Mark T. Ronn, 32°, K.C.C.H.
3101 E. Spruce Street, Garden City, Kansas 67846-8447
Ronnm_1999@yahoo.com

Often the key first step to solving a problem is approaching
its solution in the right way.

Many years ago, when I was a teacher new to the classroom, I was having a problem with students missing class. I began to harangue against this at a great rate whenever it would happen. I would hold forth for quite a pompous while, forgetting a key fact. One day, a brave young man interrupted me in the middle of one of my tirades with these plaintive words, "But Mr. Ronn, WE'RE here!" This hit me like a ton of bricks. I was wasting time preaching to the choir about attendance.

The implications of this remark were brought home to me again a while ago during a Masonic meeting. A couple of high-ranking Brothers spoke on the lack of involvement in Masonry. One of these Brothers referred to the problem of laziness and cited the lack of attendance at meetings. The problem was that the people in the audience weren't the problem! WE WERE THERE!

Almost all the listeners reacted negatively to these words in one way or another. Some tuned out, apparently thinking, "Another tirade on the same old subjects," or engaged in some other mental disconnect. I know that's where I was headed.

I understand the frustration level that can cause one to unload on the people at hand even when the problem is not with them. It gives one a sense of doing something. The thing is that this particular room was full of real leaders. They were there on a weekend when it would've been so easy to be somewhere else. These were motivated men. I can vouch for the fact that at least one of them left less motivated than he came. Treating Brothers to this kind of unfounded abuse can lead to an all-too-common phenomenon.

We've all heard of it: voting with your feet. This is a response that we don't see too many times in our Lodges, at least not during the Lodge meeting. It takes a real level of disgruntlement to get up and walk out. This level of anger isn't rare; it's just rarely acted upon. No, the thing I see far more often than Brothers voting with their feet is Brothers voting with their seats. They just stay home. The recliner is much more comfortable than another lecture on attendance directed at the guys who are there. Voting with your seat is a much more insidious way of expressing displeasure. You just stop showing up.

Once people have voted with their seats, for whatever reason, they find something out. The Lodge trudges on without them. The doors don't close (at least not immediately), and rarely, if ever, does anyone try to contact them to see why they stopped showing up.

I have personally made contact with several Brothers who stopped coming to Lodge. It's difficult to get them to talk, but so far it has always boiled down to one thing. Somebody in the Lodge forgot that it was a voluntary organization, and that the Brother has any number of other ways he can spend his time.

Time is what people are increasingly jealous of these days. Why go somewhere that is going to leave a bad feeling? Why go someplace where you are likely to be harangued on a subject that may not even apply to you? Yes, there are hard things to do or say sometimes. The way these are handled can make all the difference.

The first thing that can make a difference in how these tough subjects are received is the mode of presentation. Is a speech from the East in Lodge or from the head table at a meeting the best possible way to address the topic? What about a more informal, round-table style meeting? Have we clearly defined the problem before taking it to the Brothers? Nothing's worse than a rambling speech full of negativity that covers all the old bases from declining membership to the need to clean the Lodge's parking lot.

Have an agenda. Make it clear and concise. Put a copy in every attending Brother's hands. Then, before you start, thank them for being just that, attending Brothers! Works wonders!

A general meeting is not the place to try to define the problem. You will meander, get sidetracked, and achieve very little. You run the risk of inspiring Brothers to vote with their seats next time they know they have to endure this type of meeting.

Use smaller groups or more informal settings to define the problem. Let people ventilate without holding up a whole meeting. Then you can gauge who can help with your particular plan or solution.

And the capper is just that. Have at least one workable solution ready to discuss. Then and only then ask for ideas as to how to solve the problem. If you don't propose a solution, it looks like just a gripe session.

Remember, dedicated Masons are natural fixers once they know the problem. Give them the information and guidance they need, and they will get the job done. Also, remember that THEY ARE THERE!

Mark T. Ronn was raised in Tyrian Lodge No. 246, Garden City, Kansas, in 1994 and served as Master in 1998. Past District Deputy Grand Master, Dist. #39, 2000-2001 and 2002-2003, Bro. Ronn served as Grand Standard Bearer of the Grand Lodge of Kansas for 2001-2002 and presently serves on the Membership Committee of the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Currently Area Deputy Grand Master, Area #9 of the Grand Lodge of Kansas, he has been a member of the Valley of Wichita, Kansas, since 1994 and received the K.C.C.H. in 1999. A Founding Member and Secretary of the Southwest Kansas Scottish Rite Club, Bro. Ronn has a BA from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay and an MA from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. He is now Administrative Dean at Garden City High School in Garden City, Kansas.