MAKE A NOTE!! -- NOVEMBER 1, 1997

CIRCULATION 54

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PTA AND OTHER GATHERINGS(READER REQUESTED)

One reader had written & asked for good ideas, info, membership perk ideas, etc. for improving PTA efforts. One of the biggest problems for organizations that require an active membership is that people have such hectic schedules today, that the last thing most of them want is another meeting to attend. I think the majority of us would say that most of the meetings we attend are poorly run, end up starting & ending late, and contain a lot of material that we just don't need. One of the best ways to increase participation is to get the reputation of running your meetings well. This requires someone who can move things along efficiently, and maintain control of the meeting. If the leader is unable to do this, then he(please read he/she for rest of article) should appoint someone else to run the meeting after his initial introduction. If there are mostly women at the meeting then it is nice to have a social time maybe 15 min before the meeting. Women are more likely to call up friends they have met at the meetings & car pool, which often gets people there who might not come on their own. Also women look forward to seeing friends they have met at meetings. If the membership is mostly men, then shorten or eliminate the social time, men usually want the bottom line when they are attending a meeting. For most men, a meeting is a meeting & socializing is for another time. How many of you wives have heard your husbands ask you, "What's the bottom line?" or "What's the point?" when you already thought you were condensing the account? :-) Another option is to have separate social events or gatherings on other days. Keep the meetings down to 1-11/2 hrs, start on time, and end on time. Limit announcements which always seem to involve too many people and end up eating valuable time. Also limit audience participation, including Q & A sessions (instead "see me AFTER the

meeting if you have any questions"), as much as possible. If you are looking for ideas for a project & it isn't urgent, pass around a sign up sheet for people to put their ideas down. One thing our homeschool group leader started last year, was eliminating verbal announcements and having a table near the entrance where people could put flyers with their announcements for people to pick up before or after the meetings. This really cut down on the length of the meeting and I really think was a stroke of genius. But you have to stick to your guns. Make an

announcement that any future announcements will have to be in flyer form & make only rare exceptions. If they don't care enough about the announcement to have flyers done, then it probably isn't that important. If there are sign up sheets, then put an explanation on the top of each one so you don't have to do it verbally. Be sure to pass sign up sheets around rather than leaving them on the table, you will end up with more signatures. When someone volunteers for something, be sure to call them about a week before the event volunteered for to remind them what they signed up for. If they suddenly say they are unable to do it, suggest they call around to find a substitute & let you know when they find one. Don't volunteer to try to do it for them, but do have a back up plan. Try to plan any meetings for Mon, Tue, or Thur at 7pm. Fri, Sat, & Sun are usually very busy family days, Wed are a favorite church activity night. Why 7pm?

Because usually people have had time to get dinner, a spouse usually has arrived home to act as babysitter so at least one parent can attend, and it isn't late enough to deter. When someone new joins the group, a regular should try to be a friend and make them feel at ease & introduce them to other members. Be sure to call the person or send them a note thanking them for attending the first time & letting them know they are welcome to come again. Our church takes a loaf of bread (w/the Bread of Life verse attached) to the visitors who put their address in the guest book just to drop off and say that we appreciate their being there. After that it

would be nice for the new friend to call the visitor & invite them to car pool, or just to say hi. A fun thing to do would be to have a free door prize, no selling of tickets, just a drawing for a prize just for attending. An easy way to do this is to have name tags dropped into a bowl

near the end of the meeting (fold them in half first), since you should always have name tags to help people get to know each other. Draw one of the name tags out & award the prize. Or you could put a sticker under a chair that is in an area you know will be filled for the people to find, but don't be surprised if future meetings find people looking under chairs. Pass around a sign up sheet for the door prizes. This wouldn't have to be anything fancy, it could be as simple as a batch of homemade cookies, or as elaborate as gift certificates or donated items from stores (often they will donate in exchange for a bit of publicity--"I'd like to thank John Doe's store for donating the prize tonight, they are located at....etc, etc"). For PTA, but this could be adapted to other groups, have a parent adopt a teacher, or vice versa, remember them on special occasions and remind members of special occasions with suggestions for things to do. Be

sure to publicize your meetings as much as possible. Most media companies (radio, TV, papers) will do free community event announcements, also remember to post things on bulletin boards and send reminders by mail or email if possible. Give people at least 10 days notice, so there is time to find sitters. Encourage members to invite a new person to each meeting. Maybe give a prize out for whoever brings the most visitors in a year, or whoever brought the most people in their car that night. Now that I have made all these suggestions for meetings, I'd like to encourage you not to forget those whose schedules may not allow them to attend, but can still

