This week, Louise Harel, former provincial Minister and MNA (member of the National Assembly) for the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve riding in Montreal, became the Société généalogique canadienne-française’s 20,000th member.
The SGCF recognized Madame Harel’s ongoing support by bestowing upon her the prestigious title of Member Emeritus.
Society president Gisèle Monarque presented the certificate to Madame Harel in the prescence of historian André Champagne and several society members and directors.
Bravo to SGCF for reaching this impresssive milestone.
The Society’s website says it has currently 2,550 members. What happened to all the rest 🙂
I posted this story, thinking societies who issue a unique membership number to each member could use this idea. For example, if your society is approaching membership #5,000, now would be the time to think about which public figure should receive an honourary membership. Good be a good media opportunity too. It is also a nice way to thank a civic leader who has long supported the society.
I expect Madame Harel is the 20,000th person to become a member since the society first started. I know some societies issue a new membership number each time someone joins, which makes it easier to notice the milestones. That is likely the case with SGCF.
M. Diane Rogers, I believe Gail is correct. At least this is what I have understood. I have been a member since 1978 or 1979, and I remain member #5779. The Society was founded in 1943.
When I look at this story because of that high membership #, even for a Society established in the 1940s, I think “churn”. Far better to be publicly celebrating the umpteenth Society member recognized as a 70?/ 50/25/10 year member.
This the a very popular society and the largest in the province. If trying to gain public support and publicity, always go for the public figure, especially when they have been a long-time supporter as Mme Harel has. The society is in her riding, which she held for more than 20 years. In my career, I have invited public figures to launch programs — and it worked every time. Had I used a regular worker, my event would not have gained any attention. A goup of kids can also be good eye candy, provided you can spin their connection to the event, such as “building for future generations,” etc.
Re the membership number, a friend of mine is #19,000-something, and she has only been a member for a year or two. SGCF members are a pretty impressive group — and their members are avid historians and very passionate about their family history.
Any organization that has been around for 50-60 years or more will have a lot of churn. After all, people do die or move out of the area. They also loose interest in Genealogy or come to an end of their planned research. Some join to see what the organization is like and drop because it is not what they are looking for. There are lots of reasons for churn. Let us not deny that this is a very strong society with 2,550 members. With this many members they must be doing a lot of good things to grow this large. Many genealogical societies would love to have this membership level.