By Andrew Lindhome
Lodges constantly strive for both strong event attendance and a convenient means to conduct registration. Ku-Ni-Eh Lodge established a season pass program that covers the cost of both dues and major events for Arrowmen in the upcoming year. The program consists of a one-time payment that covers the lodge’s winter banquet, winter lock-in, fall fellowship and dues.
The program started in time for the lodge to implement it for its 2008 events and it has been a consistent part of the lodge ever since. According to Carolyn Bartlett, an adult adviser with the lodge, it only took two meetings of planning to develop and after lodge-wide advertising, the program took off. The program, as it stands currently, gives a ten dollar discount on the total cost of the lodge’s major events. In addition, the program allows active Arrowmen to have a more convenient way of signing up and paying for events that they would attend anyway. This gives the program the dual purpose of making events not only cheaper, but also easier to attend.
Attendance for the major lodge events have generally been strong. For example, each annual winter banquet has approximately three hundred Arrowmen in attendance, providing the lodge with a strong way to kick off the year. Coincidently, the banquet is the cutoff for the season pass program, and many Arrowmen looking to take advantage of the discount sign up again at the event. Ku-Ni-Eh Lodge Chief Patrick Kelley claims that the program “makes the lodge more accessible,” and explained that certain events, especially the winter lock-in, saw an increase in attendance. The lodge sells approximately 70 passes annually but the ticket purchasers almost always follow through and attend all the events. This has developed a consistent core of Arrowmen in the lodge.
A recent perk of purchasing the season pass was the inclusion of a free season pass patch for that year. This year marked the first year that the patch was offered as part of the deal rather than being sold separately. The lodge leadership felt that people putting that much money up front for the year should not have to pay for the patch, but rather should receive it as part of the package deal.
As is the case with any lodge policy, options for improvement are always being considered. The lodge is currently working to develop ways to increase online registration efficiency so accurate attendance can be kept track of, but the lodge has already achieved much with their program. Being able to develop ways to increase attendance and motivate Arrowmen to return to lodge events is critical for a lodge, and the season ticket program shows that it is possible.