My 2 Slips of Latinum on
Recruiting
by Cmdr. Ri'Par sutai-bortaS
(Shane Dison)
Greetings fellow warriors! This issue of Mindscanner deals
with
recruiting new members. I've been in KAG for a little over 12 years now
in various positions and recruiting is still one of the most important
and most difficult jobs. It's important for many reasons. A "show of
force" is always preferable to one or two warriors at an event. Ten
klingons will get far more attention and can cover much more recruiting
ground. One or two behind a table at a con and 8 more interacting with
the crowd is beyond glorious. We also need many members to fill in the
gaps when "real life" keeps some warriors from attending events and to
replace members who unfortunately may become inactive or retire for
whatever reason.
That being said,recruiting is also a difficult job for some. I
personally live in a small town and the recruiting opportunities aren't
as large for me as someone in a big city. The closest conventions to me
are 4+ hours away and that's difficult to do alone,much less with
several other Klingons. I therefore must employ other methods.
Websites such as myspace,facebook,and personal websites are a start.
These require no money and most personal website hosts have some form
of template that allows you to create a ship website with no HTML
experience. I personally believe ALL ships should have at least a basic
website with email contact information and a link to KAG.
Getting your bumpy forehead out of the house and in uniform is another
method of getting potential recruits. Something as simple as a "Good
day to dine" event will get you noticed. Don't forget to bring along
some contact information. Simply scribbling your email on a napkin will
do the job but looks amateur. Printing business cards with your ship
address,email address,and KAG address is much more likely to impress.
"Wearing your fandom" can sometimes bring a recruit to you. We can't
possibly be in uniform all the time but wearing something that
identifies you as a Trek fan and/or Klingon can get someone casually
talking to you about the show that you can then try to recruit. Ship
shirts,hats,pins,and even tattoos have been employed
by my crew. I have a Klingon pin on my
leather jacket,Klingon shirts,a Klingon tattoo,and I recently started
wearing a IKV Melota hat pin on my work hat. I carry several ship
business cards in my wallet so I never miss a chance to get our
information to a potential new recruit.
Conventions are the most fun methods of recruiting.If you have them in
your area and have the funds then a ship table at a convention can be a
gold mine. You already have the potential recruits in your face,now you
just have to put your best boot forward to impress them. Many of them
have seen Klingons before. The trick is to be best looking and best
acting Klingon. Klingons sitting behind a table eating McRib's and
chatting with each other isn't very exciting and potential recruits
will pass you by. Have one or two warriors man the table while others
engage fans in other areas.Once again,have some contact info on hand.
The table should have business cards and ship flyers at minimum but can
also have banners/flags,a laptop showing either video of your events,a
slideshow of photos from your events,or Klingon heavy Trek episodes,and
many other displayable Klingon items such as trophies,models,props,etc.
If you display weapons then dont forget the "no live steel" rule. We
don't need a child picking up a d'k-tahg off your
table while you are trying to recruit his or her parents.
I'm sure your ship has its
own recruiting methods. Share these with others. Recruiting is
everyone's job!
- Commander Ri'Par sutai-bortaS
IKV Bayou Serpent commander and ship's brewer
Cold Terror Fleet XO
www.ikvbayouserpent.org
www.myspace.com/ikvbayouserpent
