Sunday, November 1, 2009
Participation and patients
There are some very good ideas on how the Club should run etc.. The major issue as I see it is the low number of participants at business meetings. Not the by-laws, not the number of regattas, not the canceled events, not the electronic voting. It is purely the low number of participants we need to take the next step. This leaves a few who are forced to make decisions for the majority because they are dedicated to keeping the Club in operation and moving forward. I applaud the few that are sticking with it. I don't know why the numbers are down. I wish I had an answer and a solution. We have 70 or so families and participation at the business meetings is far less than what we need to make any changes in the current structure or methods without breaking existing rules or offending someone. The process as it stands, again in my opinion, is as good as one could ask for. Sure there are things I would like to see changed as well as maintained but we are at a real crossroad and without consistently larger participation at the business meetings, the Board is left with no other alternative than to make the decisions they feel would best fit the majority and are consistent with the current guidelines. Again, in my opinion, they do as well as one could ask for. If we do anything, it would be to keep the flow of ideas coming in. They do get considered and reconsidered and they will get acted on. It will just take a little longer without more participation and help from the membership. Could be someone will have a great idea to increase participation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Perhaps one thing that would help would be more delegation of decisions and management. I thought the ad hoc Small Boat Storage Committee was a good model last spring. They volunteered to help, took a survey of the members, made recommendations which were approved by the membership, and went on to implement and administer what seemed to be a pretty good solution.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Eric. It is most likely true that many members don't participate because they either don't have the time or don't want to. But I think some members don't participate because they feel unwelcome in the DECISION making process or no one asked them to participate. People who are volunteering to do things do not want be told what to do, they want of be part of a team, that works together to make decisions. Also people may care about certain parts of the club and not so much about others e.g. racing or social events. They may be willing to be on a committee focusing on something specific, but may not be willing to sit through a three hour meeting. Bottom line if you want people to get involved they must feel that their opinion is valued and that their ideas will be listened to.
ReplyDeleteAlso electronic voting does matter, because there are people who want to help make decisions but can't or don't want to go to a three hour meeting. Just because someone doesn't watch a presidential debate or C-SPAN does not mean the don't want a vote.
I really appreciate the thoughts of those on this thread.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add my thoughts, as a relatively new member (I think this was our third summer). I do not sail, well, I took the learn to sail class with Bob and Brandon this June - so I am a neophite sailor. My husband is the sailor in the family, but he has never raced. He attended the mentoring program offered in the summer of '08. He learned a lot, but racing against experienced racers is still very intimidating. He planned to race this summer, but it just never happened - Although I can't really speak for him, I think it was because of feeling anixious (would he screw up, would he ruin the race for others, does he really know what he's doing?). My guess is other non-racing memebers feel the same. It's a tough group to join! I have felt that those without racing experience, or who sail more casually are not as respected by racing members of the club. I have read in these blogs that we are called "picnic-ers". Our family held a private party at the club in June. We had a blast. We were very careful to leave the club house cleaner than when we arrived and even took our bottles and cans home rather than leave an overflowing recycling bin and wonder who would be responsible for it. I do not feel like a picnic-er. I take pride in the club and feel priviledged to be a member.
So, what would increase MY participatio in the club? More opportunites for neophite sailors and racers (maybe 2 races a summer exclusively for those who have little to no racing experience). The club feels to me to be split into two groups, racers and non-racers. If you are a non racer it feels like your opinions aren't as valid/welcomed. Although this may not ACTUALLY be true, it's what it FEELS like (at least to me).
I would attend meetings that were limited to two hours, with limitations on comments and a good handle on arguing. I do believe in using the internet to generate pre-meeting discussion.
I AM interested in the club. But I am intimidated by how to become more involved, or if my involvement is even wanted by the racers. Even posting to this blog was a hard thing to do.
Just my thoughts...
Thakns, illyse for taking the time to put your thoughts out there. To respond to your comments, I felt that many things you said rang true for me several years ago. I was intimidated to try and break into the crowd not being a sailor and not having years of experience on the race course. We should make a concerted effort to welcome everyone out there and find a way to make that work. We are starting up the Junior Racing again this year. Another thng we might consider is starting up the Handicap Fleet with more new racers and working with them to get more experience in actual races.
ReplyDeleteLet's all do a better job of making people feel welcome and encourage them to participate. We love to see new folks out there joinging the crowd. Don;t ever feel like you're in the way or you might screw up. You are entitled to be out there and learning. Every sailor out there started at some point with no experiece. Let's get more people out there!
Ron Alman asked me to post this comment for him. He feels that every member family should be required to attend 2 meetings a year to know what is going on in the Club. It helps them meet people, knwo who they are and get more comfortable with the culture of the Cclub. It is a self-help Club and we need everyone participating.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Ron for sharing his thoughts.
Illyse, I've been a member since I don't know when...maybe 94,95 or 96? I don't race and intimidation would be if they saw me on the course.... But then again, I did come in second in a backwards race once. That should tell you something. I sail primarily evenings into the moonlight. Maybe that's why people say "he's always in the dark". If you want to get more involved in racing but might be a bit intimidated, consider race duty on the committee boat, rescue duty and even shore duty. Just come on down and let the Race Officer know. There are always experienced sailors/boaters partnered with you and believe me, they will share some great experiences and knowledge. After watching the racing a few times, I asked a racer if he would take me as his crew at some point. Guess what? He said yes without hesitation and I was on his Scot the very next race day. This Club will not intimidate anyone. Competitive? Maybe. Inclusive? Always. Thanks for joining the blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words folks! I think there are good ideas out there about how to get more involved in racing. I think my husband will be out there next summer! Me, I think I might do Bob's class one more time. I'm still terrified of a good wind!
ReplyDeleteI did attend the first part of the meeting this week (had to leave at the break due to kids schedules, etc.). It's hard for me to get to meetings with two kids and the fact that I already work two nights a week until 9pm. But, I think making it a requirement to attend at least one meeting a year is a good one. I think if the meetings could be kept to two hours it would make it easier for people. This may sound silly, but name tags would be great! I had to keep refering back to the minutes to remember who people were. And of course those not in the minutes I had no idea who they were.
Looking forward to the coming year.
Illyse