In the June 2016 edition of Leader Letter, we introduced the updated Affiliation Agreement for IABC chapters. The purpose of the Affiliation Agreement is to provide chapters and IABC HQ with a common understanding of mutual expectations and obligations, since many processes have changed since chapters submitted their original agreement. Chapters are encouraged to reach out to region leaders to discuss questions or concerns, and can also contact IABC staff at leader_centre@iabc.com. 

Chapters must review, sign, and submit the new Affiliation by 31 December 2016. In addition to submitting the new agreement, we also encourage chapters to submit the most recent version of their chapter bylaws so that there is a copy on file at HQ. Additional information can be found on Leader Centre. 

In order to protect IABC leaders, IABC strongly recommends that every IABC chapter and region purchase Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (D&O Insurance). D&O insurance coverage is not able to be provided by IABC, but it is essential that each chapter and region obtain coverage to protect its leaders in the event that a legal action is brought forward in regards to wrongful acts committed by individual board members. Chapters and regions can obtain this insurance through their own provider. IABC's insurance coverage is through Rust Insurance, and chapter and regions are welcome to contact our broker Bill Simons at wsimons@rustinsurance.com.

D&O coverage is different than General Liability Insurance (G&L) and is just as important. HQ is exploring options to make it more affordable for chapters to secure coverage. We'll share additional information about this in the August Leader Letter.

What sparked the creation of the IABC Victoria Gold Quill winner’s video collection?
The collection really started as a way of adding a dynamic element to our annual awards ceremony, The Bronze Quills, which we run each year in conjunction with the Gold Quill awards that take place at World Conference.
This ceremony is a celebration for the diverse communications community in Victoria, and serves the dual purpose of generating interest in our chapter and in the Gold Quill awards. At the Victorian level, all Gold Quill entrants who score above 5.0 in the global awards evaluation are awarded a Bronze Quill award.
We were looking for a compelling way to shine a light on the work that earned the accolades, to effectively bring it to life at our awards event, but also to be able to share it easily with the wider Victorian communications community and the global IABC community. 

Where there any specific challenges in putting the videos together?
For something that sounds as straightforward as shooting and editing a few videos, it does present challenges. Getting the winners to agree to participate in and star in the shoots was the easy part – after the rigour of the Quills process, winners have a real sense of pride in securing an award and we found they were almost universally delighted to have a chance to share their achievements with their peers.
However, they are all also incredibly busy people, so the coordination around booking shooting times, collecting illustrative material, verifying information and in some cases, securing corporate approvals and releases is very intricate and challenging to successfully pull together in a short timeframe.
We also knew that, as the videos were showcasing communications works judged to be among the best in the world, that the videos needed to be excellent in themselves – to be engaging, highly watchable and professionally produced. All that, and, ideally, given our voluntary status and limited resources, produced for free!
Without outstanding support from one of our corporate partners, production house New Mac, this would have been almost impossible.

What’s been the reaction to the videos from people who’ve seen them?
The passion and pride of the presenters of the videos and the quality of the production seems to draw viewers in to the whole Gold Quill experience.
The videos connect with communicators locally and also internationally - they’ve been viewed on our website, on winner’s digital channels and at events like World Conference. Aside from being entertaining and an effective window into the work they showcase, we’ve found that lots of people get their first spark of inspiration to enter the Gold Quills from watching these videos.