Tip Sheet for Local Chapter Officers

Here are a few tips and reminders to help officers keep their chapters running smoothly.

• Remind chapter members when joining your virtual meetings that each must sign in with their first and last name and ID number so you will know who was in attendance. Signing in accurately will help guarantee that members receive their CEUs when you, as officers, mark attendance in the usual manner. (Remember, you will mark attendance from that Zoom list sent by AAPC). This also helps distinguish visitors. Following this procedure helps ensure you will be paid for all the member attendees at the meeting.
• Occasionally we hear about officers who are hesitant to give out CEU index numbers at chapter meetings. Sometimes things happen; someone can’t access AAPC’s app on their phone, perhaps there is an issue with a scanner or someone’s QR code, or maybe the person isn’t even a member of the chapter. In the cases where something goes wrong at a meeting, don’t hesitate to manually give out the index number. If a member is there, attending the meeting, that person deserves access to the number and would then be able to manually input it into the tracker and receive credit. Likewise, it is a good idea to take some extra CEU certificates to hand out in the case of an emergency.
• AAPC communicates with officers on a regular basis, but our communication is only as good as our ability to get to you. In this day of electronic communication, it isn’t surprising that members are often changing their email addresses and/or phone numbers. Make a mental note now to always inform AAPC of any changes in addresses (home and email) as well as phone numbers. This is especially important for officers. It’s also wise to remind members to do the same. You could encourage them on a regular basis, to update their information, perhaps at every meeting. When we can’t reach members or officers, we are unable to communicate as clearly as we would like.
• Make sure to check that your chapter is meeting the requirements to maintain chapter status. All chapters are required to sponsor six educational events a year. In 2019 it was established that only four of these educational events must be traditional in-person meetings; the other two can be in-person meetings, virtual meetings, or seminars. As has also been the requirement in the past, chapters must host four exams each year. Two of these exams must be ADA approved and must be held in either the first and third quarters or the second and fourth quarters. If you’re not in compliance, there is still time to become so!
• If your chapter has already hosted five exams, beginning with the sixth exam, you will be paid $15 for each examinee. Now is a good time to consider the needs of your chapter members or students in the area, review your calendar schedules, and discuss the option of hosting additional exams before the end of the year. As you probably know from years past, many examinees try to test before the codes change, so exams fill quickly, and extra seats or additional dates are always helpful. Plus, you may be able to benefit from the extra reimbursement payment.
• Be sure to mark your attendance immediately after your chapter meetings (or better still, during them!) to ensure your chapter receives the money it earns for each attendee.
• Another great way to stay in touch with what’s going on is to request to be part of the Local Chapter Officers group on Facebook. Lots of good information is shared there so we encourage all officers to join!
• We’ve made it easy to find everything you need as a chapter officer on AAPC’s website. With our officer landing page, you have a view of where all information and links are located at one spot. Simply peruse the six areas, click on what you need, and you’ll have access to all officer privileges.
• Since the end of the year is always busy, please ensure that the new year’s officers have been uploaded online at aapc.com as soon as possible. The officers must be listed online for your chapter to appear. If there are no officers, the chapter will be closed as of January 1st.
• Make sure you don’t owe taxes for the coming year. The best way to do this is to spend extra chapter funds on members so you make little or no profit. Ideas include hosting an end-of-year banquet or awards ceremony for those who have helped or served, purchasing gift cards as incentives or thank you’s, or paying in advance for next year’s events. Members also appreciate the purchase of code books for use in proctoring, or giveaways for upcoming meetings. Incentives such as free membership or conference registration are great ideas for encouraging participation. Whatever you do, find ways to make spending the money equitable for all.
• Always get an email address for any non-AAPC member visitor so you can follow up with them and invite them to another meeting. Remember, in order to add their name in the “Mark Attendance” area online, you must add an email address, so be sure to approach visitors and get email addresses right away. If you still use a paper sign-in, add a column for email addresses.
• Take advantage of the fact that after working a full day most potential meeting attendees will be hungry, so serve food at your meetings! It’s surprising how much that appeals to attendees. One successful chapter sponsors a food theme of the month, which makes things interesting and keeps everyone guessing what the treat will be. It works best if you are consistent in offering food, so attendees know they can count on something. Also, if they know in advance, they will be better prepared to participate in the expenses.

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