Posts tagged membership

Point 89: Membership Committee Update

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Left to right: Membership Committee and collaborators at the 2019 APP Conference & Exposition — top row: Jef Saunders, Cody Vaughn, W. Barron, Pablo Perelmuter; middle row: Vivi Madero, Johnny Velez, Sabrina Egan, Marina Pecorino; bottom row: Monica Sabin and Aaron Pollack. Photo by Autumn Swisher.

APP Membership Corner—Series 2

Membership Committee

  • Monica Sabin, Membership Liaison
  • Pablo Perelmuter, Membership Coordinator
  • W. Barron
  • Sabrina Egan
  • Johnny Velez
  • Cody Vaughn
  • Cozmo Whitest
  • Kristina Outland
  • Marina Pecorino, Membership Administrator

In Issue 88, we discussed tips to help prospective members through the application process. Since then, we have begun training two new membership committee volunteers Cozmo Whitest and Kristina Outland. In addition to training on application processing, they have been helping us with managing compliance documents for current Members of the APP.

WHAT IS COMPLIANCE?

In order to maintain your membership with the APP, you must provide us with certain information to keep your file current and your membership in good standing. This information includes the following criteria:

  • Spore test results—each autoclave must be spore tested at least monthly
  • Bloodborne Pathogen training*—renewed annually regardless of certificate expiration date
  • CPR—annually or until expiration date on certificate
  • First Aid—every three years or until expiration date on certificate

* If you’ve taken the APP’s Bloodborne Pathogens course through Litmos, you will still need to upload the certificate to your Member Profile. These are two different servers and are not connected

Annual membership certificates are sent to the address on-file when annual dues are paid and membership is in good standing. To participate in elections—by nominating or voting, as well as running for a Board position—requires that your compliance documents are up to date. You can do this by logging into the safepiercing.org Member Area and verifying that your Membership Requirements (BBP, First Aid, CPR, and Spore Tests) are on file and up-to-date and your membership dues have been paid.

KEEP US UPDATED

Remodeled your studio? Relocated to a different studio? If your situation has changed, keep us in the loop. This allows us to keep your membership record accurate and make sure you are displayed properly on our Member Directory.

We currently give you up to sixty days to make us aware of these changes. You can update us of any changes by sending an email to members@safepiercing.org or to our Membership Administrator at mpecorino@safepiercing.org.

TRAVELING & ADVERTISING YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Whether you are a full time traveling piercer or just enjoy the occasional work vacation, many of us have taken to traveling and piercing at different studios around the world. It is awe inspiring to see our industry grow into this network of piercers that can work almost anywhere, serving clients all over. As an APP Member, it is important to know how traveling plays into advertising your membership.

“When the membership logo is used, it must be used in a way that clearly shows the membership belongs to the individual, not the studio. While membership belongs to the individual, APP membership is dependent upon adherence to not only the personal criteria set forth by the Association, but also the current environmental standards in which the Member operates. Therefore, individual membership is only recognized and advertisable when operating in a studio environment that has been reviewed by the APP to meet standards and has current APP Business Members on staff.”

Point 88: From the Editor

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by Marina Pecorino, The Point Editor

Conference this year featured several sessions on the topic of representation and accessibility. I attended a fantastic discussion from Vanessa Delgado of Eastern Washington University on the topic of Cultural Competence and Inclusion, where the distinction between equality and equity was discussed. I was also allowed to share space with some of my POC colleagues during the POC: The Power of Color and Representation roundtable. I came home more aware than ever of the importance in using our individual platforms to help elevate those around us. Since returning from Conference, I have had more industry professionals than usual reaching out with an interest in volunteering or submitting articles. I love this!

Bring it on.

APP membership is not a requirement for submissions to this publication, although we do encourage Members to submit. We welcome writing, images, and video submissions to editor@safepiercing.org.

Is industry related writing, photography, drawing, and/or videography not your forte, but you’d like to help the organization and industry flourish? Or are you frustrated with an aspect of the organization that you’d like to see change? Maybe you just have an incredibly keen eye for details, fantastic organizational skills, or are particularly tech savvy. If so, I strongly encourage you to email volunteer@safepiercing.org. Julie Taylor has a survey to help identify your areas of skill and interest, enabling the organization to pair you with an appropriate APP Committee or project. There are dozens of people working behind the scenes for the Association of Professional Piercers all the time, sometimes from across the globe. Join us and our companion organizations like, LBP1, UKAPP2, RuAPP3, APPE4, and the brand new AUPP5. You can read about some of their international conferences and contributions later in this issue.

