A few years after our family got heavily involved in conformation shows, we realized that we
needed to join our local specialty and all-breed clubs… and more importantly, we needed to
volunteer and contribute to what my mentor calls, “The Good of the Order.”
No members, no clubs. No clubs, no shows.
Seems pretty simple. And yet I have many friends in the community who will not join a club,
because they’ve either had or witnessed an unpleasant interaction with a club member, or felt
that a club wasn’t welcoming or supportive. I get it, I’ve been there.
As our local all-breed club was preparing for our fall show, the group of stalwarts who attend
every monthly meeting had a frank discussion about the frustratingly small pool of volunteers
signed up to work the show. Members discussed a variety of ways we might get our fellow
members to step up and help lighten the load, and it was clear that we’ve asked a few people
to give of themselves well beyond the call of duty.
During the discussion I shared one piece of advice from the world of association management
that might help us as club members better understand how we can “grow the sport” and keep
our clubs afloat. People don’t join clubs, they join people.
A few short weeks after I got my first job as a radio broadcaster, I attended the National
Association of Farm Broadcasters annual convention. My mentor in radio gave me a list of
names of people I needed to meet at the event. Those four seasoned professionals became
mentors, advisors, and most importantly, friends. I paid my dues to that Association nearly 15
years after I left the profession… Why? Because I valued my association with the people in the
organization.
In my daily vocation as an association executive, I see this every day among our members: the
people who haven’t missed our annual conference in decades because it’s like their
professional family reunion, the senior professionals who keep coming back after retirement
to encourage a young student member, and the members of our board who consider our
association their professional home. Those fond feelings have little to do with the amenities
and benefits membership their dues buy, and everything to do with the network of friends
and colleagues the Association offers.
My advice to my fellow dog club members is to take that wisdom to heart. Invite a friend to a
Club meeting or social event; pick up the phone and specifically ask them to come with you,
don’t make it a vague, “you should come to the club sometime” mention at the show that can
be easily ignored.
If you’re assembling volunteers for a show or event, try this: instead of sending out a blanket
call for support, ask a few specific people to do a specific job. Our club’s vendor chair is
excellent at this; every year she needs three or four people to lay tape to mark vendor booths,
and she will ask a few specific members by name to do the job. She always gets the help she
needs, because it’s harder to say no to a person than it is to ignore a mass email.
And it goes without saying that one of the things we need to remember above all else is: BE
NICE! Far too many of us have experienced a situation where a fellow Club member has
treated us poorly or treated us badly. I get it, I’ve been there myself. Our community is small
enough that we cannot afford to run people out of dogs because we’ve forgotten the Golden
Rule.
There’s always time to be nice, and to consider ways we can work together for “The Good of
the Order.” Maybe if we do that, we’ll find more of our fellow exhibitors are willing to pitch in
and lend a hand the next time our clubs need help.
