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Essentials in
Lead the Chapter
Building a Team For the Recreational Chapter
The right leaders can help make chapter meetings more fun.
Updated: 12/12/2005 10:21:53 AM
Recreational chapters are all about relationships, variety, and fun. So it helps to have a team lead the meetings.
Make sure you have at least one assistant director, preferably more. You will have more fun, and the guys will have more fun, if many faces appear out in front in the meeting. Give them a lot of time in front of the chapter, and make clear to them that their goal is to have as much fun with the men and the music as possible. “Rate” them, and yourself, on how much fun and energy the chapter has. Make sure you relate to them in a friendly and relaxed way as you “pass the baton” to them and take it back when it is your turn. Comments like, “Bob, you’ve got them all fired up,” “I thought Jerry was going to fall off of his chair on that high note,” or “you guys are animals” may help. Find and emphasize the spirit and feeling of what is happening. It doesn’t have to be spoken. Sometimes just giving a smile and a nod, a “thumbs-up” or rubbing the “goosebumps” says it all.
If there is no obvious assistant director, ask for volunteer song leaders, and ask various guys to try their hands at it. Look for guys who can help the members have fun.
Ask the leadership of your chapter to give you at least two members to help with the weekly meetings. Often they are the Music Vice President and the Program Vice President. They can help you double the positive energy in the meeting by keeping time, running the non-chorus time, and helping you make creative and spontaneous changes to the planned schedule. Someone needs to pass out music when needed, and especially to make sure that guests, new members, and members who have missed some meetings have the music they need.
The more on the team, the merrier. Many guys like to be involved if there is no chance of “failure,” and it raises the positive energy level of the meeting. Give some attention to the interaction between team members during the meeting. A little banter, like the team newscasters do on TV, helps establish the fraternal feeling and energy. Try to recognize spontaneous moments as they arise.
A written time schedule is helpful for each meeting. It makes teamwork much easier. Otherwise, everything may fall on you and maybe one other member. A written plan tells guys how to help you, how to be part of the team. It is worth the few minutes it takes. You should try to have the Program VP write up the plan, with your input. E-mail and word processing help.
The schedule should show a starting time for each song or activity, who will direct it, and whether it is sitting or standing (or on risers, if your chapter has them). If you know you have only five minutes for “Star Spangled Banner,” you won’t get “director’s disease” and spend 20 minutes working on one passage. You will do one run-through, give a short suggestion like “now let’s do it with all the patriotic pride we can muster,” and do a second run-through, or else isolate a spot or two briefly instead of the second run-through.
Future articles will discuss more details of activities for a recreational chapter.
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