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President Trump has become the gift that keeps on giving, according to Avon Township Democrats at their regular meeting in the Round Lake Area Public Library Saturday.

"Our best recruiting tool has been Donald Trump," said Hal Sloan, 59, of Grayslake, chairman of the Avon Township Democrats.

"And I've heard other people say that he's the reason they keep going. We used to have six to 12 people at a meeting, and now we have 20 to 25," he said, with just over 20 people meeting in the activity room of the library on a sunny Saturday morning.

He said after the Women's March in Chicago, he wondered how to keep the momentum going forward.

"When I was there, the energy was phenomenal and I thought, 'How do I keep this going,'" he said.

"It was peaceful and respectful. There were a couple of Trump supporters with signs," he said, but things never turned nasty.

On Saturday, they discussed ways to use social media better, from Google Groups to Facebook and Twitter. They already have a Facebook page, website, http://www.avondems.com, and Twitter account @avontwpdems.

"Someone had suggested that we have a private Facebook page too, but I think it's redundant," he said.

"And remember when you respond in Google Groups, your message goes to everyone in the group," Sloan added.

Under new business, those present discussed having more social gatherings, like once a quarter, said Patrick Duby, 41, of Round Lake, who organized the first social evening recently at Taco El Norte's in Round Lake Beach.

"It's so we can reach out to the community and other townships. We had five other township Democrat organizations show up that night," he said.

"We talked about doing this every quarter and I want to do another one in May at another local venue. It's just a way to socialize and get to know other groups," Duby said.

Another member suggested the group recognize World Autism Month this month by providing more resources for families with autistic children because therapy is expensive and the earlier the little kids get therapy they better they socialize.

"We have a significant amount of families in our community and a lot of action in Springfield is geared toward cutting special education resources," said the woman who did not want to be identified.

Someone else suggested the group post bills on its website to alert people to those bills that would cut special needs funding.

Sloan said another community outreach effort is highway clean-up, where the group plans to pick up trash along Rollins Road, from Cedar Lake Road to Lotus Drive, on May 13

"It's a good workout," he joked, "and there is always the contest to see who finds the craziest thing along the roadway."

At one point, Tyler Sadonis, a field organizer for the Democrat Party, asked members to be volunteers for a telephone calling effort for the special election April 18 in Georgia. He explained they would be calling other Democrats in that state to make sure they go out and vote.

"We can show that the Democrats have momentum and win a congressional seat back," he said as he took out a sign-up sheet for people to use after the meeting.

Duby echoed the chairman's comments about Trump generating more interest.

"Our best recruitment tool has just been people listening to the news. People are more interested and engaged. Our membership tripled," he said.

Floyd John Trexler, 70, of Grayslake, became visibly irritated when the subject of President Donald Trump was brought up after the meeting.

"He hasn't done anything for me. All he's done is take things away," he said.

fabderholden@tribpub.com

Twitter @abderholden

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Democrats see Trump's action boosting their membership - Chicago Tribune