Posted by John Hamilton
Whether your club is a service club like the Rotary or Lions Clubs, a hobby club or social club there is probably a concern about its future. Will it continue to grow and succeed or are all of the members getting old and dying off? If you had more men or women or young people would that help? We hear Millenials do not join; is that true?

Rotarian David McSpadden, Rotary Club Membership Development Chairman, gave some tips to club members. What will work for Rotarians will work for any other organization as well.

The most important thing you can do is to ask. Just ask a person to become a member. The worst thing is to assume. Assume the person is too busy or not interested. If you do not ask they will not join you and reap the benefits of membership.

Clubs where things are happening are the most successful. Others want to join in that success. If all you do is have a nice lunch they can have a nice lunch somewhere else without incurring any obligation.

When you are looking for members find out if they are qualified. Can they do what membership requires and are they interested in it. If they are qualified and apply for membership put them through a detailed orientation so they completely understand what the club is and what it stands for. After the orientation have an active engagement process to help them find their places in the group. Make sure everyone is engaged in something for the good of the club and of the member. Help them have a compelling vision that ties them to membership in your organization.

After a person has undergone orientation and become fully engaged in the work of the group he or she needs to find a life-time reason for being a member. People make decisions based first on emotion and later backed by facts. Provide the emotional reasons then back them up with facts

Another thing successful organizations do is adapt. Rotary International has recently decided that weekly meetings are not manditory. Some meetings may be projects or groupings at the coffee shop. Our club would help set up another local club at another time or place if at least twenty-five people are interested.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Waxahachie where we believe in Service Above Self and doing things as a club we cannot do alone, visit the club web site at www.waxahachierotary.org . You can find American flag subscription forms there.

Sponsors