Dry....meetings that are dry--that is what drives people away. You can have fun and accomplish a lot at the same time. I usually end our meetings with a nice, "deep" poem or quick story and a joke or something light and funny. We laugh, we create,we plan, we succeed, and we have fun. We still abide by an agenda, a strict start-at-7-end-at-8 policy (which people really appreciate!), we motion- 2nd and all in favor/oppose and other Robert's Rules of Order (Sec. report, Treas. report, committee reports, etc.) But I want people to leave our meetings feeling good, that we accomplished something.
We also offer baby-sitting, door prizes and refreshments.
Themes seemed to have helped us too. We have an annual membership drive that has a theme that runs through the year. This year was "PTO- Parent Involvement Connects". We used puzzle pieces for everything- meeting reminder slips, newsletters, even put the #'s on puzzle pieces to do the door prize drawings. I will be giving the officers picture frames made out of puzzle pieces at the end of the year- to thank them for being a piece of the puzzle, the big picture of supporting our school.
Our volunteer appreciation dinner at the end of the year always has a theme. That generates big excitement....
Creating a sense of comraderie amongst your members goes a long way. These people might not be friends outside of school, but at PTO and our events, they work alongside each other like they were old buddies.
The President, I feel, sets the tone..... as ring master it's up to him/her to keep things moving along, but to also make sure everyone feels welcome and needed.
People talk, and the more positive experiences you give them to talk about, the more they will talk and encourage others to get involved.
Oh, one big thing that worked for us was when we implemented a Parent Volunteer Program. It's for those parents that can't/won't come to meetings, but still want to help. They fill out a form at the beginning of the year and they are put on a call list that is given to event chairpeople. Then when they are needed, and if their schedule allows they are given a job to do. Our parents love the flexibility and no pressure.
Just so you know that I speak from experience,,,,,when I took over as Pres. we had barely 10 at a meeting. Four years later I'm proud to say that we average 25 or more at our monthly meetings!! Here's a "shout" to them... Way to go!!!
[ 03-05-2002: Message edited by: berneunionpto ]</p>