Your Club and it's Meetings

We have seen a decline over the years in meeting attendance and I am certain we are not alone in this. I'd like to hear the following from your club:

1) How often do you have meetings?
2) Where do you conduct meetings?
3) Are there any costs associated with where you meet?
4) What percentage of members are at the meetings?
5) Have you seen a decline in meeting attendance?
6) Any ideas you may have implemented to increase attendance at the meetings. Did they work?

I appreciate hearing from you and for those who wish not to post, you can email me at: [email protected]

Thanks,

>1) How often do you have meetings?
First Thursday of every month

>2) Where do you conduct meetings?
At the field in the summer (flying/meeting).
At a club members house or pizza joint in the winter.

>3) Are there any costs associated with where you meet?
No unless you count the pizza

>4) What percentage of members are at the meetings?
75 to 80 but we have a small club

>5) Have you seen a decline in meeting attendance?
Not over the last four years I have been a member, membership and
meeting attendance has increased

>6) Any ideas you may have implemented to increase attendance
>at the meetings. Did they work?
We started a raffle, most members bring something they no longer use/need and we raffle it off at the meeting. Proceeded go to the club. It was fun for about the first year then everyone started bringing back the stuff they won at the last meeting

Dear Mary,

Here is some facts about NVCL in Northern VA.

1) How often do we have meetings?
Once a month on the second Thursday at Virginia HobbySport.

2) Where do you conduct meetings?
Virginia HobbySport, our hobbystore.

3) Are there any costs associated with where you meet?
No, other than the model goods that we purchase from Virginia HobbySport.

4) What percentage of members are at the meetings?
Approximately 35 to 40% show up.

5) Have you seen a decline in meeting attendance?
No, the attendance has increased slightly.

6) Any ideas you may have implemented to increase attendance at the meetings. Did they work?
We notify all members with email a week prior to the meeting to remind them of the upcoming meeting and let them know what is to be talked about and presented. Most members have email and this seems to help.

Our club, the X47 Flyers, holds its meetings a little differently than most clubs. We meet on the morning of the first Sunday of each month. Usually, we go to the field first (early) and get in a few flights. Then we go to my work location to hold the meeting. I think combining flying and the meeting is why we are able to maintain at least 85% attendance at the meetings. After the meeting we go to a late breakfast at the local eatery.

We meet in the conference room of the Division of Forestry headquarters where I work.

No cost involved.

There has not been a decline in attendance and this is most likely due to way we combine flying and the meeting.

Mary,
Norfolk Aeromodelers. We are located in the southeast VA area.
1) How often do we have meetings?
Once a month on the fourth Tuesday or Wednesday.

2) Where do you conduct meetings?
Chesapeake Public Library on Volvo Parkway

3) Are there any costs associated with where you meeting?
No, we are dues free for now.

4) What percentage of members are at the meetings?
Approximately 40% come to the meetings.

5) Have you seen a decline in meeting attendance?
Yes.

6) Any ideas you may have implemented to increase attendance at the meetings. Did they work?
We used to have drawing for a Fox 35. The attending members would put their name in a box at each meeting. After 6 meeting the winner's name was drawn. That seemed to work for awhile. We have done similar things such as raffles, etc. The best thing we do is have a building contest once a year. The top three places win gift certificates to the local hobby shop. The building contest is only once a year though.

Heck, I just wish there was a nearby CL club.

I'm in the same boat George.

We have 3 flyers in the house now and not a local club in site.

Paul

No club, no meetings, no dues, no responsibility, no AMA fees but a dozen or so guys and a couple of occasional ladies who seem to have a lot of fun flying together. We usually put on one or two events a year in Oklahoma City. Sometimes combat, sometimes stunt, sometimes both. No one seems to see any reason to change what we are doing and I agree.

1) How often do you have meetings?
Five Times per year. We may have impromptu meetings at our three annual picnics.
2) Where do you conduct meetings?
Three at our field, one at my house at Christmas, one at the restaurant near Lebanon. The latter is really our annual banquet.
3) Are there any costs associated with where you meet?
No – we make money since two of the meetings are after our flea market
4) What percentage of members is at the meetings?
25 – 60%
4) Have you seen a decline in meeting attendance?
NO!
6) Any ideas you may have implemented to increase attendance at the meetings. Did they work?
Having the meetings just after our flea market helps as we have a fun-fly afterward. The picnic meetings are most informal as we just make them discussion periods.
Bob Z

>No club, no meetings, no dues, no responsibility, no AMA
>fees but a dozen or so guys and a couple of occasional
>ladies who seem to have a lot of fun flying together. We
>usually put on one or two events a year in Oklahoma City.
>Sometimes combat, sometimes stunt, sometimes both. No one
>seems to see any reason to change what we are doing and I
>agree.

