Shrine Membership Success

By; Gary J. Bergenske

The Shrine will be 129 years old this year, through all the decades with thousands of parades, and circuses, and Potentate Balls, who could have ever predicted, that the largest responsibility ever to fall upon the Nobility would fall upon the backs of us.  Each of the past 22 years our membership has declined.  This is a problem we cannot survive with.  You and I and every Noble in the Mystic Shrine must be a part of a membership mission.  For after all these years who would have thought it would come down to this.  That we, the Nobles of the new millennium will be remembered for either one of two things.  Either we will be remembered as…

Those GREAT Nobles from the new millennium, that made the commitment, to work as a team, to find the new Nobles necessary to insure this fraternity will continue on.   Or

We will be remembered as the Nobles that let this GREAT fraternity, …..DIE.

This is a responsibility we cannot fail at.  Each of us, MUST,  in our own very positive way, go out and look for new members.  We suggest you start by looking at your own family and friends.  Talk to the people you work with and go to church with.  We are all very proud of who we are and what we do here.  We support 22 Shrine Hospitals for Children.  This gives all of us a very warm feeling inside for what we have accomplished, and we must remember, that as we bring in new members, they too, will have that same very warm feeling for being a part of this organization.

But first we must ask them.  You see times have changed; there was a time when men would seek us out and ask to join.  But times really have changed, now we must compete with many other organizations, sporting events, the computer, and families that think they are just to busy for us.

It is our responsibility to show these men the benefits of being a Shriner; we must share with them the good times and the benefits we have known.

In closing I would like to ask that you learn as much as you possibly can at this membership seminar, and that you take it back to your respective Shrine Centers and share it and promote it.  So that one-day we CAN BE remembered as…

Those GREAT Nobles from the new millennium…

THAT made the commitment,

THAT worked as a team,

THAT found the new members necessary to insure that this fraternity will continue on for many years to come.

Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we attack, yes I said attack, the largest problem the Shrine has ever had.