Sometimes a bit of tradition and ritual can go a long way toward binding a chapter together.

Take, for example, the SPJ Initiation Ceremony.

I’ll wager many SPJ members probably have never heard this ceremony performed.

I heard it for the first time during the 2006 Scripps Leadership retreat when Mark Scarp, an SPJ leader from Arizona, conducted a modified version of the ceremony.

Mark modified and shortened the ceremony, which traces its roots back to when SPJ was a college fraternity, Sigma Delta Chi.

At the time, I remember thinking to myself: “Jeez Mark, what next: Chants and robes? Paddles and goldfish? A secret SPJ handshake?”

But midway through the ceremony, an interesting thing happened. While the language of the ceremony is antique and florid, what starts out sounding corny suddenly turns eloquent and heartfelt.

This is especially apparent when the text (which I’ve attached to this post) is read out loud in a group that includes both new and long-time SPJ members.

Try it next time you have five or more new members to induct into your chapter and see if the same thing happens to them.

In Colorado, we included the initiation as the closing ceremony for a half-day training for young journalists. One of their teachers told me the students were as jazzed about the ceremony as any of the programs they heard that day.

Footnote on props: We improvised a bit by borrowing a “Scale of Justice” from the local bar association; a large round candle for the “Light of Truth” and white feather quills from an arts and crafts store for each of the readers to hold.

For now, though, we’ll skip the robes.

Here’s the script:

SPJ Initiation Ceremony

As arranged by Mark J. Scarp for 2004 Scripps Leadership Retreat

Note: The following is a compromise between the traditional long-form initiation ceremony handed down over the decades (which takes about 45 minutes) and the short-form ceremony that takes about 3 minutes. The following form is designed to take between 8-10 minutes.

Use as much of the paraphernalia suggested by the old long-form ceremony as you deem appropriate. One modern day variation involves large candles on an altar at the front of the room used to light individual candles handed to the candidates for membership beforehand.

Instructions: This ceremony minimally requires a presiding officer, known at the Editor, and a presenting officer, called a Guide. However, others may split up the narrative, each reading a portion. They have been indicated here in the ceremony text as Readers 1, 2 and 3.

(The ceremony begins with the Editor addressing the membership.)

——————-

EDITOR: We gather in special session to complete the admission to our Society of Candidates who are presented to us as qualified by their character and purpose to share in our endeavors. While the candidates are under examination and instruction, maintain the utmost attentiveness so that your presence may reflect for them the significance of the undertaking they assume.

(The membership immediate rise as the Guild and the Candidates enter. When all have taken their place, the membership is seated. The Guide then conducts the Candidates forward to where the Editor is waiting for them.)

GUIDE: I am authorized to present to the Editor of this Chapter these Candidates for membership and who have pledged themselves to an understanding of our purpose.

(The Guide then reads the names and titles of the Candidates.)

EDITOR: Please be seated. The Society of Professional Journalists was founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, and since then has grown steadily in prestige. Today, it is the acknowledged leader in the never-ending fight for freedom of information and for high professional ethics in the gathering and dissemination of that information.

Through the years, the Society has undergone much change, but it has never departed from the basic ideals upon which it was founded. As you become members of this Society, you fall heir to that rich heritage, one which strives to bring to journalism a dedication to service worthy of a great and honorable profession.

READER 1: The Society is dedicated to the perpetuation of a free press as the cornerstone of our nation and our liberty. To ensure the concept of self-government outlined in the U.S. Constitution remains a reality into future centuries, the American people must be well-informed in order to make decisions regarding their lives and their local and national communities. It is the role of journalists to provide this information in an accurate, comprehensive, timely and understandable manner.

READER 2: It is our mission to promote this flow of information and to encourage a climate in which journalism can be practiced freely and fully. We seek to stimulate high standards of ethical behavior among journalists and to inspire successive generations of talented individuals to become dedicated journalists. Finally, we are dedicated to maintaining constant vigilance in protection of the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press.

EDITOR: This is the Society of which you are now to become a part. I am prepared now to administer the oath of fidelity and allegiance. Are you prepared and willing to take the oath?

CANDIDATES: I am.

EDITOR: The Chapter will rise and remain standing while I administer the oath.