Don't you have a desire to attend a local contest or flyin or go to one of the flyins like the VSC or Brodak???

>Don't you have a desire to attend a local contest or flyin or go to one of the flyins like the VSC or Brodak

Hi Tom:
We do have one or two local unsanctioned contests a year which seem to draw quite a few beginning stunt or combat flyers out. Two of these guys have gone on into more serious competition. I also competed year before last and the prior year and will do so again this year.
Sanctioning our contests has been pretty thoroughly discussed. At this time the negatives outweigh the positives in the majority of our flyers minds but it is a possibility in the future.

We're not lucky enough to have a C/L-oriented club, but the local R/C club does maintain a C/L circle at one of their two fields. It is currently under re-construction, but while this is being done we are flying at the other field - that field is mostly in R/C use in the mornings, so we have the afternoons (NB - nobody's flying at the moment... eagerly awaiting spring!). Those of us who do fly C/L are required to be members of the club:

>1) How often do you have meetings?
Once a month, 4th Thursday, Sept.-May

>2) Where do you conduct meetings?
At the local Seniors Centre

>3) Are there any costs associated with where you meet?
Yes... paid for by dues (part of the club budget)

>4) What percentage of members are at the meetings?
The club has about 140 members (of which only about 3 or 4 of us fly C/L), seems like at least 60% attendance at most meetings

>5) Have you seen a decline in meeting attendance?
Not that I've noticed.

>6) Any ideas you may have implemented to increase attendance
>at the meetings. Did they work?
We have 50/50 draws, or raffles, plus hobby-oriented "entertainment" (demonstrations, etc.)

Interesting fact-oid... apparently, a majority of our members (R/C types) pay the dues (including MAAC fees), and attend meetings, but don't build or fly! That one just blew me away. I guess they just like the social aspect of it, and to see what the others are doing. We seem to have only about 30 flying members...

Of course, all of the C/L members fly...

We meet on the first Monday of the month or the Tuesday after if Monday is a holiday. We meet in a meeting room at the main library, no costs. Dues are 12.00 a year. About 90% show up, but we have only 8 members. We try to fly each weekend at a local high school parking lot or the baseball park parking lot each Saturday and some Sundays.
I think we are too small to try any auctions, etc and I don't think most members worry about such.

Dear Mary:

A couple of things to add to Tom's information on NVCL....
In the summer we have our meetings at the flying field. Our club has been around quite a few years but is about twice the size it was 10 years ago (I think we are up to 45 members.) We do quite a bit of out-reach and try to challenge our membership. At the same time we try to make the meetings something very welcoming, for instance, we are now conducting most of the club business at a separate Executive Committee session, because the business portion of our meetings were taking up too much time. We often have building or how to do it demos at our meetings. Sometimes we deliberately don't schedule anything just so the members can BS. We always have a "show and tell." We try to vary the routine - at this month's meeting I told everyone that they would be getting an airplane kit that night. Of course it was a paper airplane kit for them to take home and build! Next month we will have a beauty and distance contest. Dick H won last year's by wadding up his airplane and throwing it! (I may have to change the rules this year.) We will probably schedule a trainer building/repair session for our April meeting to get our trainer fleet into shape for this years demos.

We regularly fly at outside events and have put hundreds of kids up on our trainers. We will be having flying sessions with church and scout groups this summer, we will fly at the Tarara Wind and Wine event (a two day event sponsored by a local winery), a church sponsored neighborhood event in Falls Church VA, an EEA fly-in, Girl Scout day at the Smithsonian Museum at Dulles, and the Plane Pull for Special Olympics held at Dulles airport in September. On top of all this, we have just spent the last almost three years in an ongoing fight to get a public control line flying field in our area. Our members will be spending a lot of time this spring and summer wacking weeds, clearing fields, and mowing and raking to get two control line flying fields into shape for public use. All of this and I think we had 11 or 12 members attend Brodak's last year. We figure to do it again this year!

It seems important that a club either be challenged or takes one up. At times the past few years have been tough for our club, but our membership seems to be able to rise to the occasion. I think Tom would tell you that a large part of the reason is that the key members of our club know that "it's not about us."

Scott:)

Thank you everyone, you have all shed some light on a topic our 45+ year old club is looking at. We have met twice monthly on Friday nights.

I would like to thank all of you who work so hard to promote control line and model aviation. Boy, Scott, that winery trip sounds like fun- hic-cup!

Thanks again guys!!!

Mary:+