the 2017 Imperial Shrine convention which was held in Daytona Beach, Florida closed over the weekend. One of the new programs that was showcased at the convention was the new membership entitled “I am Committed RU?” Newly elected Imperial Potentate Gary Bergenske has released a video to explain the new plan 
According to a news release:
“The three “R”s of membership development are recruitment – the successful creation of new members; retention – providing a program which keeps your current members active, engaged and involved; and restoration – restoring to active membership those members who have lost connection with the fraternity. These concepts are critical to the future success of our organizations.
As Shriners, we all have accountability to our fraternity. It becomes our responsibility to educate others about Shriners International, create more Shriners, recruit more Freemasons, and refer more patients to Shriners Hospitals for Children. Collaboration is essential, and we must all work together to promote successful and efficient membership processes.
Shriners International has developed a new approach to membership development, changing the membership paradigm with the introduction of a new referral program. With this new referral functionality, current nobles can now directly refer names of friends, family members and acquaintances who they feel would make good Shriners.
Similar to beashrinernow.com, this new referral program is administered through WebFez and links the prospect with his referring noble, promoting natural mentorship based on a pre-existing friendship or acquaintance. The new process can be tracked and reported, and each referral triggers automatic communications to the referrer and the prospect. Once a noble makes a referral, he then receives tools and resources to mentor his prospect to creation or restoration. The program encourages constant collaboration, so that everyone can share their Shrine with the good men around them.
A recommended part of the new program is the encouragement to host fellowship parties and rush events. Fellowship parties should be in a relaxed environment and have an open table/social concept, with no formalized membership presentation. These parties should be open to prospective members, but with no pressure for membership recruitment or restoration; and membership literature should be available upon request.
Rush events have an open house, social and educational concept, and are open to prospective members and their families. A multi-faceted presentation providing information on Shriners, Masonry and affiliated organizations is encouraged at these events, including information about temple clubs and units. Membership literature should also be provided to all attendees.
Our goal for each Imperial Year is less suspensions, less demits and more affiliations. The leadership of Shriners International has added the lofty goal of 12,000 new Creations from Session to Session. This goal is attainable if temples focus on matching and surpassing their own best number of creations in the last five years.
There are many resources available to help us reach our membership goals. Using the new WebFez referral system is the perfect place to start, and beashrinernow.com is still a great resource. There are also a lot of helpful tools on Shriners Village, including the Membership Toolkit, Roadmap to Membership Success, and Marketing Materials Ordering System. We also encourage everyone to work with their Regional Membership Director and the Office of Membership Development, and to send your temple membership team to the annual Membership Seminar for invaluable tips and information.
You can nominate a man by visiting This link