Representation is imperative in all its forms to ensure the diversity and well being of our community. Get involved. Be seen and heard. Add your perspective to our shared history.

1https://www.lbpiercing.com/

2https://www.ukapp.org.uk/

3http://ruapp.pro/

4https://www.appepiercing.org/

5http://safepiercing.org.au/

Point 87: Membership Committee Update

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by Monica Sabin, Membership Coordinator, APP Membership Committee, Incoming Board Member

Left to right: Coyote Black, Jef Saunders, Pablo Perelmuter,
Barron, Monica Sabin, Aaron Pollack, Johnny Velez, Cody
Vaughn, photo by Shanna Hutchins

Ohhai! The Membership Committee continues to work almost year round to process applications in a timely, yet thorough manner. We also work with aspiring Members to help with the transition to meeting and exceeding current membership requirements.

We have an amazing team of dedicated volunteers. The team has grown over the last year and now includes Jef Saunders, Cody Vaughn, Johnny Velez, Pablo Perelmuter, W. Barron, Sabrina Egan, Vivi Madero, Aaron Pollack, Coyote Black and myself, Monica Sabin. The committee also has the pleasure of working closely with our Membership Administrator, Marina Pecorino.

Many Members have noticed the addition of the Members’ Area to the safepiercing website, allowing individual Members to have more personalized control over their professional documents, communications, membership updates, and access to Members’ only items. Make sure to sign in and check it out, if you haven’t yet!

Applicants are now able to apply through safepiercing.org as well! The process has progressed from mailing packages to the APP office containing paper applications and VHS tapes, then to email threads and Google documents, and now, utilizing our very own website! Our application process has seen some updates over the years and as always the Membership Committee is here to help everyone through this exciting transition.

The committee is still accepting applications, but processing of applications is currently on hold as we all prepare for the APP’s annual Conference & Exposition. The committee will be reconvening starting in June 2019 and will begin to work through the queue of new applications!

We all look forward to this year’s APP Conference, where the committee members will be available to answer any membership questions! Also, any Members that would like to get involved with the organization, membership or otherwise, email Julie Taylor at: volunteer@safepiercing.org.

My email is msabin@safepiercing.org

Thank you and see y’all in Vegas!

Point 84: Membership Infographics Explained

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by Marina Pecorino, APP Membership Administrator

The following infographics were presented in the annual Members’ Meeting at Conference. There’s a lot of information here, so I’d like to take a moment to make sure the full breadth of our recent growth is understood.

It’s important to note that our membership changes almost daily. Prior to Conference, the Membership Committee processed all applications received before April 1, 2018, and then went on hiatus until after Conference, so new memberships have a pre-Conference deadline.

However, the same does not apply for changes with existing Members. Keep in mind the nomadic nature of many piercers, moving to different studios, or relocating to different states and countries. These types of changes happen up to and even onsite at Conference.

It seems only appropriate to start from the beginning, so let’s look at the APP Membership Inception to Current graph. The golden columns show the total number of active Members at the close of each corresponding year.

This includes all membership types, and excludes our Corporate Sponsors. The blue line indicates the current active Members based on their join year. So, as an example, looking back ten years, 2008 ended with 254 total Members (a difference of 18 compared to the previous year), and only

16 of the Members accepted that year still maintained active membership at the time that these graphs were created. On the contrary, in 2017, the year ended with a total of 582 Members (a difference of 60 compared to the previous year), and 134 of those active Members (that’s 23%) joined last year! It’s pretty clear to see the incredible growth the APP has experienced over the last several years, with active Members more than doubling since 2012.

This brings us to the Pre-Conference Growth graph. This illustrates the number of new Members between January 1 and Conference of each corresponding year. Keep in mind  that  Conference  does not have a stationary date, so there is a bit of variation with the Membership Committee hiatus I mentioned earlier. Regardless, pre-Conference growth has almost tripled between 2014 and 2018.

