By Brett Isaacson, President
I recently came to an ‘aha’ moment during a conversation with Cheryl Marino, the chairperson of the Membership Committee. We were brainstorming on ways to find more people to staff the Membership Committee. We both feel strongly that increasing our membership ranks requires a personal touch; a human connection to our lively and interesting organization.
Then it came to me… my mom, Lois Isaacson (who founded Friendship Tours), was a natural at gaining new members. When she hosted a trip and saw someone interested in the gardens, she would approach that person and mention the benefits of CT Hort. She always had a membership form handy to leave with them!
Her other tactic was to approach a gardener that she’d find working in a garden. She’d ask a few questions to qualify the person’s love of gardening and again, leave behind a membership form.
Truth be told, every member of CT Hort is an Ambassador of our great organization. Each of us must know at least one person who would also enjoy the friendship, knowledge and camaraderie shared at our meetings, in our Newsletter, on our website, during our trips, at the Symposium, and in our workshops. Please consider encouraging a neighbor, friend or family member to join you for a speaker meeting to discover what goes on at CT Hort. With your help we can easily sustain and build our membership base to support the mission of our well-meaning organization:
“The Connecticut Horticultural Society is an educational organization dedicated to encouraging and improving the practice of gardening and the dissemination of horticultural information to its members and the public. The society through its many and varied programs seeks to encourage the enjoyment, appreciation and understanding of plants, the environment, and the art and science of gardening.”