MEMBERSHIP Q&A
Where is the Membership Policy?
NHWC Membership Policy
Why should I join the NHWC?
Membership provides professional development and networking opportunities for the individual or organizational unit. Meanwhile, membership revenues support the Council and it's ability to continue to grow and provide services to the greater hydrologic warning community.
Specifically, members receive discounted rates to attend conferences (and workshops) and, this rate extends to others in an organization that is a NHWC group member. For organizations that want to increase their exposure in the hydrologic warning community, as members they get a reduced rate for advertising in the NHWC Transmission and website. Conference exhibitors will also receive membership discounts. Members also get priority access to training workshops and webinars.
I thought my membership went from conference to conference. Or, like some organizations, gets renewed annually on the anniversary of the day I joined. Why are you telling me that my membership expired December 31?
The NHWC Board agreed that the membership cycle must coincide with the NHWC fiscal year, which is calendar year, so that we can accurately develop budgets. A grace period will be granted (typically no more than 90 days) before the membership benefits will be stopped, but we strongly encourage you to rejoin as soon as you are notified.
What is the best way for me to determine what membership level to choose?
The membership policy has recommended guidelines to follow for the type of organization you have. Please check it out on the NHWC webpage www.hydrologicwarning.org under the “Membership” link for this policy document.
We strongly recommend that you consider a group membership for your office. There are three reasons for this:
- You get a discounted rate per person with a group membership
- Other folks from your office are able to receive the member rate for conference and workshop registrations, which saves your organization more money
- Group memberships cost NHWC less with the ClubExpress, because “primary” contacts get charged a certain rate, and the “secondary” contacts associated with the group get charged a lesser rate.
The group membership is intended for a local office situation, not a national-level organization. For example, a NWS Weather Field Office or a USGS Water Science Center is the appropriate level for a group membership.
What's the difference between a group membership and an individual membership?
The group memberships are specifically designed for an office or unit within an organization that is involved in hydrologic warning systems. It provides a cost break for membership fees for multiple members. For vendors, the group rate provides additional cost savings on advertising and booth space.
One key point--it is NHWC's policy that the group membership is owned by the organization or agency and not the individual. The membership cannot be transferred if a person retires or relocates to a different office.
An individual membership is designed for one person, either within an organization or independent. This choice is selected when there is no cost advantage to choose a group membership.
If enrolling for a group membership, how do I enter the other point-of-contact information?
The first person from an organization that is initially enrolling as a group member must enter their own contact information, select the desired group membership level, and secure the payment through the online membership process. This person will be designated the primary point-of-contact (POC) for the group membership. To enter the contact information for the other persons listed as POCs for the organization, the primary POC uses their login and password to access the member-only area of the NHWC webpage, and immediately to the right of the login prompt is the link for "Profile". Click here, and there will be an option for "secondary/family members", where the contact information for the remaining persons can be entered.