David@wegetkraken
Area Local Reef Club
Depends on what the objective of the club is. If it is to appeal to a new generation, grow the hobby and subsequently grow the sponsor and member pool and thus alleviate some of the financial woes I would humbly point out some outside in observations from someone who has only been here a few months (and who is willing to chip in with solutions, time and effort to help resolve so not just throwing stones)I don’t have the answer to this problem and while distance is certainly an issue for some. It’s not for others. Food is a silly discussion as stated by others we don’t need to be fed by the host. Seems to me the issue we are missing is why is it with soooooo many members So few show up. Perhaps we aren’t offering what people want. Is it possible to PM the entire list of members and send a survey as to what they want or expect. Seems every meeting I go to. Is a real good time but perhaps what I like about them doesn’t float the boat for others.
1. Forums are great for cataloguing how to, what's this, etc...type information, but are beyond antiquated for social media. Our Facebook (also now viewed as antiquated) could use some love. Do we even have an Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, etc...? If you want to grow with younger members you have to be out where they are.
2. Our (hopefully been around long enough to say "our") booth could additionally use a little love...it was "tired" at Reefapalooza and poorly attended and not going to attract anyone except the die hard folks who are mostly already here. What would excite you and make you want to walk over to it?
3. We need raffles, auctions, give aways...(i.e. something that is going to excite people into wanting to come to events).... that's why ACC had a packed house. Cool and frequent events - snorkeling, trips to the aquarium, frag swaps, etc...would also build excitement with existing and new members
4. I don't know how many official members there are, but roughly two dozen of us are truly active. Could be some lurkers out there, but only a couple dozen are contributing.
Lots of other things we could do that we may have done before, but that I haven't seen in several months of being in the club. Just an observation....we have the vibe of an old VFW and I'm both old and a veteran so that isn't an insult. Just not necessarily appealing to people not like me.
Current membership and sponsorship is clustered around central Jersey and if objective is to simply get together with that crew a few times a year and trade war stories then I'd agree with current suggested approach. No animosity or sarcasm meant there at all. It is all about what does the club want.