Whose never been to a meeting?

[RobboT]

This is probably one of the most important issues that the officers and bod will have to deal with in the near future (far more important than sponsorship and group buys IMO). There are obviously alot of differing opinions and alot of options. Knowing that they can't possibly satisfy the needs of all 700 people on our members and friends list they will have to decide what is in the best interest of the BRS as a whole. I wish them luck.

 

[Armando]

Good one, Rob.

Mike, of course for you or any other store owner or anyone else involved with LFS business, it would better to have a large BRS than splitting it. But it might not be the best for other members.

 

[littlep93056]

Good one, Rob.

Mike, of course for you or any other store owner or anyone else involved with LFS business, it would better to have a large BRS than splitting it. But it might not be the best for other members.

Armando,

1) I'm Not a store owner , I just handle all the online stuff for the club for John , he is a good friend

2) Why are you starting this sh** about the club splitting up

3) If the meetings end up getting move around , so to give most members a meeting closer to them once in a while & you don't want to drive that far DON"T DRIVE

4) I think your problem is your to use to things being in your back yard , there are over 500 members now who would like equal treatment if possible

 

[Lam]

Easy tiger...easy....

Armando has a good point and deserves to be heard. Let me put it to you guys this way.

If you take everyone's location and do a spread function to get a centralized location, you will most likely get the best number i.e.quantity of atendees. (Armando's view)

If you follow Ed's view, then you'll get possibly less atendees but more diversity.

I don't think we need to or want to split up the members and I will fight this course of action.

 

[littlep93056]

If he was , i'm sorry i spoke so strong , bad day at work

 

[Yaktop]

we can do LFS drives to ct and ny but not have rotated meetings every now and again in different areas? we've had meetings down the cape, in RI, in New Bedford but at people's houses. why couldn't it work at other venues. we say barbecue on the cape and its a huge success, the party at dawn's appeared to draw the usuals. IMO, the issue is peoples on agenda and conveinences.

Ever see long distance travellers to Wakefield? Why wouldnt there be long distance travellers to marlborough, taunton, or braintree?

 

[Armando]

again I have no preference as to keep 1 club or split into 2 or 3 or combine with CT and make a humongous club whatever. I don't even had the demographic data to make any judgement on this.

I do think that keeping the meetings in a central location will keep the number of atendees high and that's a good thing. By "central location" I don't mean necessarily Boston (although this is a BOSTON reefers club). It would be where the majority of club members are located.

 

[Yaktop]

if you read the BRS mission statement I think a periodically scheduled or rotated meeting location is more geared to meet the goals of educating the general public and getting more people involved in 'safe' reefing.

A continual consistent location better serves those reefers who are more educated in the hobby and for those that what a higher draw for their frag swaps. Of the seven hundred members and friends, I wonder how many have ever attended a meeting because of the distances involved.

There are a huge number who could benefit from an occasional meeting in their area. IMO we could have more active members not less.

 

[Armando]

I've only made two meetings and the big auction... The meeting in Waltham seemed to be the most centralized location for those coming down from NH/VT/ME, and up from The Cape and RI/CT.

Since that isn't a choice, the Marlborough/Westborough location would be a good secondary choice.. (Worcester beeing too far west IMHO)

I'd think you would be able to find cheaper costs in MarlboroughWestborough then in Waltham. . .

-Mike

I agree.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

My making a meeting isn't based on where it's held. I've driven to the Cape, to NH, Wakefield, Waltham...etc.
Doesn't really matter, an hour drive seems to be a min.
I've had a great time at most of the meetings. I would have to say we are outgrowing the Wakefield library. We have the same issue with our dive club, we are outgrowing the dive shop where we meet. Instead of renting a place to meet, we make do & put the $$ saved into raffle prizes. We have raffle prizes at every meeting. We raffle off at different meetings: Scuba tank, underwater camera, dive jacket (I won it!), t-shirts (almost every meeting), hats, plus other odds & ends. The money we make goes into our Halloween party & X-mas party. Every year we have over $1000 of raffle prizes for our Xmas party
One reason I think moving the meeting place around is you meet new people & go to new areas/shops.
The main reason I may not make a meeting (working on my house) is not where it's being held (working on my house), but that I may have something else to do (working on my house).
2nd reason would be frag trades, I'm not really trading much (or selling). I'm more or less in a holding pattern until the addition & new tank

