How To: Cross-Promote Other Committees as a Trip Leader

I belong to several committees in The Mountaineers (photography, naturalists, and hiking), and I work hard to integrate the work of all of our committees into each of my trips. I do this because participants, like leaders, have varied interests, and the more we showcase the great offerings of The Mountaineers, the more engaged our participants will be!

I lead trips at the Mountaineers for several reasons:

1. If I lead, others depend on me to show up, so I won’t wake up that morning, groan, and go back to sleep, skipping out on places I really want to visit.
2. I love sharing places I’ve been with others and seeing the joy on their faces when they see the magnificent beauty of our outdoors.
3. I lead because I don’t want to wait for someone else to step up to lead a trip.
4. I lead because it gets me more involved with The Mountaineers, making everyone seem more like family than strangers

While most of the trips I lead are geared towards photography, I’m mindful of the other committees and try to share information about them too as I lead a group on a trip. Our organization is huge and there are many members who don’t know about all the things The Mountaineers offers. Plus, there are often non-members who have joined as a guest and are checking out The Mountaineers for the first time.

For instance, I just listed and led a hike through the Seattle  Hiking Committee to Ebey’s Landing. While we were hiking, I made a point to interact with each person in the group, letting them know about the Seattle Photography Committee's monthly potluck, where everyone is welcome.

If someone wondered how to identify a particular flower, I let them know that the Seattle Naturalists Committee offers an annual Introduction to The Natural World class. When I led a hike to Frenchman Coulee a couple of weeks ago, I pointed out the basalt columns where our climbing committees take many of their trips (and where The Mountaineers helped to install a second, much needed, pit toilet).

At the end of the trip, we decide as a group if we want to share a meal nearby and/or check out another location before going home. Often, this results in making closer connections and building stronger relationships.

After a trip, I send a follow-up email to everyone who was on the trip. In it, I repeat a lot of the information I shared. I give links to the various Facebook groups that the committees have set up and any upcoming trips they may be interested in attending.

My goal is to not only promote the committee hosting the trip, but to let participants know they don’t have to limit themselves to just one thing in The Mountaineers. If we all do this, we soon have more members who support the success of each committee, get more volunteers, and bring our members closer together and giving them, too, a sense of family.