HOW TO ORGANIZE A LAKE ASSOCIATION
        
You’re going to need a core group of “believers”. Possibly 3 to 5. However, nothing will happen unless someone, here in after referred to as “you” starts the process.

You will be the one who encourages your neighbors to see the advantages of a lake association. If you can get 4 or 5 more to see these advantages, you’re on your way.
(Remember, your beginning group may well comprise your first executive board.)

Now you will need a mailing list of all property owners on your lake. Go to the GIS office in the Aitkin Country Court House and tell them what you’re doing.
For a small fee, they can provide you with a list of property owners living around your lake. Enter the list into a computer and with a little “computer magic” you’ll have mailing labels and be ready to go.

Send an informational letter to all property owners and invite them to an organizational meeting. You can hold this meeting at your local town hall or a church nearby. You could also schedule it for the library meeting room in town. The Soil and Water Conservation office in the Southgate Center may be able to help you with the process of mailing this initial contact letter.

The primary goal of this meeting will be to recruit members and set and collect dues.
(Our association charges 20.00 per year.)

You will want to elect a board of directors comprised of: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. You’ll also need an editor, but that can be an appointed position.

You will want to adopt a set of by-laws which will outline your goals and purpose as well as defining the process for electing new officers and specifying their term of office.
(You may use the Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association, ACLARA, as a resource here.)

When we organized our lake association, our board decided, and our membership concurred, that our purpose would be to educate and socialize. In this regard it is important that your lake association publish a newsletter.

An association newsletter is absolutely vital. It can be anything from a simply typed letter to a multi paged, professionally edited paper using Microsoft Word with all its’ graphics.
The newsletter is what the members will get for their dues. It is the vehicle for providing information focusing on lake quality and other environmental issues as well as informing members of up-coming social events and meetings of the association. Use some computer clip art and a well-chosen joke or two. You’ll want to make each issue something your members look forward to reading. We usually publish 4 editions a summer, in May, June, August and September.
The success of your newsletter is going to rest with your editor, so choose wisely. And remember, she or he is the editor and not the composer of its content. It will be the responsibility of all board members to submit articles from time to time focusing on their board responsibilities. Having a President’s column can be a good idea. You can obtain copies of other association newsletters by requesting them from the ACLARA office. You’ll also be able to use articles of interest from the Minnesota Lakes Association (mnlakes.org) and the ACLARA newsletters. The DNR is an excellent resource for a variety of printed material focusing on Lake quality issues and is available at their office in Aitkin and on their website. However 2 or 3 pages of typed information will do. The important thing is to communicate

You’ll need to find a place for your first meeting. The town hall or local church, are 2 suggestions.
You can contact ACLARA through the Soil and Water Conservation office in Aitkin and we’ll supply a knowledgeable speaker to help you organize and answer your questions.
Prepare an agenda and stick to it. After presenting all of the information about goals and the process for operation, call for a vote. If you’ve done your homework and focused on the goals of the proposed organization (Lake quality, shoreline management, fishing quality, socializing.) you should have a majority of voters to begin the process of organizing.

First of all, you’ll need to elect the officers we discussed earlier. You’ll want to appoint an editor either at this time or as soon as possible and set your dues structure. Many of the associations in ACLARA have annual dues in the 20.00 range.

You now have an association with elected officers. Have those present fill out membership forms (name, mailing address, contact number and e-mail address if available.) Have your treasurer collect dues and you should set a date for your first annual meeting. (We have ours the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend).
Oh, and the membership form should give the member a place to list concerns about the lake.
Ask members their feelings about an annual potluck picnic or other social events. Try to keep them mostly self-supporting, remembering that some folks come to the lake to get away from any organized activity.

You’re on your way. Give ACLARA a call through the Soil and Water Conservation office if you have a question or problem.

Oh, and remember to encourage your membership to become a part of the Aitkin County Lakes and Rivers Association (ACLARA). It’s a great
investment.