Tips on Recruiting

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since recruiting is critical to the Battalion and its member units and it was a discussion point at the last unit meeting at Zona Rosa I thought I would put down the things I do that have been successful in recruiting new members.

I believe you will find them helpful as you recruit new members.

If you have other techinques that you use please post them here so others can benefit from your success and learn from your failures.

Here are my suggestions and the things I do to recruit:

Become active in the Historical and Civil War organizations in your community. That means become a member of and/or go to the respective meetings of the groups on a regular basis and to their functions and field trips when possible.

Purchase business cards thru VISTA PRINT that advertise the Unit. For less than $15.00 you can have 250 and sometimes 500 quality professional cards made by this business. If you can't afford that, go together with a friend and spend $7.50 apiece then split the cards. Every three months or so Vista Print will offer you 250 to 500 free replacemnet cards of your design, for the postage cost only. I always use ups ground 21 day delivery. 500 free cards for $6.95. I can't even print my own for that.

Purchase and wear the Unit's hats, caps and shirts. The main reason to have such things. is to advertise and elicit conversations about the Unit from non members This can't happen if you don't have them on and or wear them.

Pass out the business cards when people ask you about your uniform at the above meetings or about your tee shirt or cap at other functions you attend. Wear these items when you go out. I do, its effective and you'll find it so also.

Go to and be known at the Historic sites in your area or county or region. Leave cards and a flier or two at these locations on a regular basis. Volunteer your services at these locations ever so often. Get on their mailing lists or email lists. Share these lists with the unit on the MSN site monthly.

Put a bumper sticker on your car about the Civil War. They are 50 cents to $ 1.00 apiece at James County.

When our unit, or an individual of the unit does something that isn't a reenactment., but related, support the activity in numbers and in uniform if appropriate, but by all means, wear your cap and/or tee-shirt to these functions. Numbers attract attention. Attention garners questions. Questions lead to prospects. Prospects lead to recruits. Be sure to have business cards with you and hand them out. Be sure the cards have a phone number and the web address of the Unit or Battalion's web page printed on them.

Post the events of the Historical Societies, Museums, Civil War Round tables, genealogical societies and other related period organizations from your city, county and region to the MSN page. To do this you must do a little leg work, make a few calls, write a few emails and network with people that might be out of your comfort zone a little. This is hard at first, but with each new call or contact , it becomes easier. Wouldn't it be nice to know about the organizations and happenings in Iowa or Harrisonville or from St. Joe and just not Kansas City or Jackson County, Missouri.. I know for a fact there are great museums and organizations in these areas but you'd never know it.

Post tthe above information to the MSN site with interactive urls so all can see what's going on. That's why I always post the url to the Jackson County Historical Societies monthly events and at least one or more of the events that have Civil War interest on MSN and place a copy of it on the Medical Yahoo group page in the files section and on my blog.

Carry small copies of the appearance schedule of the Unit. Its effective to give this to an interested party along with the business card when they ask at the barber shop or grocery store parking lot about your next reenactrment or about your bumper sticker. Invite the interested party to the monthy meeting at Zona Rosa and to the next reeanctment.

The more you practice these suggestions the better you'll be at it. Anyone can do it, it just takes a little practice and some expenditure of you time, but it pays dividends.

Many of you were recruited in just the same manner.

Happy recruiting,

Jim Bair