ENID, Okla. — An Enid organization dedicated to improving the tools marketing professionals have is reaching out to the community for more members this year.

“We’re trying to push for members now,” said Nicole Winfield, president of Inspire Greater Enid. Meetings are free to anyone who has never attended and wants to attend one and see what goes on, she said.

“They can listen to the speaker, and if they have any questions, talk to one of the board members or me,” Winfield said.

There currently are about 65 members, but some are corporate memberships, which may include more than one representative. The group meets every other month and sometimes schedules a special meeting if there is a subject that could help the members do their jobs, she said. There also is a membership social, which is being planned.

Essentially, the meetings feature a speaker in some area of marketing, and the members have a chance to network together. One of the important parts of the meeting is to network.

“We are a group of marketing professionals. It’s a way for those people to get together. We try to find ways to educate the professionals about areas in their field. Social media is always changing, and we want to make sure to keep our members updated on those things,” Winfield said. “We try to do it here, so they don’t have to go to Oklahoma City or Tulsa to do it.”

This year, Winfield said, members hope to have meetings on blogging and crisis management. They will contact an individual who has expertise in those subjects, and the individual will speak and give tips that some of the professionals may not know. They also will answer questions.

“I’m excited about that one (blogging). It’s something we need to start doing at my work,” Winfield said.

The organization started in 2009 with a core group led by Connie Dodson. Dodson moved away from Enid, but the group still is meeting, Winfield said.

Winfield said her goal for membership is about 150, but will aim high. She said the group now has some meetings with 100 people present, because of the corporate memberships.

“We try to find a different way of bringing new people to the group, like going to Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cuttings, letting business owners know; if they are in the marketing business, make suggestions of ways to help,” she said. “We’ve put feelers out more than we have in the past.”

The current officers include Winfield as president, Curtis Tucker as president-elect, Derrick Silas as secretary, Kelly Goodwin as treasurer and Deborah Cromwell as board member at-large.

As a person in the marketing business, Winfield said the meetings have helped her with tips about social media, and other areas that have given her more tools.

“I’m already big into social media, but there were some things I didn’t know, and it’s helped me. Also, where I work, it helps with marketing the product,” Winfield said.

The organization’s next meeting is Feb. 14 at Convention Hall.