Grand Master's Listening Tour

We try to be an organization they can be proud of. 

As far as bringing in good men, it is crucial to let the community know what your lodge does to make that community a better place in which to live. 

For example, we recently donated $3600 to a local shelter for battered women. They needed upgrades to their building as well as long overdue maintenance. Of course this was publicized in our Grand Lodge publications, but we also made sure to send out a press release to the local newspaper. No, we don't do charitable work for the recognition, but why not let the community know what we are all about?

Our lodge is in a small town (about 3400 souls). Our lodge is on the "main drag" and people drive by our building every day, but unless they know what actually goes on inside, why would they want to join? When people see articles like this in the newspaper, this takes some of the "mystery" out of Freemasonry. When they see enough of these articles, that might be just what it takes to get them curious enough to make an inquiry about joining because they want to be part of an organization like ours that has such a positive impact on the community... their community.

Once someone is Raised, we don't ask them what they would like to do for the lodge. We tell them about our various committees (Charities, Golf Tournament, Membership, Building & Grounds, Ritual, etc.) and ask which one they want to serve on. 

The bottom line is that we can't expect these newly minted Master Masons to keep showing up just to attend regular stated communications or business meetings. If we don't get them to play an active role in their lodge, they won't keep coming back.