Moving to the next set of graphs, we look at our memberships and  sponsorships by type. The first of this set is specific to individual Members and the membership type they fit into. Business Members—piercers with more than one year of professional experience, who meet both environmental and personal criteria—are by far our largest membership category, for obvious reasons. The second graph in this set includes all of

the information from the previous, but also includes Additional Location memberships and our Corporate Sponsors. The Additional Location memberships are used for Business Members who consistently work in more than one approved studio location.

The final two infographics show membership (Associate Corporate, Associate, Business, Business at Large, and Patron Members) by geographical location. The first shows all active Members in North America. California and Oregon have the highest number of APP Members, followed closely by Florida and Texas. The concentration of Members in these areas is somewhat predictable, based on the sheer size and density of populations in these states. The second map shows active Members worldwide. Despite being an international organization, APP membership is highest in the United States, but membership is growing elsewhere. Australia now has the third highest membership by country, most of which were added within the last three years.

The recent popularization and growth of our industry, in combination with the outstanding work of the Membership Committee, and our transition to an online membership system are all partly responsible for the recent prosperity of the APP. That said, the majority of the credit goes to industry professionals as a whole and the increasing demand for excellence. As professionals hold themselves and their studios to higher standards, and look to the Association of Professional Piercers for support, I’m confident that the organization and industry will continue to thrive.

Point 80: Membership Standards Update & Clarification

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Cody Vaughn
Membership Liaison

APP Membership: A Glance At The Past & Environmental Criteria Updates for The Future

“The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you’ve come” – Author Unknown

I began volunteering with the Membership Committee in 2009. Originally, I thought each idea I had which I believed would further our mission statement would be a quick and easy change to make. Make the suggestion, state your case, done and done! Volunteering for a non-profit health and safety organization — one whose membership has grown immensely at the same time body piercing’s popularity has surged — has taught me change and improvements often come slowly and deliberately.

When I first started with the Membership Committee, our application process consisted of mailing a hard copy application and your video recorded to a disc (or VHS!) to the APP office. Then it got shipped to a volunteer. After being reviewed, it got shipped to a second volunteer for final review. This wasn’t the hardest thing when we were averaging maybe a couple dozen new Members a year. As the number of applicants began to drastically increase, through much work and trial and error, we improved upon the process and have now moved to a strictly online application. This has reduced costs and improved the applicants wait time. We are currently working on utilizing our new website’s features to even further streamline the application process. You’ll hear more about that in the coming months.

This application process was created because it isn’t financially or practically feasible to fly a Membership Committee volunteer to each applicant’s studio to do a walk through for environmental criteria. Similarly, when receiving a complaint about a member breaching their Health & Safety agreement, it is just not feasible to drive across the country (or to another country for that matter) to see for ourselves.

In April of 2017, the Board of Directors informed APP Members of a new update to our Membership Environmental Criteria:

“All piercers working at an APP Member studio (members or non-members) will only use appropriate jewelry for initial piercings as listed in the current APP minimum standard.

Any use of non-compliant jewelry for initial piercing by any person (member or non-member) in the studio is considered a breach of environmental standards and can be grounds for losing membership.”

The APP Board of Directors and the APP Membership Committee feels this newest standard will help to further spread safe piercing practices and our organization’s mission statement.

If you have any questions in regards to this updated policy please do not hesitate to contact us at membership@safepiercing.org

All members will have until January 1, 2018 to become compliant with this new environmental standard.

Point 80: Update from the Secretary

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Aaron Pollack
APP Secretary

One more great Conference is in the books. This was another record breaking year with over 1,100 registered attendees!

Every year at Conference we hold our annual Members’ Meeting. This annual meeting is a chance for our Members and Corporate Sponsors to hear updates about the future of Conference and the Association, and to get a review of the APP’s finances.

This year’s Members’ Meeting was particularly eventful with announcements regarding new Member perks and a new Conference venue for 2019!

MEMBER PERK

Our Member perk this year was a new window cling for your studios. These double-sided clings can be displayed at any studio with an APP Member on staff. If you were not in atten- dance at the meeting, you will receive a cling by mail with your 2018 membership certificate.

