I've saved this email from Gary Andersen, editor of British Car Magazine, for
several years now. Gary points out one of the great failures of clubs,
failing to develop for the future. Each month I receive over thirty
newsletters. The clubs that are struggling are run by the iron fisted old
timers, resistant to new ideas. The successful clubs have old timers who know
how to welcome and develop new members.
Jim Werner
Soap box mode on:
The only questions to continue to ask yourselves each year are: "Are we as
officers making sure that new members are welcomed in and given things to do
to make sure they get active and involved as rapidly as possible, and are we
making sure that there are new officers in the pipeline to replace us?" Even
the best of presidents, editors, and activities chairpersons should step
down every few years (they can always come back again later) to make sure
that new blood is given the major responsibilities. I get newsletters from
over 125 clubs here at British Car Magazine and talk to many hobbyists. The
most often repeated concern is "everything in our club is done by the same
handful of people who have been doing it for years, and ....we're getting
tired but can't find replacements...or ... they don't let anyone else run
things and we're getting tired of them. Either way, such a club almost
inevitably goes down the tubes after awhile and only sometimes is revived.
Soap box mode off.
Cheers
Gary Anderson
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