WK News - Issue 11 (5) - Flipbook - Page 19
ISSUE NO.11 WINTER 2023 | WEST KENT NEWS 19
My 3 tips for retention are:
ASSISTANT PROVINCIAL
GRAND MASTER:
DAVID HUNTLEY
Dear Brethren,
Given the festive season, it was very
heart warming to watch the hundreds
of toys purchased by the Widows
Sons with your generous donations,
being distributed to the various
charities a week ago.
In front of lots of members of the
public at Bromley football club and
the Mayor of Bromley, it shows
everyone the fantastic work we do in
the community but more importantly,
there will be lots of children who will
now receive a present at a difficult
time for their families, when they
would not have received anything at
all otherwise.
I didn9t know Graham particularly well
until I read his history. He was
enormously influential in setting up
the Greenwich and Bexley Cottage
Hospice and became their CEO,
there is far too much to say about
him for this article but it just shows
you, don9t judge or assume anything
about your fellow brethren, we really
do have some wonderful members of
our Province and all the executive
thank you for the wonderful work you
do in our community, most of which
is unnoticed but greatly appreciated.
When visiting lodges, I always talk
about membership, it is the priority
topic for us all and retention of
existing members is just as important
as bringing in new members.
Hold social functions, they are key
in keeping members engaged and
bringing family, partners and spouses
together and making one feel
included.
Listen to your members, my mother
lodge recently held a social evening
for our younger/newer members in an
Indian
restaurant,
when
we
encouraged them to speak honestly
and freely as to why many didn't
make a lot of the meetings, they all
said that our start time made it
difficult to attend, we've taken this
onboard and are now planning a later
start and encouraging the second
entrance initiative.
Pick up the phone. When a
members hasn't been seen for 1 or 2
meetings, he is a resignation waiting
to happen, a simple phone call -not
just from the Almoner, can make all
the difference and make a member
feel less isolated, more inclined to reattend and feel wanted. It's a very
simple thing to do and it works!
As an APGM, I get to undertake some
very humbling duties such as the
recent 50th year long service citation
to W.Bro Graham Collet.
I wish everyone a happy Christmas, a
healthy and prosperous New Year, look
after one and another. We are all
Brothers.