Membership Report

by Dave “Twit” Linberg

Comfort Levels and Membership

…Are you the one? Have you brought in one new member this year? …. or are YOU the new member? My goal for 2019 is to increase membership and I need your help to do it.

Any member old or new, will not stay with an organization or group unless they are comfortable inside the fabric of that group. To feel comfortable within a group you need to feel you are part of the group. So how does that happen?

It’s something you and every other member of ABATE of Wisconsin can help newer members with. Some people call it mentoring and here are the basics.  I hope everyone reads this, because this month we have two excellent opportunities to mentor other members at: Officer’s Training and Lobby Day.

Start out simply, by introducing the new member to other members. The more people within the organization the member knows the more likely they will feel they are a part of it. The other members that they are introduced to will help too with the mentoring process, every time a conversation occurs. And they in turn will introduce the new member to more members adding more value to the ABATE membership.

Get to know the new member. Asking a few simple questions will go a long way toward giving you more tools in making the new member more comfortable. By knowing what they like, you have a better idea of leading them towards ABATE activities that they will enjoy. Easy questions like—” What do you ride? Do you like to ride in small groups, large groups, or by yourself? Just thought I’d ask, we have a couple of different rides set up for this summer…”. “Would you be interested in jumping on a free bus ride and going to Lobby Day with me? I’ve been there before and can help you throughout the day…”. “Ever been to a swap meet? Want to check out the swap meet next week? We have a group going over, you’d fit right in.”

Point out what’s going on. The organization can be confusing to a new person. ABATE of Wisconsin has only one mission: “To protect the rights and safety of motorcyclists”.  We apply this mission by using many different angles and methods which may make it hard for a new member to grasp all at once.

You can’t just ask, “Do you have any questions?” Because at first most new members won’t even know what questions to ask. Do what you can to help them through the maze.  Show them one of our newsletters and point out which regional report(s) cover your area. Turn to the calendar of events and let them know if you’re going to any of them and invite them along. Offer to attend a meeting with them and introduce them to the regional officers.  Offer to be at their side at their first Lobby Day. A simple act of inclusion will make new members more comfortable. Or as Hardtail often says, ask them to bring the chips.

And while we are at it, our goal is not only to achieve new members, but we need reach out to past members who have lost their way and haven’t renewed their membership, for whatever reason.  It is up to us to seek them out and encourage them to join once again.  They were a member once, so what happened for them to lose their interest and enthusiasm?  Let’s find out and right the situation if we can.  We all need to work on not only gaining new members but retaining them once they’re here. Our organization is member based and we need a full court of players to make our voices heard when we visit our legislators both in Madison and in Washington.

We also need to remember that we are all not cut from the same mold.  Some people are very politically active while some may be more socially based.  Working on introducing or perfecting legislation may not be everyone’s cup of tea.  Some of us may prefer to take a stand on motorcycle awareness and education.  Remember, ABATE of WI is multi-faceted and should attract a whole diversified group of people with different skills, but having the same interest of protecting our right to ride.  It is our job to bring them all together to work on our objectives while still having a little fun along the way.

I hope to see a lot of new faces both at Officer’s Training and at Lobby Day – these members will get to see first-hand exactly what their membership funds go towards-and have a chance to see us in action. We are after all, a very talented and dedicated group of VOLUNTEER Motorcyclists.

Until then,