Rather then rent Waltham for $500, I'd rather (in good weather) throw a party at someone's house & buy $500 worth of food etc

 

[Armando]

Not easy to find a house that fits 700 people

 

[Scuba_Dave]

I've yet to see a meeting with 700?

 

[Armando]

true but still - hard to find someone willing to have 120 guests in their house.

 

[RobboT]

FWIW I tend to agree with Ed's POV, the goal is to spread information to as many as who are interested, this includes meetings but also includes this website, the newsletter I used to produce, etc. Maximizing attendees at meetings is nice but maximizing overall membership is better IMO. I would rather see BRS be a regional resource than a local elitist clique (I hate that word but sometimes I feel thats where this is heading). There is plenty of room for BRS to be a huge organization with well organized monthly meetings (in larger venues) that rotate location and within the large organization smaller groups of local reefers that can organize their own local get togethers (BBQs, tank tours, fish goo making etc). It already happens plenty.

Cheap has little to do with location and everything to do with peoples willingness to donate time in locating a cost effective option. There are numerous free places that are larger than the Wakefield Library but people have to locate them and be willing to reserve the space for us (e.g., the Braintree library has a free room that is much larger than the Wakefield library but the room can only be reserved by a Braintree resident, I think the Canton library has a pretty large room that I can get for free but it just recently re-opened and I havent had a chance (nor motivation) to check it out).

Free is not the way to go though IMO. I'm a "build it and they will come" kind of person. If we use the money we have to put meetings in better locations more people will come to meetings. We had over $20k in the bank at teh end of 2003, some of it, not including anything we made or lost on MACNA, must still be there. People donated that money so we could have meetings and bring in speakers, we should probably use it for something.

Funny . . . I thought after the MACNA mess that I had lost all my passion for this group, guess I didnt.

 

[Armando]

Just moving meetings around without promoting the meetings in the target location will not get any significant number of new members. I bet almost no one in Wakefield knows we run a reefer's meeting every month in their city.

 

[RobboT]

You're absolutely right Armando. I said it before and I'll say it again . . . if this club is going to continue to grow and improve the officers have alot of work to do. This aint no fish club meeting at Kelly's Roast Beef any more.

 

[RobboT]

It'd be nice if some Officers and BOD members or those who plan to run for a positon next week would jump in here and tell the membership what they plan to do.

 

[Yaktop]

Just moving meetings around without promoting the meetings in the target location will not get any significant number of new members. I bet almost no one in Wakefield knows we run a reefer's meeting every month in their city.

I agree. but, we could use local free press papers, if getting non-reefers to start reefing was a goal. I was thinking more of the 700 'current' members and families that do know we exist but havent tasted what a meeting could do for them and their hobby.

 

[Armando]

You make it sound like these people live in Arizona or New Mexico. It's not that far!

 

[NateHanson]

It seems most people are saying the meetings should be plugged harder, and organized more rigorously to help BRS serve new and existing members. Everyone also acknowledges that this will take more time and effort from the BOD and Officers. Perhaps to best use our leaders time, we should concentrate on bi-monthly big meetings in large venues with food, speakers, and frag swaps. And on the off months, individual members or groups of members can organize local gatherings to talk-reef, trade livestock, get trashed, and throw Marvin in the pool (marvin will have to rotate his attendence between areas).

This would make regular meetings more convenient to many members, with bimonthy meetings within 20-30 minutes of their house, and also help BRS thrive and grow in a centralized manner with mega-meetings organized by the BOD and Officers on the other months.