[nfbwatlk] A question of recruitment

[Jim Portillo]

Hi Kris,

You are not just hearing stories.  I've heard similar stories as well.

We really need to be careful that we don't come across as what the public 
has thought of us in the past.  This is another reason why people feel a lot 
more comfortable with the WCB.
Now, I'm not slamming them or anything like that either.  And there might be 
some people who will right away say that our organization is here for 
certain reasons or purposes.  That's all well and good; however, we're also 
people and want to be treated well.  That means that if we at one point want 
others to reach out to us and take us in, then we need to do the same with 
new people.

As far as recruitment, I strongly think we also need to make our conventions 
a bit more newby friendly.  What I mean by this is that we should also have 
a few items that will attract people who either are new to blindness or new 
to the organization.  Some might say we're conforming or throwing in some 
bells and whistles when we don't need to.  Well, I'm seeing it more as we're 
attracting new members.

A friend of mine, named Bob Dylan, once said, "The times...they are a 
changing!"  I agree with him, and the NFB needs to keep up with those times 
as well.  We can not be so set in our ways that we aren't willing to think 
out of the box.

It's not good for people to have such a negative concept of us, as Kris has 
said.  We need to recruit.  I think that what people need to see first and 
foremost, is that the NFB is made up of people who are united to make life 
better for the blind.  THey should first see people, who happen to be blind. 
They can learn about the rest of the stuff once they feel comfortable among 
the group.
Jim





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "kris Lawrence" <kris.lawrence at comcast.net>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 9:08 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] A question of recruitment


> This brings up another topic for me. Recruiting and maintaining
> membership is an important part of a healthy and growing organization.
> However, I have heard a number of stories lately about how people who
> are new to the organization feel as though no one is interested in
> getting to know them. So, if they do attend a convention, no one asks
> them to lunch or bothers to get to know them while they are there. So,
> off they go feeling that we are a very clickish group. Other stories I
> have heard deal with the fact that some of our members come off rude and
> opinionated to the point of not listening to what the new person is
> trying to say or ask. While a certain amount of this may be "sour
> grapes" there may be a grain of truth in it somewhere?
>
> Or, am I just hearing stories that have no foundation....
>
> Kris
>
> Judy Jones wrote:
>> Hi, Lisa,
>>
>> Along with this is also reaching the parents of blind youth, too.
>>
>> Judy
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: <Owenblue2 at aol.com>
>> To: <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 1:55 PM
>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] A question of recruitment
>>
>>
>>
>>> Hello my NFB friends:
>>>
>>> Earlier this week I posted a question concerning a student division.
>>> Jennifer asked me a very good question. How do we attract members and 
>>> keep
>>> them
>>> interested. I'm especially interested in attracting young members. The
>>> student
>>> division is a good start. On the other hand, there are not that many
>>> students in
>>> the NFBW. Perhaps we need to concentrate our efforts on recruiting and
>>> keeping  our present membership interested. Not always a simple task.
>>>
>>> I'm committed to reaching out to all interested parties. It takes time 
>>> and
>>> effort, but it's worth it.
>>>
>>> I think this is a good topic to discuss and something to consider and
>>> think
>>> about.
>>>
>>> Warmest regards and many blessings to all of you:
>>>
>>> Lisa A. Owen
>>> Treasurer Officer
>>> The Northwest Chapter
>>> NFBW
>>> 3330 Northwest Avenue #C5
>>> Bellingham, WA 98225
>>> 360-920-8652
>>> _nfbnorthwest at aol.com_ (mailto:nfbnorthwest at aol.com)
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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