Where do I find new members?

Recruiting new members isn't just a problem for DeMolay. Heck, it's not even a problem that's only faced by the Masonic Fraternity. Every community organization goes through ups and downs with membership. Sometimes, their loss, or their gain, can be helpful to us as DeMolays. The old saying of "there is no need to reinvent the wheel." holds true. Many community organizations have come up with great resources for recruitment that are easy applicable to DeMolay.

I just did a quick Google search for "how to recruit new members." It returned 5,640,000 results! The first link was a .pdf file called "116 Ways to Recruit New Members." This file was published by the Toastmasters, a community organization dedicated to public speaking. I opend the file and found that if you were to substitute "DeMolay" for "Toastmasters" almost all of the suggestions would work for a Chapter looking to recruit. So, with that caveat, here is the list (some of the items are still Toastmaster specific, but most of it is pretty valid.)

116 Ways to Recruit New Members
1. Ask someone (everyone)
2. Bring a guest
3. Advertise in newspapers.
4. Advertise on public access TV
5. Sample or demonstration meetings
6. Letters or personal contact with local businesses
7. Contact with Chamber of Commerce
8. Bookmarks inserted in library books
9. Public meetings at malls, outdoors, etc
10. SpeechCraft
11. Booth at malls, fairs, festivals etc.
12. Pamphlets in doctors’ offices, hospitals, cafeterias,
libraries, etc.
13. Host an Open House
14. Contact past members
15. Hold membership drives and contests
16. Warm greeting
17. Guest information packet
18. Guest introductions
19. Encourage, but don’t force, Table Topic participation
20. Ask for comments
21. Clearly marked room
22. Club business cards
23. Distribute extra magazines in waiting rooms, etc
24. Hold high-profile meetings
25. Advertise at local colleges
26. Have a guest speaker
27. Have a special guest day
28. Have a program for non-members
29. Make prospective members feel important
30. Have enjoyable programs
31. Make some meetings social events
32. Have a Club web page
33. Use email
34. Put posters in stores
35. Ask corporations and employers to sponsor or
subsidize membership
36. Have a reward program for those who bring in new
members
37. Create more fun
38. Have a variety of snacks
39. Invite the media
40. Use word of mouth
41. Network with coworkers, friends, and family
42. Follow up on guests
43. Have educational meetings
44. Have friendly meetings
45. Lead by example
46. Have incentives for those who join
47. Members give talks at other organizations
48. Provide guests with free meals
49. Corporate Clubs provide brochure for new employee
packets
50. Display the trophies
51. Club sponsor a deserving, needy individual
52. Lure passers-by with free food
53. Advertise with a blimp at sports events
54. Have a marching band spell out your club’s name
55. If you’re the boss, make your employees join
56. Ask the District for help
57. Provide child care
58. Hold join meetings with non-DeMolay groups
59. Share your DeMolay experience with other
60. Participate in community events
61. Write letters to community groups
62. Be active in Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis,
etc.
63. Publicize Club successes, elections, contests, in local
newspapers
64. Have a Club newsletter
65. Have a club brochure
66. Hold a public debate
67. Never cancel a meeting
68. Members should be prepared
69. Have a planned agenda
70. Encourage interclub visits
71. Form/join a speakers’ bureau
72. Teach public speaking at vo-tech, community college,
continuing education
73. Hold public workshops
74. Wear your pin
75. Mention DeMolay at meetings of other
organizations during announcements
76. Send newsletter to guests
77. Visitor Day – each member sends out 10 invitations
78. Talk up DeMolay to those who express problems
with public speaking
79. As guest to join
80. Get a three meeting commitment
81. Advertise in church bulletin
82. When asked about your speaking skills, tell them
about DeMolay
83. Tell everyone about the benefits of DeMolay
84. Have informative meetings
85. Make it FUN
86. Bumper stickers
87. Smile
88. Invite guests to your place of business to g et better
acquainted with them
89. Attract a wide age spectrum
90. Give testimonials
91. Elect a dedicated VP Membership
92. Hold smooth meetings
93. Get experienced DeMolay to join as dual members
94. Repeatedly invite prospective members
95. Practice selling DeMolay at Club meetings
96. Make it look easy
97. Promote humor in speeches
98. Make meetings more interactive
99. Send thank you's to guests
100. Have table at trade shows
101. Hold a Speechathon with as many speakers as possible
102. Think like a kid - how would you get someone to play
with?
103. “Put in words” appeal to writers’ clubs
104. DeMolay minute on radio
105. Interaction with story tellers’ organizations
106. “Do it for you” poster contest at schools
107. Bring your boss
108. When someone notices your progress, tell them why
and invite them
109. Hold meetings at senior centers
110. Have new member kits
111. Hand out flyers and brochures
112. Have a host for each guest
113. Hand out invitation cards
114. Members constantly promoting and raving about
DeMolay
115. Meet at a good location
116. Explain the structure of DeMolay

Well look at that! Those are some great ideas! What methods have you tried for membership recruitment lately? Maybe some of these will work for you!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Whoopin' on Some Hoosiers

Congratulations PA DeMolay, we did it!

A few posts ago I challenged all of the members of PA DeMolay to bring in 12 new members in the next 30 days so that we could move up in the standings for both Jurisdictional Size and Recruitment.

Well, I just ran a search on the demolay.org membership stats, and sure enough, we are now larger than Indiana! We may only have one member more, (744 for PA, while 743 for IN at the time of the search) but we are now the 7th largest Jurisdcition. Plus, Indiana majoritizes over 50 more members in the next year than PA does! That's a great sign for us!

We can keep moving up in the standings, however! If we were to gain about 50 more new members this year, we would be poised to knock off 6th place Ohio! That's right, if we meet our Magic Number (which is 46, btw) we very well could end up the 6th largest Jurisdiction in the world. How awesome would that be!

