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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>It sounds like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to make this meeting an all or nothing proposition. I am not saying this to be critical, but to encourage you to take a little of the pressure off. Think of this as a meeting where you are cranking up the car on a cold winter day. It will take a little while for the car to heat up, but it will be a good start. Like David Andrew said, provide food. Have a short program, but leave time to give people a chance to reconnect or meet for the first time. The Personal connections will be what brings people back to the organization, so let them mingle. Also, let people know that masks and plenty of hand sanitizer will be available for anyone who may be apprehensive about getting out in a larger group Setting. We are reorganizing some chapters in our state and enlisting the help of our state’s Talking Books Service. You could do that too and ask them to distribute letters about the meeting to their patrons in those counties or ZIP codes. That way, they are not vilating privacy, and your chapter may find lots of new members. Lastly, I would suggest having something they can take with them that has the contact info, meeting time, etc. for the next meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none'>I hope this helps.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none'>Shannon Cook<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none'>Member, National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none'>The greatest investment you can make in this world is kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='mso-ligatures:none'> NFB-Talk <nfb-talk-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Tina Hansen via nFB-Talk<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, May 27, 2023 10:00 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'NFB Talk Mailing List' <nfb-talk@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> Tina Hansen <th404@comcast.net><br><b>Subject:</b> [NFB-Talk] Addressing Open House Concerns<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First off, thank you to the person who sent me the link to our page on building membership. That might get us started.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>But I also just want to express a few observations.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I can understand the pandemic has turned everything upside down, and that some people still don’t feel safe going out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Ever since our attempts 3 weeks ago, I’ve been wrestling with this. It seems that on my own, I feel I can’t find ways to find a middle ground. Here’s what I’m thinking.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First off is the tension I feel with information versus entertainment. There’s so much one can say about our organization, but how much are people willing to take? If we focus too much on presenters only, there’s a chance of people getting restless. Yet if we go to the other extreme and just do activities, some will wonder what the point is.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Another tug of war I feel is based on how long our segments should be. It seems that our sound bite world likes everything in 10-second segments, but that doesn’t allow for any substance.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I also feel a tension about offering gimmicks or artificially having to prop up everything versus just doing this solely based on internal motivations. Gimmicks or incentives might create false expectations if we depend on them, so I’d like to start with something and then move past that.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I understand this is true all over the country.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I feel like we’re running into the proverbial chicken and egg problem. To get a lot done, we need to build up our chapter, but we can’t do a lot with just one or two people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In short, it seems we may need to start from scratch.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So does anyone have any thoughts on my observations or suggestions on how to either live with these tensions or get past them? Thanks.<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>