Last month, Sons of Norway had the opportunity to catch up with Bruce Johnson, the Membership Director of Maine Nordmenn 3-664. The only lodge in Maine is located in Falmouth, about 15 minutes north of Portland and is also one of Sons of Norway’s newer lodges. It was instituted 2003 and now boasts an impressive membership of over 140 members.
We took some time to find some of the secrets to Maine Nordmenn’s success.
SN: So Mr. Johnson, what are some of the ways you’ve gotten members of your lodge active?
BJ: Well we try to do fun activities; ones with a cultural connection. Mary (lodge president, and Bruce’s wife) and I host a book club at our home. Nearly 70% of the lodge participates in the club and we usually do a breakfast afterwards. Another one of our members has a woodcarving group that meets. There are a lot of different ways people can explore their Norwegian roots. We had rosemaling classes this summer that brought in four new members to the lodge.
SN: That sounds great. Besides monthly events, does your lodge do anything special?
BJ: This summer we had a special tour of House Island, which was narrated. On the island we had a lobster dinner. We had a pretty good turnout. Our Syttende Mai picnic had 60 attendees. We held it at a wildlife park and got a great response. We even brought in 3 new members. I think we’ll look at continuing it there in the future.
SN: That sounds great. Has it always been so easy?
BJ: We adapted ourselves to meet the needs of our members. We made a real effort to promote a family atmosphere, which has paid off. We’ve signed up whole families, which has been a great boost to our membership. We’ve also put a greater emphasis on our cultural programming. People visit for our programs and tend to stay because of our clubs and classes.
Strong cultural programming and family friendly atmosphere are the key’s Maine Nordmenn’s success. Now is a perfect time to begin evaluating your lodge’s programs before the start of the year.
Ask yourself:
- Do members attend our programs or activities?
- Do guests attend them?
- What are we doing to promote ourselves?
- Can we do better?
Does Your Lodge Have a Success Story that You’d Like to Share?
Contact Joe Eggers, Membership Coordinator, at (800) 945-8851 or [email protected]. Your story could appear in an upcoming issue of R&R!