Sister Joyce Small PGM of Indiana GGCCM on Visionquest

                          "MAKING MEETINGS INTERESTING"

MAKING MEETINGS INTERESTING, FUN & WORTHWHILE

How many meetings have you gone to and they’ve been all over in an hour? Did you remember anything that was discussed? Was there at least one person with their eyes closed?

To attract and keep members attending our meetings, we need to make the evening worthwhile to the members. Provide something educational, enlightening, or entertaining. Relax and have some fun. Enjoy a laugh together. Keep the business meeting short, which means you are going to have to plan ahead.

Have a special program. It doesn’t need to be long to be worthwhile.

·         Have a special ceremony—re-dedication, retiring of the Badges at last meeting, or an affiliation ceremony

SPECIAL CHAPTER PROJECT

Select an on-going project. Involve as many people as possible. Put effort into establishing and promoting it. Talk about it at meetings, report on the progress, and do something about it.

·         Adopt a local family to support during the year, not just during the holidays.

·         Support a local food bank. Raise money through special projects. Collect donations regularly. Volunteer at the food bank.

·         Visit and volunteer at a nursing home or with a youth group. Have different members report at your meetings.

·         Donate your time to community activities, such as Habitat for Humanity, a school library or museum, clean up a cemetery.

·         Adopt a portion of a highway to keep clean. Your Chapter name will be in front of thousands of drivers!

Use your Chapter newsletter to keep members informed and to generate interest in upcoming events, programs, and meetings. You don’t have a newsletter? Maybe you should get something started. We have the Butterfly Express. Plan at least 2-3 months in advance in order to announce a coming event or special meeting.

Look at new ways of doing things. We don’t need to hear, “We’ve never done it that way.” How about, “This is the new way to do it.”

There is information available on-line and in book stores to give you the dates of special days. For example, one day may be Stand-on-Your-Head Day. Take it and run. Make it your own. Doesn’t everyone like chocolate? Surely there’s a National Chocolate Day! Find it!

Have a theme at your meetings. Don’t wait for Friend’s Night or Honor Night. Do something at every meeting. Coordinate the decorations, entertainment and refreshments to the theme. Whether you have 18 people or 118, have fun.

Western Night

·         Encourage costumes within our guidelines

·         Have cactus, cowboy hats and ropes as part of the decorations

·         Entertainment can be square dancers or just music

·         Picnic food like hot dogs, beans, chips, or chili and cornbread

Garden Party

·         Within our guidelines, dress for  working in the garden

·         Decorate with flowers, vegetables, garden tools

·         Have a speaker from a local garden society. Have members tell stories about gardening.

·         Use fresh fruit and vegetables or salads for refreshments

Cruise Night

·         Give everyone a ticket as they arrive

·         Decorate like the inside of a cruise ship (portholes, ship’s wheel)

·         Use seafood, exotic fruits, hors d’ouvres

·         During the meeting take breaks and have a game or quiz about ports of call and award prizes