Lions Club members charged on membership growth

By Ifeanyi Eduzor

Members of Lions Club have been urged to put into practice modalities that will help in retaining members as well as attract new membership to its fold.
This was part of the decision arrived at during the recently held District 404B2 Zone 3A 2nd District Governor Advisory Committee meeting concluded at Marble Brand, Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking on the topic, “Strategies for Retention and Membership Growth” the guest speaker, Lion Blessing Umebali identified a few strategies that enhances membership growth which includes but not limited to ; host bringing a friend to meeting, reaching out to former members, helping members to develop an elevator speech about their membership, create a video thank you, encourage and celebrate leaders and outstanding members in your club. Others are; meeting in a public location like park or square as well as doing a follow up and getting feedbacks from prospective members.
According to her, knowledge of how members are communicated to differently will help you to know how to relate with them which at the end help manage people better and differently and by so doing create an atmosphere for a healthy relationship amongst members.
Umeabli also harped on the need for members to invite professional bodies to meetings, share the club’s newsletters and business cards. Attend members’ social events like house warming ceremony, birthdays, weddings, burial ceremonies and others to enable people know how members of the club relate just as she advocated providing members with club’s pin to advertise the club and using social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to publicise the club activities.
She described the topic as very inspiring, for any club to grow even as she enjoined members of Lions club to embrace her suggestions which when implemented will be of great benefit to the club.
” When communication is effectively utilized, activities of your club will flow easily and everyone will be happy for it. But in doing this there are certain things that must be done which includes but not limited to the points I enumerated above.
On leadership qualities, she maintained that a zonal Chairman must conduct himself/ herself properly, positing that the way the person conduct meetings and relate with members will help in not only sustaining membership but attract new people to the club.
” The zonal Chairman and other leaders must be team players and be mindful of how they conduct themselves and meetings because this will go a long way in not only, sustaining your membership but attract new members to your fold.
” They should have meetings in conducive atmosphere, give members sense of belonging by assigning responsibilities to them, show them love and praise them where necessary as this will spur them to do more for the club.
“I believe that if these points I identified are religiously embraced, the question of membership growth and retention will be adequately addressed “, she stressed.
In her remarks, Chairperson Zone 3A, District 404B2, Lion Evelyn Abosede Agbonifo ( NLCF) described the paper as inspiring and commended the guest speaker for doing a good job
Lion Agbonifo popularly known as ‘Madam Service’, described Ikeja Metro Lion Club as a mega club that serves with passion promising that they’ll always mentain the motto of the club which centres on service to humanity.
” You know that membership is the life blood of any organisation. At Ikeja Metro Lions Club, we have 92 members but it is not all about bringing in new members but how to retain them and that was why we choose this topic which I hope served its purpose.
“Ikeja Metro Lions is known for serving with passion and we’ll continue to maintain it. We’re part of Zone 3A comprising ; Ikeja Metro headed by Lion Ikechukwu Godson Anigbo, Lagos Legacy headed by Lion Folashade Olushola Babalola and Ikeja Onyx which we are still working on and and all of us are working towards a common goal which is helping the less privileged members of the society.
” In this club, every month, we have to carry out one project to identify with the needs of the people because we believe that when there is a need, there is a Lion and also to keep with the meaning of the club which is ‘Loving individuals; offering needed service and we will continue to maintain the momentum “, promised Agbonifo who said she would like to be remembered as a person who loves serving.