Is your lodge looking for a fun and unique event to host this summer? Have you considered a Midsummer celebration? While these celebrations are relatively commonplace throughout Europe, they are hard to come by in the United States. This makes it a great opportunity to celebrate an element of Norwegian culture many people may not be familiar with. Let’s walk through [...]
After the excitement of Syttende Mai has passed many lodges use the summer months as a time to catch their breath and take the summer off, but that would be a missed opportunity. Today, many members of Sons of Norway, especially those with families, are too busy with other commitments to make it to a monthly meeting. This means they'll attend [...]
Are you making a New Year's resolution? Do you, your board, or your lodge as a whole have any for the year to come? Now is the perfect time to start thinking about it; will your lodge make a point to recruit more members, ensure more renew next year? Many lodges will no doubt make these types of resolutions, and they're [...]
Since the Spotlight on Volunteerism program began nearly two years ago, one lodge has stood out for its commitment to giving back to the community. Normanden 4-424 in Missoula, MT has made volunteerism an integral part of their lodge programming. The lodge has been at it again, this time working in support of Opportunity Resources, an organization in Missoula that helps [...]
Throughout the summer, we've been learning from the leadership of Nordlyset 5-183 in Racine, WI about the changes the lodge has made that have allowed it to be one of the fastest growing lodges in the organization. A highly successful membership breakfast and a greater emphasis on programming that attracts members of all ages are both contributing factors to the lodge's [...]
With fall right around the corner and lodges beginning to meet more regularly, now is the perfect time to start planning events and programs, establish recruitment goals and develop new strategies for your lodge heading into the busy holiday season. Why now? Because the period between Thanksgiving and the New Year is when lodges typically attract the most new members. Is [...]
Is your lodge ready for the new year? If you recall from the October issue of R&R, elections are an important and exciting time for a lodge.This article discusses how mentoring newly elected leadership will help officers transition into some of the regular tasks and routines they will experience in their new role. So with transitions being so crucial to the [...]
This month's issue of the R&R Newsletter has an exciting new addition! We bring you a special report from Ralph Peterson, the Chairman of the Vice Presidents' Network*, about the progress we've made so far in the area of membership retention and challenges we still face in recruiting new members. Dear Sons of Norway Leaders, As an elected officer of your [...]
In last month's R&R, we discussed the various ways your lodge can help improve retention rates for members. While retention should be a constant goal, recruiting new members is different. For many lodges, it happens in waves with the late fall and spring being the busiest times of the year for recruiting. Converesly, summer is generally a low period. Some lodges [...]
Is your lodge looking for a way to spice up the Cultural Skills or Sports Medal programs? Consider following Edmonds' (#2-130 in Edmonds, WA) example. The lodge has challenged other nearby lodges to a competition to see who could collect the most medals. What resulted was an increased participation in the Cultural Skills and Sports Medal programs and a whole lot [...]
