"Lets Get Physical"
It has been my years as a Club Leadership Education trainer that have shaped my views on the future of Kiwanis. I believe the Club President, who has the most direct influence on the membership, is the key to providing a quality club experience. I believe it will be the quality of the local club experience that will attract and keep members in our organization.
I believe we are recruiting enough members for most clubs to grow, but we are doing a poor job of retaining them. We need to put as much emphasis on retention as we did on recruiting. Too often, once we give them their Kiwanis pin, we congratulate ourselves and forget them.
I read about a hundred articles each month in district, club, and various publications about Kiwanis. Many have been very inspiring and address great leadership issues. However, I choose this web page to focus on the President. The following story explores the importance of the physical club environment.
A new enthusiastic Lt. Governor visited one of his clubs to make his first talk. In this small town, a club of about 15 members were meeting in the basement of one of the few restaurants. You could enter from the rear parking lot into the basement, but the place was dark and dreary. The former white ceiling tiles were dark from smoke and grease. The wall was a dark wood paneling. While there were several half windows, the lighting was not adequate. There were some old built-in counters, no longer in use, taking up much of the room and making the place look crowded. To summarize this place, it was a dump. To summarize this club, it was dying.
Instead of his planned speech about membership, the Lt. Governor began a dialog to find out why this club was satisfied with these arrangements. He found they had gone to the owner and requested some remodeling, but the owner simply could not afford it. This was also the only suitable place in town to meet. He challenged this club to think outside the box and take this on as a club remodeling project. The club had funds and was very active in their community. But they could not attract new members and/or keep their regular ones.
Six months later, the Lt. Governor visited this club again and found a transformed show place. The club president talked the owner into buying most of the materials and the club provided the labor. There was new carpet, white sheet rocked walls, and Kiwanis curtains on the windows made by a member. The place and atmosphere was bright and simply cheerful. There were tablecloths on the tables and Kiwanis promotional materials at the newly designed entry. The Lt. Governor also found something that shocked him even more; the club had grown to 55 members in only six months.
I said this was a story. It is not true. It has probably happened somewhere in Kiwanis, but I made it up as the best way to show how the leadership of a Lt. Governor and a club president changed this dying club.
One can make a difference -- Are you the one?