Building Bird Club Membership

Great Idea from Canary Finch Club of Minnesota

This morning I received a call from Mike Nicholas finalizing my judging type and color at their show October 17, 2009. During our conversation, he shared with me their approach to the problem of getting new bird club members.

Whenever a current club member sells a bird, the purchaser receives a free one year membership to the sellers local bird club! They receive the same benefits of membership as regular members such as newsletters, club meetings, and activities. Although not required, some of the sellers actually sponsor the "new member" through extra club contributions whether cash or other fund raising activity. What a great way for the novice to meet the local bird people, learn about care and breeding of their birds, and the joy of exhibiting them!!

Just like me, you probably remember being a novice and wanting to talk about birds and being unable to find anyone interested in "Bird Talk". Just meeting bird people like me, who did not change the subject from birds, even after hours of bird discussion, brought a new joy to my life! For me, the late Janice Klein, was that first bird friend. Now, it is all of you who read this blog!