Recruitment, Retention & Retrieval (June 2007)

You may remember that I concluded my last report on the above subject, with the comment that, this time round, I would tell you about the "Value Statement" the Province is putting together to aid the progress of the recruitment of new members.

The catalyst for this "Value Statement", which our Provincial Grand Master spoke about in his address to the assembled Brethren at Provincial Grand Lodge last October, arose from a couple of separate incidents this time last year. Two unconnected Masonic friends of mine each made an impassioned plea to me for some practical help in "selling" the idea of Freemasonry to potential recruits, perhaps in the form of a benefits package or a similar document, outlining the advantages of membership.

One of these requests coincided with a speech I had the pleasure of listening to given by the Pro Grand Master, the Marquess of Northampton, urging Freemasons everywhere to talk openly and freely about their membership of our Fraternity. In his opinion, our members are the key element in the overall strategy to promote the good works of Freemasonry, so that it might survive and flourish in this modern world.

Whilst fully supporting this strategy, I have often felt that a significant majority of our members not only find it very difficult to respond adequately to the relatively negative nature of the questions they occasionally receive from potentially interested third parties, but also find it quite challenging to give really good reasons why someone should join us. And that is precisely what my friends were saying to me.

Anyway, it struck me quite plainly what we had to do about it. Give our members the ammunition to go out and win the hearts and minds of all those who doubt our value to society in general. In other words, provide them with the information to do so, in a format everyone can understand.

And that is what your Provincial Executive has now done. A small committee has put together a pocket-size brochure that can be used for handing out to "all and sundry", giving a brief but wide-ranging overview of what Freemasonry in Buckinghamshire is all about, as well as an aide-memoire (almost akin to a "ritual book" on the benefits of membership) providing quick "one-liners" in answer to those awkward questions we normally "dry up" on.

These two handy documents have been trialled throughout the Province to about 100 members, including the "Bloggers" (unofficial membership secretaries, I have spoken about in previous updates). They seem to have been received with universal acclaim and, having adopted and adopted some helpful comments received along the way, they are now ready to be used throughout the Province, and indeed will have gone to print by the time this update goes online.

It is the Provincial Grand Master's intention that a copy of both of these brochures will be sent to every member in the Province, personally, during the latter part of August, with extra supplies being made available to all who want them through Lodge Secretaries and Masonic centres thereafter.

You know, I showed the finished article to one of those two friends of mine. He was thrilled. He can't wait to use it!

I also showed it to a very senior "old traditionalist" in the Province…………"been a long time coming" he complained; "should have had it years ago…". There's nothing like a back-handed compliment, is there?

Clifford Drake