Member Testimonials

	We came across The Community Roundtable early in 2010 when we were starting to develop a strategy for social media and community management within our company. We weren’t having much luck in finding actionable frameworks or methodologies until we came across the Community Maturity Model developed by TheCR. It didn’t take us long to become members of the network after conducting a daylong workshop with Jim and Rachel. Their knowledge and experience in this space coupled with the peer network that they have assembled are invaluable resources to my team as we tackle a variety of topics related to social media. Needless to say, this environment is very dynamic so it’s an enormous help to have access to a network of resources and online assets.Dan Brostek, Head of Consumer and Member Engagement, Aetna
	When it came time for 2011 budgets, my team’s memberships to The Community Roundtable were considered “untouchable”. The digital information alone (The State of Community Report, blog posts, and discussions) is worth far more than the price of membership. But the most valuable gift TheCR provides is Rachel and Jim’s ability to connect people. My professional and personal networks have exploded since joining The Community Roundtable. It’s hard to express the value you gain through great relationships, but it is so clearly evident when you invest in Rachel, Jim and the members of TheCR.Michael Pace, Director of Customer Support & Community Management, Constant Contact
	The Community Roundtable founders exemplify the principals the community espouses. New members are welcomed and guided to interesting information, social interactions among the members are encouraged, lurkers are lured into the discussions, and exhila- rating content and quality presenters are offered at regular intervals. The CR members share tactics and best practices while the community managers/founders reinforce a strong theoretical underpinning and framework for strategic community planning. In short, The Community Roundtable is an essential resource for community managers at all levels of experience regardless of the entity they manage.Leigh Mutert, Community Manager, RSA
	The Community Roundtable provides a great resource for social strategists and community managers. Not only do they program excellent sessions with top practitioners, the interactions with peers provide some great insight into how others think about, or have dealt with, the same issues that I encounter in my own role. Jim and Rachel do a great job of fostering this ongoing conversation.David Meiselman, Director of Digital Web Strategy, The Hanover Insurance Group
	The Community Roundtable is a terrific resource for anyone who is involved in community strategy, execution, or management. The ideas, data, and feedback I receive often help me evaluate opportunities, keep current with best practices, and resolve challenging situations. For most professionals in the community management space, time is of the essence and with all the noise in the marketplace and so called experts; I need a place to quickly get answers. The Community Roundtable does a great job filling that need. Mark Wallace, Vice President of Social Media, EDR
	The Community Roundtable plays two key roles for the community management discipline. First, it creates a repository of institutional knowledge and because the practice of community management is fairly new, that documentation of common practices is important. The Community Roundtable is where I see most of this knowledge change hands both in the sharing of documented best practices but also in the live brainstorming and exchanges of expertise. I firmly believe that in a new field like community management, this knowledge capture and exchange is critical to the overall growth and credibility of the profession. The Community Roundtable has been a great repository for those that are new to the field and it offers those of us with more experience the opportunity to mentor newcomers. Second, TheCR offers a great networking resource in that it enables me to get to know others who have had experience with higher-level strategies and provides me with input to supplement internal feedback. For community managers like me who are small departments – which is quite common – having access to others with deep experience helps me think through new ideas and brainstorm. In many cases, I have asked people that I met through The Community Roundtable to listen to one of my crazy ideas and give me input – their knowledge and experience offers insight that I don’t have within my own company.Dawn Lacallade, Former Community Manager at Dell & SolarWinds
	There is so much hype about social media: blogs, free webinars, self-professed “gurus” or “experts”–the whole thing has a very Wild West feel to it. Anyone with a bunch of followers on Twitter and an e-book can put him or herself out there as a definitive source of knowledge about social media and community management. The reason I joined the Community Roundtable is because Rachel, Jim and the members of this group actually ARE experts with years of experience managing social media and online communities. The resources and networking opportunities this group provides are invaluable.Maggie McGary, Online Community & Social Media Manager, ASHA
	As a CIO with a marketing role, I share in the responsibility to create a vision of a 21st century sales and marketing organization. I am specifically charged with developing and leading creation of a social media strategy that encompasses a wide variety of best practices. During my research I found The Community Roundtable (@TheCR) as I was searching for those willing to share knowledge on the topic of social media, communities, and business development. Rachel and Jim were my first two connections, but then an even greater depth of community individuals that have already travelled some of the journey I am on, became evident. I joined TheCR not only to network with these folks, but as a sounding board for ideas to ensure that our best foot is put forward with each initiative. When it comes to a 360⁰ view on a topic, I rely on The Community Roundtable as my community and sounding board for best practices on social business & communities. One of my first lessons in social media was to LISTEN and understand and The Community Roundtable provides events and community interaction in order to bring these ideas and many more into clear focus for me. Nigel Fortlage, Vice President – Information Technology, GHY International

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