When I was new to BBYO and holding my first board position, I remember saying very adamantly, “I will NEVER be chapter Maz”. My opinion was based on the fact that I didn’t believe I’d be good at it; I felt I was inexperienced with social media and wouldn’t have a creative, impressive Instagram feed. I didn’t have previous experience creating flyers or posting on Instagram, and it was never something I’d desired to do. However, plans change. 

This spring, my 5th term on chapter board, I am serving as my chapter’s Mazkirah. If I told Freshman year Mila that she would be chapter Maz, she would be genuinely concerned for the sake of my chapter, Beth Shean BBG. I always thought that I could only do programming positions; I gravitated towards positions like Shlicha and S’ganit because I felt confident in my ability to work with my board and plan programming. The visual creativity could be left to others. Now that I actually am chapter Mazkirah, I’ve realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Being a Mazkirah has come with a learning curve, but I’ve been able to learn quickly, thanks to an abundance of resources and an amazing regional counterpart. Here are a few of the things that I’ve learned: 

1) Consistency is key: Whether that is sending texts to the group chat the day of and the day prior to events, sending weekly emails on time, or promptly posting event recaps, people will always be more engaged with your content and information if you are providing more of it. There has to be enough information so that people who miss it the first or second time you send it will still get the information needed. 

2) Teamwork makes the dream work: On my chapter board, we have 3 coms chairs: 2 katvaniot and one safrachet. When you are in charge of all chapter communications, things can get overwhelming. Utilizing chairs is an amazing way to optimize chapter communications, gain extra creative opinions, and foster younger leaders. 

3) Ideas are everywhere: There are so many amazing chapter Mazkirim all over the international order. Often, when I am unsure how to format a caption or what to do for an Instagram post, I find inspiration from other chapter Instagrams. Our Mazkirim network in PWR is amazing, and I love asking my friends for advice. 

Overall, run for chapter Mazkirah! Even if you think you aren’t creative, if you have any desire to do this position then try it out! It is so much fun and it is so important for chapters to have good communication in order to increase attendance and engagement.