Hello Lincolnland Exchangites!

The National Exchange Club’s theme for 2008-09 is Changing the Beat – Step Forward! It’s more than just a theme, though – it’s a different way of thinking. We’ve already seen some changes in how we’re conducting business and there will be more to come.

Lincolnland is a strong District in Exchange, but in order to stay among the leaders, though, we can’t stand pat. Every profession, from sports to science evaluates what they do periodically and makes adjustments to stay on top. Exchange should be no different. I’m an auditor by trade – what I do is look at what’s underneath the surface and then recommend changes to strengthen the organization.

My goals fall into familiar territory – Membership Recruitment & Retention, Training and Site Selection. The one thing that I’ve stressed at training, convention and club visits though, is to have fun. Exchange is the best service organization doing the greatest work in the world – but that alone isn’t going to keep members.

Together, we’ve recruited 875 members in the last four years, yet here we stand today with exactly 40 more members than we had then. Now, I know that we can’t do anything about death or folks that move out of the District – but that accounts for a very small percentage of the Exchangites that leave our clubs. What we can control, though, is the fun quotient – keep meetings fun, programs interesting and keep everyone involved. In other words – work hard, but play hard too. So I’m issuing you this challenge – my membership retention goals are that every club in the District keep at least 80% of the members they have today with the District as a whole maintaining a 90% retention rate. While those numbers may sound high, 90% means that I fully expect that we’ll lose 150 members this coming year.

To make up for that, I’m asking each club to have at least one more member June 30th then they have right now – each club to be +1 in growth. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s been a very long time since we’ve been able to accomplish that. In order to reach that goal, I’m announcing a year-long membership contest which is described later in this issue. The bottom line though, is that everyone who recruits a member (and retains them throughout the year) has a chance to win the grand prize.

With our newest club in Greater Kendall County, there are 35 clubs in Lincolnland – I would really like for that number to be at least 37. We have at least 5 prospective club sights on the drawing board. We also want to assist our smaller clubs in getting back on their feet – we have the resources available, we just need to make them a reality.

Training doesn’t guarantee a good program, but it goes a long way toward ensuring a successful year. This year, I’d like to see all of the clubs participate in some sort of training – whether it’s training at a District event or something done at your club. Before this year is over, I would like to have all of our club officers and directors trained – If you’ve attended training before that’s great, but an update on what’s going on in Exchange today couldn’t hurt.

My final goal is for site selection. Going into the convention, we had no sites for future golf, bowling or conventions. Since making that announcement, several clubs have come forward, but we still need a few clubs to step forward.

Communication is a two-way street – it’s more than me talking and you listening. Let me hear from you – if you have a complaint, idea or just want to chat, I’m available.

Let’s step forward and change the beat for Exchange!

Yours in Exchange,

Dennis Koch, President 08-09
Lincolnland District Exchange Clubs