I also challenged everyone to help us move up in the Recruitment standings, by trying to get PA to be the number 2 recruiter in the world. Thanks to a recent influx of Form 10's, we have moved up a place in those standings as well. We are now the number 4 recruiter in all of DeMolay International! That means we only need to bring in 8 more new members to move up into the number 2 slot!

So, let's get to work, and show DeMolay International that PA is a force to be reckoned with!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Tom Moyer on DeMolay International

Whew, I just got back from Dallas and let me tell you something, that's quite a distance away. (1300 miles away to be exact.) Let me just fill you in on some of things that took place in the Lonestar State. On Tuesday, when we arrived, I was greeted with 95 degrees of heat, compared to the 75 that I left behind in Pennsylvania, there was a significant difference. We pretty much just hung out Tuesday and met up with fellow Pennsylvanian Chad Reichard (Nations Capital Deputy Jurisdictional Master Councilor), and went out to Chilli's, which if you didn't know, is Dad Boyce's favorite place to eat during trips to DeMolay International. After Chilli's we had some more fun at the movie's. Anyway, on Wednesday we woke up and went to downtown Dallas to learn more about President Kennedy's assassination. We took a tour of "The 6th Floor" a Museum actually on the same floor that Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. I stood 5 feet away from the spot where the actual shots went off, it was eerie!

Following the tour we went out to do some investigating of our own, Howard played in traffic while I snooped around the grassy knoll. After our fun endeavors while Downtown, we headed back to the amazing Hilton Dallas. The opening session of the congress started that night and the question was finally answered Dallas does know we're here! Thursday opened with breakout committiee meetings (I chose ritual and regalia while Howard chose Honors and Awards). The groups discussed challenges that the jurisdictions had and how other jurisdictions work through their own problems. It was a big eye opener as to how other jurisdictions worked! Well I have to get to bed, more to come soon!

Bro. Tom Moyer, Deputy State Master Councilor

Why Increase the Initiation Fee?

With the increase in the initiation fee, approved by DeMolay International to begin on January 1, 2011, it seemed time for a study of the fee based on information available in the PA DeMolay archives.

As a matter of information, the initiation fee for membership paid to DeMolay International was at $5.00 in 1958.

I don't know what year they increased, but I believe they went from $5 to $7.50, and by 1967 they were at $10.

They were increased to $12.50 as of January 1, 1973.

They were again increased to $15 in 1981.

Just 5 years later, they increased to $20 in 1986, when the requirement was added that the
Leaders Resource Guide be included in the benefits of membership.

They increased to $25 in 1992.

And now, finally, to $35 as of 2011.

Calculating the annual inflation rate of 4.47% since 1967, that $10 fee would be equivalent to $65.60 today, so DeMolay membership, today, is still an incredible bargain!

But adjusting to the annual inflation rate of 3.21%, that 1981 fee of $15 would only be $37.53 in today's dollars, which means that the latest increase brings us back in line with the relative value of DeMolay in 1981, but far behind the value placed on DeMolay Membership in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

(These rates are provided by http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm)

So, how much value do you place on your DeMolay Membership?

-Dad Tom Labagh, Executive Officer in PA

Following our First Precept

With yesterday being Father's Day, I thought today would be a good time to take a second look at our first Precept, Filial Love. Often this Precept is thought of as "sappy" or otherwise derided. I can firmly say that without that Precept, not one DeMolay would exist, as it's our parents that give us everything we have, and without them, we wouldn't have an organization.

Everyone is familiar with the Flower Talk as a way to thank our Mother's for what they have given us, but when was the last time you thanked your father? Not just for the physical things, but the emotional support and guidance as well? Perhaps it was your father who taught you to play sports, go hunting or fishing, or even how to use a computer. Where would you be without his love and guidance? I know there are quite a few rhetorical questions in my ramblings above, but I just ask that you think about how important your father has been in your life.

Another important aspect of this conversation regards our other Dads, meaning, our DeMolay ones. They are a vital part of our organization, and teach young and old alike skills that can't be found in school or in books. When was the last time you simply thanked the Advisors from your Chapter? A "thank you" can go a long way!

As a side note, I was curious as to where the tradition of Father's Day originated. Thanks to quick Wiki search, I had my answer, which I now share with you:

Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting. It is also celebrated to honor and commemorate our forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities. The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on June 19, 1910 through the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. After listening to a church sermon at Spokane's Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909 about the newly recognized Mother's Day, Dodd felt strongly that fatherhood needed recognition, as well. She wanted a celebration that honored fathers like her own father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who was left to raise his family alone when his wife died giving birth to their sixth child when Sonora was 16 years old.

The following year with the assistance of Reverend Dr. Conrad Bluhm, her pastor at Old Centenary Presbyterian Church (now Knox Presbyterian Church), Sonora took the idea to the Spokane YMCA. The Spokane YMCA, along with the Ministerial Alliance, endorsed Dodd’s idea and helped it spread by celebrating the first Father’s Day in 1910. Sonora suggested her father’s birthday, June 5th, be established as the day to honor all Father’s. However, the pastors wanted more time to prepare, so on June 19, 1910, young members of the YMCA went to church wearing roses: a red rose to honor a living father, and a white rose to honor a deceased one. Dodd traveled through the city in a horse-drawn carriage, carrying gifts to shut-in fathers.

It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA, and churches, Father's Day ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar. Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was often met with laughter. The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but for the wrong reasons. It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokesman-Review. Many people saw it as the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions.

A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized. US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents" In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 for men and boys who are not fathers.

So, what did you do to honor your father yesterday?

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony