Grand Lodge Leadership Committee Presentation

10 Steps to Lodge Renewal Plan, Program, Prepare Attract New Members Spice up Lodge Meetings Family Involvement Community Involvement/Visibility Initiate a major fundraiser (for the Lodge or Community) Membership retention/Utilization Publicize your Lodge (Internal/External) Lodge Appearance Ritual

Plan, Program and Prepare Calendar of events Print off and make available to general membership Publish an online calendar and allow members to subscribe Continue to advertise your plans throughout the year Be prepared to execute your plans Follow through Sometimes you have to push and pull to get people motivated

Attract new members Identify who your prospective members may be and approach them about joining the Fraternity Smaller community this may be city officials, farmers, teachers or college students Larger community this should be an open canvas Identify how you can be relevant in your community What do you offer to your current membership? Is it enough to keep them actively involved? What can you offer to a potential new member? Fundraisers for a local event Charities Volunteer work

Spice up Lodge Meetings Keep their attention!!! Men don't join the Fraternity just to be part of a memorization club Members need to feel like they are contributing to something Is their participation in Masonic events needed and important? Why should they spend their time at Lodge? Every Lodge is different Older membership Dinner at the Lodge including the spouses may be appropriate Younger membership If they have kids at home most likely their spouse is not going to be able to attend Leadership is identifying these types of things and making changes when necessary You've been doing the same thing for years, is it working? Doritos Commercial

Family Involvement This should be self explanatory, but: Be aware of who your Masonic Lodge is comprised of. Single parent families, single, divorced, married, widowed, young, old. Identify what can bring everyone together: Coordinate a family Husker game If there are a lot of young children, then plan a movie night at the Lodge Game night

Community Involvement Again self explanatory, get involved in your community, but: Are you getting any visibility from the community for your efforts? Wear Masonic clothing (shirts, hats, etc.,) - Remember while you're working, you're advertising Take pictures and post them to your Lodge website and/or facebook

Initiate a Major Fundraiser This can be as big or small as you are willing to tackle Look at raising money for something important to the community Combine your efforts with other local organizations, this cuts your cost and further exposes the Fraternity in the community

Membership Retention/Utilization Keeping your membership is extremely important   Utilizing them appropriately can be just as important Look at the unique talent within the Lodge, this is one of your most abundant resources Towel Boy clip

Publicize your Lodge (Internal/External)

Lodge Appearance Be honest, which picture is closer to your lodge appearance? Keep your facility in good repair If your building is crumbling, what does that say about your Lodge?

"Never mind the Ritual book. We'll do it my way" We must maintain a high level of proficiency when performing the Ritual 1st, it is required by Grand Lodge to do this 2nd, this separates us from the Elks and Moose Lodges 3rd, and maybe the most important; the Ritual is a choreographed play for the benefit of the candidate (if you do this poorly, don't expect your new members to return to Lodge) "Never mind the Ritual book. We'll do it my way"

Summary 10 Steps to Lodge Renewal Plan, Program, Prepare Attract New Members Spice up Lodge Meetings Family Involvement Community Involvement/Visibility Initiate a major fundraiser (for the Lodge or Community) Membership retention/Utilization Publicize your Lodge (Internal/External) Lodge Appearance Ritual

References Grand Lodge of Nebraska website (forms & publications) http://www.glne.org/Resources/FormsandPublications.aspx 10 Steps to Lodge Renewal http://www.glne.org/Portals/glne/pdfs/LodgeRenewal.pdf Lodge Leadership Manual http://www.glne.org/Portals/glne/pdfs/LodgeLeadership.pdf Lodge Planning Guide (WM Elects) http://www.glne.org/Portals/glne/pdfs/LodgePlan.pdf Looking Toward the East (Senior Wardens) http://www.glne.org/Portals/glne/pdfs/LookingEast.pdf Grand Lodge Officers Lodge Leadership Committee

This briefing is available to any Lodge upon request Questions This briefing is available to any Lodge upon request