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Yes. Linfield has always been a pretty good chapter. I'm sorry that you're down, but good genes should win in the end. There was an old guy with a crew-cut - the mayor I think - who took care of the chapter; he may have died.
You should have at least 50 members. Dominate your competition. Grow fast and aggressive so there's a dynamic of excitement and so you can compete.
Here are some practical ideas. Ditch the "slag" idea - no one responds to promotions like that; they respond to men rushing men. Personal contact.
1. Pick one Brother who is in a position to drop out or take a lighter load for a semester and make rush his full-time job. Pay him by adding to the pledge fee or get alumni to make him an employee. The chapter has been good so you should have alumni suppport. He should concentrate on pledging numbers of good underclassmen and getting them initiated.
2. Make getting a good house a priority. Make ther alumni do this; the undergrads don't have the ability to get that done. Inspire the alumni with the promise that the chapter will be on top again. Define that by being the biggest and best.
3. Consider having two pledge classes per semester until you get your numbers back. Remember - and make sure the Brothers understand - against competition twice your size you cannot afford to 'get good' slowly. You'll never recover if you try to do it slowly. Do it quickly. Double your chapter size in one year and enjoy the effect of the increased optimism and excitement.
4. Make sure all the Brothers know that they must follow the leader, the rush chairman. Thier reward is a much better fraternity experience. Be prepared to lose a few. You may get down to 10 or 12 members. Some will leave becasuse they lose interest. Siome becasue they're embarrassed to be in what they view as a loser fraternity. But know: ON a campus where the top houses have 30 me, you can dominate and very quickly.
5. Don't fall into the psycho-babble crap about "every brother is responsible for bringing one new member in to replace himself'. That doesn't work. When everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible.
6. Pick a theme, an identity, and pursue that. Were you the jock house? The syudent government house? The smart, good-lookin guys? Did you have all the guys from a particular high school? At a small scholol with small fraternities, each fraternity usually has a specialized theme that distinguishes itself.
7. Great idea: find a sports club, like lacrosse or wrestling, or rugby, and pledge the entire team. They like to thikn of themselves as a fraternity enyway. This way they can be members of an important national fraternity.
Remember: Put someone in charge and make everyone follow him. Move quickly; no such thing as getting better slowly. Make alumni get you a house - you have to have a house if everyone else does. Don't be depressed when you lose some members; expect it. That actually makes it easier for the new guys to be accepted. Move now. Do it now. determine to have 40 brothers by the end of the 2010-11 school year.
Are you coming to the Convention?
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