President Jim...when you had your poker tournament, did you have it in the school or an outside venue? also, did it require a license of sorts? curious...sounds like a great idea.
I recently posted on the same subject. Last year was my first year as President, and as a male I think it may have helped break the "mom's only group" concept.
But the biggest thing that we did last year to directly affect male active membership is childcare during the meetings. Think about it this way... the moms who are actively involved are from families that care enough to be involved. If mom goes to the PTO meeting and signs up for a committee, then it's likely going to be dad who is with the kid(s) when mom is at any of the meetings or the events. If childcare is available at the meetings then the dads, who are often of similar ilk than the moms, may just tag along. Especially if they find out that there is at least one other dad involved. Next thing you know there are two or three active dads.
We did this last year and we increased our active male membership four times, all of which are spouses of active moms.
Another good way to go is to try out new events that appeal to dads. For example, last year we added poker tournaments and a golf tournament to our event schedule and the dads were very active in these events.
What do you do to get male involvement? I know we have lots of moms that do things for the PTA, but I really want to get the men involved also. I asked my husband if he was directly asked to do something, if he would and he said he probably would. Please let me know since this is my first year as President I want to get things really going for this school. Thanks so much Dawn
