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Planning For
the Next Administration |
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Prospective Members
Participation at Meetings |
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Moving Through the Process
and Events |
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Planning For the
Next Administration |
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Past
Organizing Secretary General Jean Dixon Mann stated
that the most common reason for disbandment is “we can’t get
officers.” |
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Treat the Vice Regent position as important rather than
someone who just steps in when the Regent is absent. The
expectation should be that the Vice Regent will become the
next Regent. The current Regent should include the Vice
Regent in her plans and decisions so that the Vice Regent is
well trained to assume the position of Regent. The
Regent should provide the Vice Regent with a copy of the
Chapter Regent's Manual &
Parliamentary Procedure Guide. |
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Appoint two assistants, one for the Registrar and one for
the Treasurer, who will be trained to take over the officer
position in the next administration. |
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The NSDAR online
Genealogy Education Programs (GEP) I, II,
and III might be too expensive for
some members. If a new Registrar (and/or Assistant
Registrar) is taking office in your chapter, consider
funding some of the expense for this training from the
chapter's treasury. Current Registrars
can also take the free
Registrar Training Course. |
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Prospective Members
Moving Through the Process |
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Honorary
President General
Ann Turner Dillon stated that
membership is the responsibility of the ENTIRE chapter, and
chapter membership needs to increase by 10% every year. |
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Encourage your chapter
members to get their friends, co-workers, and neighbors to
complete as much as they know about their parents,
grandparents, and great-grandparents on this one-page
Genealogy Worksheet.
For instructions on what to do once the prospective member
returns the Genealogy Worksheet to you, watch the 30-minute
video "How
to Find a Provable Patriot in 90 Minutes or Less." |
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Have a contest with a prize for gathering the most Genealogy
Worksheets that turn out to have eligible lineages.
(Not all Genealogy Worksheets will have lineages that can be
proven.) For example, one chapter pays the dues for the member
who brings the most Genealogy Worksheets with provable
lineages. |
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Get involved in local events. Your community needs to
know that you are in town. Have a
table at one or more community events with a
sign-up sheet
for interested attendees.
Email the Genealogy Worksheet to them. |
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Sponsor a genealogy
workshop, and publicize it heavily. Pass out the
Genealogy Worksheet.
Click here for an
outline for conducting a genealogy workshop. |
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Have a member speak about DAR to other organizations in your
area, and pass out the Genealogy Worksheet. |
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Memorize a two-sentence DAR "elevator speech" and share it
with the ladies you meet at church, the grocery store, the
library, the doctor's office, etc. An "elevator
speech" is a 30-second advertisement that you can tell
someone in a very short period of time, such as the time it
takes an elevator to go from the first floor to the 10th
floor. Honorary President General Merry Ann T.
Wright's elevator speech was: |
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The DAR is a volunteer service organization based on lineage
to someone who fought or gave aid to the American
Revolution. We preserve historic buildings and artifacts;
provide contests, awards and scholarships; support schools
and develop good citizens while celebrating the exceptional
events in our American history. |
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Print the elevator speech on the back of your business cards
so prospective members can take the information with them. |
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Create a chapter brochure, and place it at local libraries. |
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Update your chapter web site. |
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Ask your State's Chapter Development and
Revitalization Commission for help. |
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Participation at
Meetings and Events |
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Honorary
President General
Ann Turner Dillon stated that
the main reason women come back to any organization is
because they make friends. |
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The overall environment of your chapter must be friendly
and welcoming. One of the hardest things to do is to
walk into a room full of women that you do not know.
If a prospective member feels ignored or rejected, she
will never return. Appoint a Membership Committee of 5
friendly members, and assign a committee member to each
prospective member attending a meeting. The committee
member should greet the prospective member, introduce her to
other members, and sit next to her during the meeting. |
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Have two greeters at the door. When a new member or
prospective member arrives, one greeter should introduce her
to the member of the Membership Committee responsible for
introducing her around and sitting with her during the
meeting. |
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Provide good programs. Attend free programs offered by your
local historical society, libraries, women’s club, etc., and
invite good speakers from these events. If your
chapter is in Florida, review the
State Speaker Staff Directory
in the SIP for a list of speakers and
their programs.
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Identify
your chapter members' passions, and choose a couple of
projects that fit with them (e.g., taking cemetery photos,
crocheting mats for the homeless, collecting books for
veterans, etc.). You don't have to do everything.
Focus on a couple of projects that really interest your
members.
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Find out what your new members like to do and suggest ways
for them
to participate based on their interests. |
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Assign friendly and knowledgeable “mentors” to all new
members and prospective members. |
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Evaluate your meeting location, day, and time. |
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Keep the business portion of the meeting to 45 minutes or
less. |
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Establish a telephone committee to call members who have not
attended. |
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Provide an informative newsletter. |
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Provide name tags. |
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Encourage members to carpool whenever possible.
Carpooling is a great way for members to get to know one
another, and as Honorary President General Ann Turner Dillon has
said, "the main reason women come back to any organization
is because they make friends." |
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Invite new members to an orientation event.
Click here for an
outline for conducting a DAR orientation workshop.
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Schedule a couple of fun events each year such as a party,
picnic, spa day, or movie night. Fun, informal events
provide members with an opportunity to get to know one
another. |
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Encourage your members to take NSDAR's
Members Course
and New Horizons Course.
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Select some informative webinars to view on the
NSDAR Webinar Library page
on our Members' Site. NOTE: You must sign in
with your chapter and national number to access the page.
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Get organized! The
"Regent in a Box"
post on the DAR blog has some wonderful
ideas on organizing all the materials that you need as
Regent. |
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