ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

Northeastern District

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: March 1, 2004 Successful Membership Seminar Volume 2004 -Issue 9

This past Saturday, Bill Lyles led an interesting seminar on membership retention. Bill is currently with the Richmond Virginians. He put together this membership retention program while he was a member of the Vocal Majority. The program focuses on the processes that are necessary to welcome new guests, to make them feel comfortable, and to successfully get them through the transition period from being a guest to becoming an active member of the chorus.

The seminar was well attended, with participants from Harmony Inc. and Sweet Adelines, and barbershoppers from several NED chapters, including South Shore, Plattsburgh, Burlington and Lowell. District President Alan Lamson and District VP for Membership Walt Lane and his wife Sandy also attended. Thanks to Alan Kenley for organising this seminar.

Your membership team has been working hard for quite some time putting together our own membership program. Some of the building blocks of this program are already in place, including up-to-date guest books, our new welcome song and full repertoire CD’s.

Alan Kenley and Al Mahoney are now putting the finishing touches on an information package for guests and prospective members. Their work to date, and the added information from this weekend’s seminar will provide the tools we need to develop our chapter membership.

The real key to successfully retaining new members is to ensure that each person who walks through the door on Monday evening enjoys his experience. That relies on each of us to do our part. The membership team needs the help of each and every member to make sure that every guest feels welcome. Let’s each do our part to ensure that each guest enjoys his first barbershop experience enough that it isn’t his last barbershop experience.

Membership starts with ME!

May 29 is Show Time! Have you sold any ads yet? How about tickets? Have you thought about people you would like to invite to see you do "that thing you do on Monday nights?"

We should be able to sell out the Salle Pierre Mercure, and have a great program. Give ticket money to Ray Watkins.

We have two great quartets coming. Four Voices were the 2002 International Champions and The Gas House Gang won gold in 1993, but they keep getting better! Tony De Rosa will be singing baritone with the Gang when they are with us here in Montreal. It should be a blast.

Of course you know that we are singing very well and that we are learning a bunch of great new songs.

[Mounting soapbox.]

There is always a danger of getting to preachy when offering opinions, but here I go anyway.

As Alan MacKenzie described in his message regarding the Membership Seminar held Saturday, each of us must do his part to make the Chapter and the Chorus a success.

If we want to start on time and have the full evening available to practice and learn, I have to arrive on time. I also have to have learned the notes and words to the songs. I have to learn the choreography, so that the songs look good as well as sound good.

The Chapter Leadership has a responsibility to provide me with the tools so that I can do all these things. Well, let's have a quick look. I know that rehearsal starts promptly at 7:30. The onus is on me to be there -- on time.

Score one for the leadership.

I have been given music and learning CDs for our repertoire, so I have the tools to learn the notes and the words.

That is two for the leadership.

I did receive instruction on the choreography, but the tools to help me retain it aren't as good as for the rest of our toolkit.

Okay, so here is a place where we can improve our leadership.

My point is that WE are the leadership. If something isn't working the way you would like, help to fix it, or don't complain. Offer to work on a committee. Suggest a way to improve a process. Be a leader!

[Dismounting Soapbox.]

Practice is something we do at home, every day, between rehearsals!

Rehearsal is where we reinforce what we have been practising every day!