Good work!!
A nearby brigade, on the outer fringe of the metro area did a letter drop to their surrounding area - around 7000 or so I think.....had a few info nights with the people who expressed an interest, and ended up with around 14 new members, which I think they still have some 12 months later......
My own district is quite small (only around 500 people), no shops / pubs etc to target, and surrounded closely by other brigades (so no poaching of members!) so we keep an eye out when properties change hands, go and visit with a few members, welcome them to the district, tell them about the CFS - in terms of we can assist with burn offs, what the siren means etc, make sure they are thinking about what they are going to do should a fire threaten their property, and also invite them to join the brigade at whatever time they decide....
We make that we take some females, males, and if their are teenagers etc at the house, we also try & take a cadet, to show that we have a range of members...
The personal approach has worked very well for us - and research from Dr Judy Esmond in WA has shown that the reason most people joined a volunteer group CFS was because someone asked them......not because of brochures, flashy TV ads etc (although I believe brochures and other publicity certainly have their place).
Pip
