M is for Membership, Minutes, Meetings and Maps #AtoZChallenge
Welcome to Day 13 of the #AtoZChallenge. Don't know what the AtoZChallenge is? Find out more here.
My theme is about Family History Societies. What they are, How they work, Who is in them, Why they exist.
And which ones begin with M !
Societies beginning with M
Australian
UK
USA
Other
Membership
The membership is the life-blood of your organisation. If you are like QFHS much of your income is derived from membership fees. Do you know your members? Who are they? Where do they live? What are their interests? Why did they join? What skills do they have? What resources do they use? What data do you have on your membership? Are there obvious gaps? How did they find out about your Society? What do you think is important to know about your members?
Meetings
How often does your Management Committee hold meetings? How long are those meetings? When are they held? Are they run effectively? Do you have an agenda? How are agendas and reports distributed? Could it be more efficient? What do you like/hate about meetings?
Minutes
Do you have a Minutes Secretary? To my mind, they are essential. So much is discussed at our meetings that it is difficult to remember after a couple of hours what we agreed and who said they would do what.
Maps
What family historian worth their salt doesn't love a good map? Does your Society have a map collection? At QFHS we have four volunteers who look after our map collection. Is your map collection catalogued effectively so people can find them easily? Do you run sessions on how to use maps for family history research purposes? Do you have appropriate storage for your maps? Do your library assistants feel confident showing people how to find and use the maps?
Mmmm...so much to consider. Are you feeling Maudlin or Magnanimous when it comes to your Society? Let me know in the comments box and tell me what Marvelous things I have forgotten to Meditate upon or which society beginning with M I have not Memorized. Thank you for coming by the blog today.
Comments
Molly - we are so dependent on how people are feeling during COVID aren't we? Some people retire to their shells and batten down the hatches. We are lucky if an organisation is run by outgoing people who don't get disheartened easily.
Sue - yes an effective chair is vital to the success of meetings. The older I get the less patience I have. I am in fact quite shocked about my response of late. I used to be so easy-going. We are blessed with a very patient chair who has not lost his sense of humour. So important in this day and age.
Jill - yes, yes, yes. Without our members we are nothing. We have spoken often at our management meetings about the possibility of holding more informal meetings which I think, as you suggest, give more opportunity for members to find out more about each other and thereby increase the glue/sticky factor.