On the board? Officer? Opinionated member?
If so I hope you will have a look at this:
Scholarly Societies: Why Bother?
and this:
The American Astronomical Society responds to "Scholarly Societies: Why Bother?"
More like this
Over 50 scientific societies representing hundreds of thousands of American scientists today publicly urged the Texas Board of Education to support accurate science education....
From the National Center for Science Education
Wow, after my post about Le Canard Noir's being threatened with legal action for criticizing the Society of Homeopaths, I'm glad to know that I
An interesting and provocative article in The Scientist by Steven Wiley iof the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, To Join or Not to Join.
Back in the 20th century when I was active, I belonged to eleven scholarly societies. I still belong to two, where I am a life member. My major society requires membership for publication in our journal. I have generally enjoyed attending meetings. I knew many of the participants and have shared interests with them. I enjoyed standing up in a business meeting, "As a fully paid up Life member, I strongly support the proposed increase in annual dues." People remember that to this day.
Jim, I hope you go and answer the questions on the web site! Your perspective would be very valuable.
Florida Citizens for Science. :-)