help at times, & also need to be informed. Sometimes newsletters (mailed or emailed) can fill the gap and help people at least feel connected even if they cannot/don't participate. AVOID if at all possible...fund raising sales, and meetings where people have to spend money. The latter because there are always people who may be in more difficult financial circumstances than others. The former because I think most people are tired of their kids having to sell things and tired of having to buy things. One private school up in Philly used to have two tuition pricing plans. You could pay a smaller fee and were required to sell at least a certain amount of fund raising material, or you could pay the higher fee and avoid selling anything. Most of the things the kids sell, they get such a small percentage of, it would be wiser to seek business donations. For example on Girl Scout cookies, it used to be (may still be), that they got 20 cents on a $2 box. I would much rather just make a $2 donation to the troop than buy the cookies(no flame wars from the scout family readers, I was a scout from Brownies to Seniors). I think my parents would probably have preferred to just make a donation of $20 than to "help" me sell 100 boxes of cookies. And let's face it, most of the time, it is the parents who do the most selling and leg work. These are just a few ideas for meetings & making your meetings the kind that people want to attend & participate in. I would like to encourage readers who have any further ideas to send them to me and I will post them in the next Make a Note. POST IT...near your calendar or in your meeting folders.

ALONG THE SAME LINES...HOW DOES (CHURCH) GROWTH OCCUR?

Lakeside Wesleyan Church, Lakeside, CA did a survey to try to find out why people attend a particular church. I think most of these ideas would apply to just about all groups/clubs, & not just churches. 1% join because of a special crusade, such as a revival (seminars,

speakers, etc) 2% join because of general visitation by the pastor(group leaders, etc) 3% join because of some special & unique need 6% join because the church has a good pastor (group leader, etc) 6% just walk in & join on their own 7% join because of a good church school

10% join because the church has a good program for children, youth, adults 65% join because THEY ARE INVITED BY FRIENDS, RELATIVES, OR OTHER Church MEMBERS. POST IT...in your church/group bulletins, newsletters, etc.

CHRISTMAS REMINDERS (Only 55 days until Christmas)

Should be Done...Christmas pictures, gifts bought. To do in November....in most areas the Christmas Shoeboxes (Operation Christmas Child) will have to be turned in the week of the 17th. Don't miss out on this opportunity to touch a child's life in such a special way. Buy Christmas stamps, start writing if you do handwritten notes in each card, or compose your Christmas

letter, copy it, address & stamp envelopes, but don't seal until closer to mailing dates in case you want to add a note. You can do this while you are watching TV, or if you get stuck in a waiting room somewhere. Mail presents BEFORE THANKSGIVING(26 days left). Come on folks, you're in the homestretch now. POST IT...on the fridge & calendar.

MYSTERIES FOR FUN (Courtesy of Susan Casinelli)

There is a great web site with short little mysteries to solve each week. They have a 5 minute mystery every Monday and all the winners go into a pool to receive a prize. It is really a lot of fun and gets those brain juices flowing. They do give you the solutions too, so you won't be kept in suspense. Check it out at www.thecase.com POST IT...by your

computer.

REQUESTS

Please send me subjects you would like to see covered in future mailings. Make-A-Note@worldnet.att.net

JOKE (Courtesty of Susan Casinelli, an RN, so no flame war please :-)

Three nurses died & went to Heaven, where they were met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter. To the first, he asked, "So, what did you used to do back on Earth? Why do you think you should be allowed to come into Heaven?" "I was a nurse at an inner city hospital, " she replied. "I worked to bring healing & peace to many sufferers, especially poor, helpless children."

"Very noble," said St. Peter. "You may enter," and in through the Gates she went. To the next, he asked the same question, "So what did you used to do?" "I was a nurse at a missionary hospital in the Amazon basin," she replied. "For many years, I worked with a skeleton crew of doctors and nurses who tried to reach out to as many people across numerous tribes, with a hand of healing & peace, and with the message about God's love." "How touching," said St. Peter. "You too, may enter." And in she went. He then came to the last nurse, to whom he asked, "So what did you used to do back on Earth?" After some hesitation, she explained, "I was just a

nurse at an HMO." St Peter pondered this for a moment, and then said, "Ok, you may enter, too." "Whew!" said the nurse. "For a moment there, I thought you weren't going to let me in." "Oh, you can come in," said St. Peter, "but you can only stay for 3 days." :-)

QUOTE

"Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are, - - One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. 

---excerpt from "Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson

God Bless, Sharon

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