(The membership stands. A lighted candle from the front altar is used to light individual candles given to the members before the ceremony. Then the Editor addresses the Candidates.)

EDITOR: As a token of your sincerity, I ask you to raise your right hand and repeat after me so that all present may hear:

Having signified my desire

To become of member of this Society

I do hearby promise to uphold its ideals.

I pledge myself to do all in my power

To serve fellow journalists

Whether of the Society or not

And so endeavor to enrich the profession

With the ideals of the Society of Professional Journalists

This I promise and pledge myself to perform.

EDITOR: (Addressing the Chapter) Members, you have heard the oath. It is not without significance to us that you have sought and gained admittance to the Society. The sentences you have heard echo in the hearts of us all. We discover there refreshment of our own pledges. Please be seated.

GUIDE: (Addressing the Candidates) Our Society was founded as Sigma Delta Chi. Sigma stands for Sophia, meaning talent. Delta stands for Dynamis, meaning energy. Chi stands for Chiatos, which means truth. Talent is the gift. Energy, the means. Truth, the goal.

We welcome your association with those of us who seek to perpetuate a profession based on freedom to learn and report the facts.

READER 1: That believes in public enlightenment as the forerunner of justice.

READER 2: That is jealous of the right to utter unpopular opinions as the privilege to agree with the majority.

READER 3: That regards itself as the interpreter of today’s events and the mirror of tomorrow’s expectations.

GUIDE: That ascribes to itself motives only when motives go the heart of the issues.

EDITOR: And finally, that lays its own claim to a service on a vigilance that knows no midnight and a courage that knows no retreat.

READER 3: Democracy needs both a sentinel and a champion, and the weapon of the first is broad sympathy and of the second, a trenchant phrase. We urge you to assist in the realization of these purposes and these ideals. To this, and to all that has gone before, we rededicate ourselves with you. We trust that our heritage will inspire you to be an active and contributing member of the Society and you will assist us in the realization of our ideals.

EDITOR: The Chapter will rise. I ask all members present to renew their own efforts and rededicate themselves to the pledge. Members: Does the Society of Professional Journalists still have your service, your devotion and your aspiration?

MEMBERS: It has.

EDITOR: The ceremony is complete (here endeth the lesson.)

By John Huotari

ETSPJ President

Membership in the East Tennessee SPJ chapter has increased 48 percent since June 1, 2006.

The chapter has increased from 44 members then to 65 members now. That’s an increase of 21 members.

Here are some things we did that helped us recruit and retain members in the last 17 months:

• Stayed active. The East Tennessee chapter had monthly activities including panels, workshops, an awards competition and a scholarship fund-raiser. We distributed membership information at each program.

• Communicated with members. We published a newsletter to preview upcoming events, report on past events and talk about other chapter business. We also used an e-mail address database to send notices of our upcoming events to more than 500 journalists and public relations representatives in East Tennessee.

• Worked together. Everyone should do some recruiting.

• Took advantage of the help offered by national SPJ staff. SPJ Membership Coordinator Linda Hall, in particular, has been very helpful in transferring memberships and ensuring membership renewals and applications were received and processed at the national office.

• Regularly checked Chapter Rosters/Reports on the national SPJ Web site (www.spj.org). We paid attention to membership expiration dates on our chapter roster. We tried to call members before their memberships lapsed, and we encouraged them to renew. If they expressed reluctance to renew, we asked what we might do differently to keep them as members.

We used the prospective members report to call local journalists who belonged to the national SPJ but not to our chapter. We asked if they would join our chapter, and several did.

• Sent membership materials to those who expressed interest in joining SPJ. We have put together membership packets that include a letter with information on SPJ and our chapter’s activities and awards. The letter tells prospective members how to join, and the packet includes a membership application, as well as an SPJ brochure and a Code of Ethics card.

• Welcomed new members and thanked renewing members.

I hope these tips help you.

If you have any questions, please contact me by e-mail at john.huotari@oakridger.com or by phone at (865) 220-5533.

John Huotari is a city hall reporter at The Oak Ridger in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and he served as ETSPJ membership chairman from August 2006 to July 2007. Huotari is now ETSPJ president.

