State Restaurant Association Membership

Less than a year into his job, Kevin Sterner, director of membership for the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, is flipping every switch to reach the 30,000-plus Keystone State restaurants that are potential members. The Pennsylvania association has 1,200 members or about 4 percent of the restaurant market in his state, according to Sterner's estimates.

Sterner cited the Pennsylvania association's legislative successes and efforts, including averting laws that would require a multimillion-dollar retrofit of kitchen exhaust hoods, and battling onerous state controls on liquor. He reeled off a litany of association member benefits, including group purchase discounts on liability and workers' compensation insurance, payroll processing, music licensing, as well as an affordable health insurance plan available in a 21-county region in the central part of the state.

It all sounds like a great deal. So why have the Pennsylvania association and others like it, only been able to capture a fraction of their potential market?

In this article, we look at the value and benefits of state restaurant association membership, and the challenges facing the state associations in their efforts to serve the industry and muster adequate resources to perform their jobs.

In every industry, it is easy to take national and regional trade associations as much for granted as we do government agencies. In fact, state and national restaurant associations are private, nonprofit organizations that must work for membership with as much vigor as they fight to influence legislation and provide valuable benefits to its members. What are they doing to earn their keep? More than you might know.