Member Spotlight: Sandra Kowalski on Building the Great Lakes Chapter from 12 to 100 Members
When Sandra Kowalski took over as Great Lakes Chapter Director in early 2023, the chapter had 12 dues-paying members, inconsistent meeting attendance, and no real identity. This month, the chapter crossed 100 active members. We sat down with Sandra to understand how she did it — and what other chapter leaders can learn from the process.
The First 90 Days
“The first thing I did was stop trying to be everything to everyone,” Sandra said. “The chapter had attempted to serve roofing applicators, containment specialists, flooring contractors, and equipment dealers all at once, with a generic meeting agenda. Nobody felt like it was their community.”
Sandra’s first move was surveying existing members about their primary specialty. Industrial containment and bridge/infrastructure work emerged as the dominant applications in the Great Lakes market — which made sense given the region’s manufacturing density and aging bridge inventory. She reoriented the chapter’s educational programming accordingly.
Building the Meeting Experience
Sandra made two structural changes that she credits most for membership growth:
1. The Pre-Meeting Technical Demonstration
Every meeting now opens with a 20-minute live demo — a spray technique, a surface prep method, or equipment walk-through. “People come for the demo as much as the networking now,” she said. “It gives newer members a reason to arrive early and gives veterans something concrete to react to.”
2. The Structured Peer Q&A
After the main program, members bring “unsolved problems” — a job site challenge they’re stuck on, a client specification they’re not sure how to meet. The group works through it together. “Some of the best technical solutions I’ve ever seen have come out of those 30-minute sessions,” Sandra noted. “It’s also the fastest way for new members to realize the value of being in the room.”
Using the PolyOrgs Network
Sandra leveraged PolyOrgs’ national resources aggressively. The member directory listings for Great Lakes members were comprehensively updated. She wrote three technical blog posts for the national site, which drove inquiries from prospective members who found the content through search.
“The blog posts were the best recruitment tool I didn’t expect,” she said. “Someone Googles a specific problem, finds a PolyOrgs article, sees there’s a chapter in their city. That’s how we got probably 15 members.”
The 100-Member Milestone
Hitting 100 members is significant not just numerically. It makes the Great Lakes chapter self-sustaining. “At 100 members, the meeting energy is different. You walk in and there are 40 people in the room. First-timers see that and immediately think: this is a real organization. There’s something here.”
Sandra has been asked to present her chapter growth methodology at the PolyOrgs National Director Summit in September 2026 in Denver. The session will be open to all chapter directors and prospective chapter founders.
What’s Next for the Great Lakes Chapter
Sandra has her sights on 150 members by end of 2027, and is exploring a dedicated chapter website and quarterly technical publication. “The industry is in a workforce crisis. We have an opportunity to be the organization that solves it in this region. That’s the mission.”
Interested in joining the Great Lakes Chapter or any other regional chapter? Visit our contact page or check the chapter meeting calendar.