Do you have an SPJ recruitment success story? Share it with us by e-mailing the Gardner at damon_runyon@hotmail.com

SPJ Garden Tip of the Week

Try this at your next chapter board meeting. Start the meeting out by having someone report on how many members your chapter currently has and compare it to your enrollment one month ago.

Also have someone report the names of new and lapsed members to your board. Assign board members to contact these folks. This is a good way to keep track of a chapter’s growth and to involve several people in both welcoming new people and hanging onto the members we have.

SPJ by the numbers:

Membership this week: 9,201

Membership last month: 9,208

Membership one year ago: 8,992

Dear Gardener, *

Our chapter is wrestling with how much we should charge local SPJ members.

On the one hand, we need funds to pay for basic expenses like postage and funding events like our member mixers.

But at the same time, we’re trying to grow our chapter and the price of membership is the most frequently cited stumbling block to getting new people to join.

What are other chapters charging and what’s the right amount for us?

Duesless in Dubuque

Dear Dues,

This is a topic that came up during a recent SPJ national membership committee meeting.

We polled the committee members on what their chapters are charging and found that it ranging anywhere from $25 to $0, with most chapters charging $10 to $17.

What level is right for you depends upon the kind of chapter you have. Chapters in large metro areas with a long track record and plenty of events tend to charge the most.

Fledgling chapters or long dormant chapters trying to revive themselves tend to charge nothing until they can get a core membership together.

There are some interesting new trends, however. Take the Press Club of Long Island in New York, for example, a large established chapter. In order to grow membership, chapter officers recently decided to forgo any local dues for now in order to attract new members.

And in Cincinnati, the pro chapter was able to include previously non-affiliated SPJ members in their geographic area by doing away with local dues for now.

The Gardener applauds these initiatives. Better to be member-rich that flush with cash and have a dwindling chapter. Build your membership first and the cash will follow.

One hybrid method that also works is to waive local dues for new members in their first year and give them plenty of reasons to stick with SPJ in the future.

Garden Tip of the Week

Celebrate longevity. Scan your membership rolls for anniversary dates and celebrate loyal members who’ve been with SPJ for 5, 10, 20 or 25 years. Send them a card or give them a round of applause at your next chapter gathering.

* Note: the letter writer is fictitious, but the scenario is taken from real life situations.

Have a membership concern or question. E-mail your inquiry to the Gardener at damon_runyon@hotmail.com

SPJ by the numbers

Membership this week: 9,150

Membership one month ago: 9,113

Membership one year ago: 8,885

Dear Gardener *

Our chapter faces a thorny question. A local press club is hosting events very similar to the ones we staged earlier this year for our spring regional conference.

One of our members is encouraging us to combine our efforts into the club’s in exchange for second-billing as a co-sponsor.

Granted, it won’t cost us any money, but we won’t make any either. Is it worth our effort? Should we consider this club as a partner or a competitor?

Puzzled in Poughkeepsie.

Dear Puzzled,

Press Clubs are worthwhile institutions. They tend to be a bit more social than some SPJ chapters, but that’s not a bad thing. They also tend to have more of a mix of public relations folks and other non-journalists.

But that said, you should treat them more as friend than foe, especially when it comes to programming. Some press clubs have great track records when it comes to staging events that are of interest to journalists.

Showing the SPJ flag at anyplace where journalists gather is a good thing. And if partnering with another organization can help build a crowd for a chapter event, well that’s all the better.

For that matter, there are probably other groups in your community that you might consider teaming up with when it comes to programming.

Groups representing minority journalists, photographers, illustrators and web designers are all good partners when you are trying to do outreach.

So team up and remember this: every time you do an event together, you’ve assembled a roomful of potential new SPJ members. Use that opportunity. Cross-pollination is good for the garden.

* Note: the letter writer is fictitious, but the scenario is taken from real life situations.

Garden tip of the week:

Does your city have an annual film festival? If so, contact the organizers and ask about the possibility of sponsoring a screening.

Here in Denver, Colorado SPJ has been a co-sponsor of many journalism themed films and documentaries during the Denver International Film Festival.

In exchange for purchasing a block of 10-20 tickets, our members get to go to a film together and usually we get a chance to put in a plug for SPJ

SPJ by the Numbers

Membership this week: 9,303

Membership one month ago: 9,333

Membership one year ago: 8,832