Local services clubs are always looking for new members but have different ways of attaining them.
The 108 Mile Lions Club uses Facebook to attract more members and invite them to come to their monthly meetings two days or the day before the meeting.
“We actually are doing very well. In the last two weeks we have gotten two new members,” said Ingrid Meyer, the director of membership for the club. “We are always in the public eye all the time.”
When new people come to the community, they often come to the meetings by themselves and ask to join the club due to word of mouth, said Meyer.
Currently, the 108 Lions Club has 28 members. They don’t have any kind of target of membership and leave it open for more people to join whenever they want. Meyer said they always need help organizing and carrying out all the events they do in the area, whether it’s for club fundraisers or in support for local organizations.
If anyone is interested in joining or want to sit in on some meetings, Meyer can be reached at 250-791-5663.
The 100 Mile Rotary Club is also looking for new members, mostly through word of mouth, but this year they will have a special booth at the Cariboo Women’s Fair on May 4 and 5 at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre.
“We give them the history of Rotary and also our history in town and what our goals are and what we’re going to be doing this year,” said Linda Jefferson, the president.
Membership of the Rotary Club is sitting at 15. They would like to pick up as many members as possible during the fair but realistically only expect five or six, according to Jefferson.
She said there’s a big need for new members to help with the big projects the club will take on.
Prospective members can talk with Jefferson at 250-644-4092. The club also meets on the first and third Thursday of every month at 7:30 a.m. at Smitty’s Restaurant on Hwy 97.
The 100 Mile House Lions Club has definitely been getting new members, according to Kim Taylor, the clubs president. However, they haven’t been doing anything special or a member drive.
They are never too far from the public eye, being involved with the upcoming Easter Egg hunt and were also involved with the South Cariboo Business Awards.
Currently, the club has roughly 37 members and have been around that mark for a while now but welcome anyone new.
“We often get people just approach us and ask if they can come to a meeting and see what we’re all about,” said Taylor. “We’re always looking for new members. The more people you have to help volunteer and do some projects the better it is.”
The Lone Butte 4-H overall A-team leader, Heidi Meier, said the club didn’t do anything other than advertising on Facebook and do their annual registration in January. It seemed to work for the youth program, which focuses on helping youth achieve personal development, sense of community and leadership because they doubled their numbers.
“We got 12 new members this year, so we’re sitting at 33 members in the club this year,” said Meier. “We’ve had a steady increase over the last five years, to be honest, I don’t know whats causing that.”
When Meier took over the club six years ago she said there were only six members, which is the least amount a 4-H can have to run.
Kids who are interested in joining can still join the 4-H club even though registration has passed but it depends on what projects they want to be in. Anyone interested should contact Meier at 250-395-6039 or lonebutte4hclub@gmail.com.
Only Freemasons are allowed in the Shriners but they are always looking for new members. You can become a Freemason by asking one for an application.
“We’re always interested,” said Frank Dobbs, the vice president of the Big Country Shriners Club in 100 Mile House.
The Age-Friendly Society is in the middle of a member drive and their events are open to anyone. The society has a diverse communications effort, with posting ads in the 100 Mile Free Press, putting up posters in the neighbourhood, a telephone committee and email broadcasts.
“For people to attend our events they don’t have to be members. Age-Friendly is open to everybody,” said Lea Smirfitt, executive director of the club.