challenge. The vast majority of our members
are smaller companies, but most dues income
comes from the larger members.
All activities undertaken by RSI staff and committees
benefit the entire membership. Smaller
companies especially value trade shows and other
marketing events; larger companies value the RSI
Committee activities as well.
All RSI members benefit from our Washington,