As many of you know, I've been a proponent of open houses, commercials, heck even using billboards to attract new members to our honorable fraternity. We've seen the infomercials from the GL of Mass and the fantastic programs published by the GL of Cali, but the more I think about it, the more questions I have on whether such programs would benefit us.
The GL of Texas finally gave the thumbs up to Masonic license plates and now I hear rumblings they plan to shoot some videos. On the surface this is great, in matter of fact, it's exactly what we've been asking for.
That being said, what are we attracting new members to? Just yesterday I spoke with a Brother who told me that he's been turned off by his home Lodge. He explained that members of his Lodge were trying to push him through the chairs even though he doesn't have the time to do so. He was also tired of the endless signup sheets and solicitation of money at every meeting.
Commercials, videos, open houses, pamphlets may attract new members, but it won't keep them interested in Masonry. I visited a Lodge a couple of weeks ago and after 15 mins, I couldn't wait till it was over so i could get the heck out. I don't want raffle tickets or hear bickering on whether to meet at 6:30 AM or 7:30 AM to start cooking for the Chili fundraiser, nor do I care about discussing who's going to change the A/C filters. Those mundane topics are necessary I suppose, but offer me something else. Why not a short talk bulletin? After Lodge a PM came up to me an explained that last year they had 12 EA's, 2 were raised but only 1 is semi-active. Surprised?
I would say 90% of the Lodges that I've visited are like that. Boring, mundane and teetering on the brink of demise. We can print flyers, ALL/Life Programs, shoot videos and create websites, but unless we offer something at LODGE, the new guys will move on and existing members will get burned out and loose interest.
Don't be content with the business as usual mentality at your Lodge...
The GL of Texas finally gave the thumbs up to Masonic license plates and now I hear rumblings they plan to shoot some videos. On the surface this is great, in matter of fact, it's exactly what we've been asking for.
That being said, what are we attracting new members to? Just yesterday I spoke with a Brother who told me that he's been turned off by his home Lodge. He explained that members of his Lodge were trying to push him through the chairs even though he doesn't have the time to do so. He was also tired of the endless signup sheets and solicitation of money at every meeting.
Commercials, videos, open houses, pamphlets may attract new members, but it won't keep them interested in Masonry. I visited a Lodge a couple of weeks ago and after 15 mins, I couldn't wait till it was over so i could get the heck out. I don't want raffle tickets or hear bickering on whether to meet at 6:30 AM or 7:30 AM to start cooking for the Chili fundraiser, nor do I care about discussing who's going to change the A/C filters. Those mundane topics are necessary I suppose, but offer me something else. Why not a short talk bulletin? After Lodge a PM came up to me an explained that last year they had 12 EA's, 2 were raised but only 1 is semi-active. Surprised?
I would say 90% of the Lodges that I've visited are like that. Boring, mundane and teetering on the brink of demise. We can print flyers, ALL/Life Programs, shoot videos and create websites, but unless we offer something at LODGE, the new guys will move on and existing members will get burned out and loose interest.
Don't be content with the business as usual mentality at your Lodge...
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