CONFERENCE 2018 AND 2019

Conference 2018 will be held July 15-20, 2018 at Bally’s. This is our final year at Bally’s! Be prepared for a great send off and another big year.

Conference 2019 will be our first year at Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Planet Hollywood is a big upgrade for our Conference and we are really excited about our future there.

MEMBERLEAP AND MEMBER’S AREA

Our new website and Member’s Area are now live. Our website has had a major facelift and is better than ever,  with ongoing improvements and added features. Included on our website is a Member’s Only area where you can instantly update your Member profile, Required Documents (environmental and personal criteria) and keep updated on APP Events. Be sure to check  it out. If you have questions about the Member’s Area or need help with the system, you can reach Marina Pecorino, Membership Administrator, at mpecorino@safepiercing.org.

Point 75: Member Updates – Aaron Pollack

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The Point Issue 75 Cover

Aaron Pollack

Aaron Pollack
Flying Tiger Tattoo

The APP has a lot going on this summer, and we want you to join us! Read through for all the latest updates on Conference, Camp APP, raffle updates, and the Members Meeting Notice.

CONFERENCE 2016 ROOM BLOCK
Attending Conference? Be sure to book in the APP room block at Bally’s! Booking within the block allows you to have the option of choosing not to pay the resort fee (which is usually mandatory), and that alone saves you $30 a day!

Filling the room block benefits the APP’s ability to negotiate the spaces and rates we are given in the future for conference spaces and hotel rooms. The APP is able to retain its meeting spaces only when the room block is filled. Please, help us achieve our goal of filling the room block this year!

After a long day and night of socializing, being able to take one elevator back to your room is way better than taking a bus, taxi, or walking numerous blocks back to another hotel. Staying in the host hotel fosters a bigger sense of community at the event and keeps you close to your home base for the week!

Check out the links below to learn more about how to book in the APP room block at Bally’s, our host hotel for 2016. The room block closes June 21, so be sure to book today! APP ROOM BLOCK REGISTRATION

CONFERENCE 2016 RAFFLE
Do you like raffles that include awesome prizes? Attendees have multiple opportunities to win prizes, with separate raffles being held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Our Vendors in the past have generously donated prizes with wholesale values from $50-$15,000!

Don’t wait to buy your tickets at Conference! Purchase in advance through your registration and have the tickets waiting for you when you arrive!

The best gamble in Vegas is waiting for you at Conference 2016! Register for Conference now!

Members Meeting Notice
Members Meeting Wednesday July 27th 7-8:30pm

This meeting will cover all current APP business for the membership. Voting members will sign in to determine if the meeting has met the required quorum. Non-voting members are welcome to attend, as well as one representative from each APP Corporate Sponsor. If you wish to address the board and membership, you may reserve a time slot by emailing secretary@safepiercing.org.

There will be a Members Mingle before the meeting, 6:30-7:00pm. Refreshments will be served.

BODY PIERCING ARCHIVE RAFFLE
The APP and Body Piercing Archive are very excited to announce a charity fundraising auction for which all proceeds will go towards the BPA and their efforts in preserving our industry’s history!

Over the past year, beautiful handmade items were meticulously constructed from donated iconic piercing industry t-shirts. Sharon McLaughlin Gowen has generously donated her time in fabricating quilts, backpacks, bags, and Ipad cases for this cause.

The items will be on display and the silent auction will happen at the 2016 APP Conference!

Thank you Sharon and Gene Gowen for making this happen!

Conference Site Survey
Every year hundreds of piercers, counter staff, shop owners, and jewelry manufacturers look forward to the Association of Professional Piercers Conference. For the past several years we have met in the desert oasis known as Las Vegas. As we look forward to planning our Conferences for 2019 and beyond we want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to complete our survey from which we will be able to gather information pertinent to creating and putting on the best Conference possible. Thank you in advance for your time, the APP appreciates your ideas and opinions. TAKE THE SURVEY HERE.

CAMP APP 2016
Join us for CAMP APP 2016!

The 2nd Annual CAMP APP will be held OCT 11-15 at Hard Labor Creek State Park in beautiful Rutledge, GA

We hope you will join us for a week of fun, learning, and excitement at our 2nd annual Members Retreat.