Adding Excitement to Your Kiwanis Club!

Ron Jackson, 1999-2000 Georgia Kiwanis District Governor

Introduction

A.Image you are at your favorite college campus for a Saturday afternoon football game

Exciting time and place!

1.Going to be a great game this afternoon -- have anticipated this game all week

2.You are with some of your favorite friends --going to cheer on your favorite team

3.Sights and Sounds

B.World Series Game in 1999,  game two – Atlanta v Yankees

1.All Century Team

a)Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Brooks Robinson, Johnny Bench

b)But also:  Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Pete Rose, Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra

c)Ted Williams

C.Why were these events exciting?

1.Something you really enjoy and like to do

2.Anticipation of the event

3.With friends and people who had a common interest

4.Having fun!

5.Colorful and dramatic setting

6.Unexpected can happen at any time

7.Proud of your team and their accomplishments

8.Having a common vision – winning the game or winning a championship

• This is how we can make our clubs exciting as well!

• Kiwanis is about service

• To make your club

– or any endeavor --

more effective, there must be excitement!

• A function of attitude

Examples of exciting clubs

1.Atlanta KC

a)Buzz when you enter the room for a meeting

b)Interesting and notable speakers

c)Prominent people in the community are members

d)Club is involved in significant projects

2.Marietta Golden K

a)Meeting is the high point of the week for members

b)Events/projects all week long

c)People glad to see their friends

3.Swainsboro KC

a)Part of the community

b)Members become good friends

c)Proud of their accomplishments

4.Waynesboro KC, Waynesboro, Virginia

a)Enjoyed being together

b)Proud of their latest project

c)Part of the community

Foundations for Adding Excitement to your club!

1.Excited vision of what can be

a)Vision is a look at what the future can be

1)Can your club members look into the future and see a newer, bigger, better, more effective Kiwanis Club?  

2)Or do they see in 5 years the same old club, doing the same old things, in the same old ways?

b)Dream big

2.Excited leadership

a)Leadership is the foundation of the attitude and vision of the club

1)An excited leader infects the rest of the club with excitement

2)Conversely, a leader who is not excited can kill a club

b)Siemens:  “Failure has gone to their head!”  “Some leaders see problems as stepping stones. 

Negative leaders see problems as tombstones.”

c)Absolutely critical who you pick as a leader

1)Do they always want his/her way?

2)Do they look/act like they would rather be anywhere else?

3)Do they have a track record for being working well with others and as an achiever?

4)Do they always seem to dwell on the negative?

d)Murphy’s Law:  Nothing is as easy as it seems; everything takes longer that you expect; and if anything can go wrong,

it will go wrong.”

e)What about this Law: “Nothing is as difficult as it seems; everything is easier than you expect; and if anything can go

right, it will at the best possible moment.”

3.Excited members

a)On a mission

Nine Ideas for Making your Club Exciting!

1.Have a common vision -- believe in what you are doing

a)Can’t be just one person’s vision

b)Can be developed by a few but the whole club must “buy in”

c)Must keep it on the minds of members

1)What gets talked about, gets done

2)What gets trained for, gets done

3)What gets measured, bets done

4)What gets budgeted, gets done

5)What gets rewarded, gets done

d)Think big and don’t ever give up on your vision

2.Have great club meetings

a)Make sure your club meeting is the most positive place in town!

b)Make sure your members and guests feel welcomed

1)Name badges for members

2)Name tags and proper introductions and hosting for guests

c)Make sure your meeting is well planned and thought out

1)One of the worst things you can do is to have an unplanned or half-planned agenda

2)Have a written agenda you have actually thought about, not just copied from last week

3)Coordinate with all involved

4)Think about timing for your meeting – make sure you get everything done without running out of time

d)Have fun during your meetings

1)Train your members to come to meetings expecting fun

2)Fun Facts or Mystery Kiwanian

3)Happy Bucks

4)President (or someone else) tells a joke, etc.

5)Kiwanis Sherriff who assesses "fines" for "offenses" –

•Having your picture in the paper without your Kiwanis pin on

•Attending a meeting without your Kiwanis pin on

e)Expect the unexpected

1)Change your meeting order around

2)Have new and different things at your meetings

3)Have tradition but don’t get in a rut

f)Recognize members

1)Serious recognitions

a.Legion of Honor

b.Perfect Attendance tabs

c.Recognitions for “Above and Beyond”

d.Your own club recognitions

2)Fun recognitions

g)Caution!  No dull zone!

h)Make your club meeting the place to be

3.Have great club programs

a)Have topical and interesting presenters

1.Think big – ask the Kiwanis Governor, your Congressman or some other prominent person

2.Remember:  This will be the first impression you make on your guests!

3.Don’t have the same topic too frequently

b)Have programs that involve the community and stress your role in it

a.Have programs related to the projects in which you are involved

b.Recognize achievement in the community

1)Teachers of the Year

2)Public Safety Officer of the year

4.Have an busy, active club

a)Make sure you are involved in a number of different areas of the community

1)Don’t spread your members too thin but stay busy

2)Have projects for all of your members regardless of age, gender or level of activity

3)Have frequent projects even if all of them are not big productions. 

4)Rule of thumb: one project per week at a minimum, depending on the size of your club

5.Stay in touch with each other

a)Have an e-mail mail list and use it frequently

1)Keep your distribution list private so that you control the frequency and subject matter distributed

b)Get a website – it is an online brochure for the community and a source of information for your members

1)Keep it current

c)Have an active Human and Spiritual Aims Committee or Sunshine Committee

1)Empower them to stay in touch with those not present, those sick or who have illness or death in the family,

and to recognize accomplishment

6.Add members

a)Do this frequently

b)You can not overestimate how much excitement this brings to a club!

c)This is the second most important thing a Kiwanis Club does

d)New members bring new life, enthusiasm and new ideas

e)Have a new member orientation immediately and involve them early

7.Have fun between meetings

a)Attend non-Kiwanis community events together

b)Human and Spiritual or some other committee plans frequent events

1)Holiday party

2)Community concerts, etc.

8.Take pride in your club

a)Promote your club

1)Send items to the Georgia Kiwanian in Macon

2)Send items to your local paper

3)When you have a big name speaker or a big project, invite the media to attend

4)Think of other ways to maintain a high profile

•For example:  KCHR bought an event tent and a banner that we use.  This tent shows up

everywhere in Roswell.

•Community events like art fairs, parades

b)Make sure your awards banners are prominently displayed and current

9.Remember that nothing great happens overnight

a)Making your vision a reality will take time but don’t give up

b)A clear vision drives goals, goals drive smaller steps, all aimed at fulfilling the vision

c)Take a step at a time – building a great building

1)You can’t fully know your impact or influence

2)To you it may be something small, but in the final analysis it may be big

d)You never “arrive” – always room for improvement