| YOUTH PROGRAMS
Sponsoring local public speaking contests will also allow you to invite nonmembers to your castle hall and find out information about our Order, while enjoying the speakers. Be sure to advertise the event in local newspapers. There should be a table set up with Pythian information and a signup sheet. Talk about the Knights of Pythias at the event and hand out our cards to guests. Follow up with letters to participants’ families telling them more about the Knights of Pythias. Inform them of our membership drive and whom to contact if interested. Participate in the Eagle Scout program and have someone in your lodge make presentations to the eagle scouts, and publicize it. OTHER SPECIAL PROGRAMS In addition to informal meetings mentioned previously, other programs may include dinners, breakfasts, and brunches. Try to schedule these functions so that you can advertise them in your local newspaper as well as personally inviting friends and relatives. Always try to make the program interesting and do not pressure the prospective member. Basically, inform him of what we do and what we offer. Let him meet the brothers and enjoy the program. Hold honor nights at least once a year to honor someone(s) in the community or in the lodge. Make sure it is an open meeting, advertise it, and try to invite nonmembers who know the honoree, to attend. Invite prospective members to this and any open meeting. The Supreme Lodge has Medallions that can be obtained to give to an honoree. Contact the Grand Lodge Membership Chairman or any Grand Lodge Officer for information. REFERRALS After you bring in new members, get them involved (see ‘retention’ below, especially the Mentor (Big Brother program)), then ask them to provide referrals of men they know who are not Pythians. Encourage new members to talk to their friends and anyone else they know about joining them as Pythians. Offer to take names and phone numbers and call if the new member does not feel comfortable doing so. PYTHIAN SISTERS We need to support the Pythian Sister Shining Star Temple in Fair Lawn, as well as look to start a new temple in the Southern part of the state. If we can get women to join the Pythian Sisters, we may then be able to get the men in their lives to become Pythian Brothers. RANK WORK It is very important that we not wait long to bring in the prospective members. Rank Work must be scheduled as soon as possible. If necessary, more than one rank work can be done during the year. Please immediately contact the Grand Lodge Membership Chairman after you identify a prospective member who is interested in joining. If assistance is needed, please contact either the Grand Lodge Membership Chairman or the Instruction Chairman. Lodges may do their own Rank Work or join with other to have joint Rank Work. If the Grand Lodge is informed that there are 6 or more definite candidates in either the North or South, the Grand Lodge may then offer a 3-in-l rank work, probably on a Sunday and provide all or part of the Rank Team. RETENTION New Members: MENTOR PROGRAM. It is important to get new members immediately involved with the workings of the lodge and the Order. Consider a Mentor program, where an experienced, active Pythian is assigned to each new member. One’s Mentor should call the new member to remind him of meetings and ask him to join committees that he is involved with. Also, discuss in what committees the new member may be interested; see that he is put on those committees. The Mentor should also make sure the new member is introduced to other knights and feels comfortable at the meetings. Also, find out what type of activities the new member would like to see at meetings or social functions. Consider trying to run such activities with the new member invited to participate on the committee. |
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