Eighty-four percent of you responded to our Members Survey. Seventy-nine surveys were returned demonstrating that the club is important to you. We thank you for such an extraordinarily large percentage of responses.
Members, Members, Members. Not surprisingly, you all want a larger club. And no wonder, you just want to share a good thing with more people. The responses also show that you are well aware of the dangers of declining membership and participation. The word cloud of your response to the first question graphically shows your concern over declining membership and your suggestions to accomplish it.
Whether more lesbians, gay men, younger members or getting lapsed members to return, you think growing the club and having better attendance at classes and events is the most important thing we can do. Answers to some of the other questions show us that you think the Mainstream class, club nights, barn dances and combo dances are the most important activities the club sponsors and you also showed an overwhelming concern for continuing the Modern Western Square Dance tradition.
Our club means a lot to everyone. It’s a home away from home where we feel safe, have fun dancing, and are a part of our square dance family. A sense of community was number one on your list of the club’s strengths. You also thought our club callers were another strong attribute the club can claim.
There is a lot more information that is in the survey and we invite you to look at the results. In the next couple of weeks, we will publish the full results of the survey along with a discussion of the take-away we have gotten from your responses. This supplement will be posted on the Newsletter download page of the website and we will let you know when it is up in an email blast.
We as a Board now have a clear direction to head in for the next couple of years. We will be checking in with you periodically to see how we are doing on your behalf. In the meantime, we will begin the work that has been outlined for us – increasing the membership, increasing participation and growing the number of dancers.
Again, on behalf of the board and Janet Calkins (who spearheaded this survey), I would like to thank you for your time in completing the survey as well as your candor and constructive suggestions. Together we can do this!
— Kim Norland