Comments on: Bob’s Rules for A Fun Radio Club

By: Jurgen

Jurgen — Fri, 28 May 2010 05:58:43 +0000

thanks Bob, off course non-commercial and with full credit.

73 es keep writing!

By: K0NR

K0NR — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:08:33 +0000

Jurgen,
You are welcome to print this post, as long as it is non-commercial and you credit me as the author.

Bob K0NR

By: Jurgen

Jurgen — Thu, 27 May 2010 11:17:55 +0000

Hi Bob,

I get the same feeling regularly in the club I am a member of (and former president).

If you agree I’d like to print your blogpost in our clubmagazine.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks!

By: David

David — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:34:48 +0000

I agree with the above post. Sure wish I was closer to any club in my state. Being in the middle of no where has draw backs….and only ticket in county is no fun. But still love getting on the air with weather reports or helping test local repeaters.

By: K0NR

K0NR — Sun, 09 May 2010 21:02:26 +0000

This discussion reminds me of Paul Rinaldo’s Rule:

http://www.k0nr.com/wordpress/2008/01/paul-rinaldos-rule-of-amateur-radio-progress/

Similar philosophy at work.

Bob K0NR

By: KC8LPZ

KC8LPZ — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:41:31 +0000

From the post, it sounds like the main thing is just that everyone thinks a club should do X, Y, and Z, but everyone’s only interested in X. Heck, if all you’re interested in is a few specific things, just do that. Personally, field day is the highlight of my ham radio year, but that doesn’t go for everyone, I’m sure. So if that’s the case here, just drop it. Do it individually rather than as a club, and instead focus on whatever it is that people actually are interested in. I think you hit the nail on the head with that. If nobody will volunteer to do something, it’s a good sign that nobody wants to do it, and it’s a hobby and a club, not a job – just don’t do it.

By: K0NR

K0NR — Fri, 07 May 2010 03:57:09 +0000

Hey, thanks for the comments!

I have participated in some of those “No Rules” clubs and they do seem to work. They can be limiting in terms of big events or projects due to no treasury. But for what they are, they tend to work.

The club in question is having some growing pains…in terms of trying to figure out what it really wants to be. It is a great bunch of hams and I think we’ll figure it out.

73, Bob K0NR

By: KC8LPZ

KC8LPZ — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:02:04 +0000

Reading blog posts like this (and yours isn’t the first) always makes me glad that the club I ended up in isn’t like this. Perfection is unattainable of course, but I just don’t think we get much of this sort of thing. Just got lucky, I guess.

By: Mark K6HX

Mark K6HX — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:21:50 +0000

Here’s a few observations about successful groups that I’ve been a part of. First, if you can arrange it, don’t collect dues. Dues, even the most pitiful ones, provide a financial incentive to stop showing up, so don’t bother collecting them. Without money, you don’t need officers either, so don’t bother having them either. You really just need a small number of people who are dedicated to making sure that your meeting space is available. After that, encourage people to come, share and talk. Put everyone on equal footing: everyone can learn, and everyone can teach. Tell them to bring whatever they are interested in to share. And don’t be one of those annoying types who talks about the “one true path to ham radio purity”.

By: K3NG

K3NG — Thu, 06 May 2010 11:54:31 +0000

Rule #1 is *so* true. I was president for a club for several years and there seemed to be an expectation by some members that the officers should run with any and ideas that the membership had. My position always was that the officers should support and run what they were interested in and not keep on life support initiatives that had no members who were willing to step up and volunteer for. If a member comes up with an idea and they want to see it come to fruition, they need to own it and volunteer their own time and not expect the officers to make their vision come true without them lifting a finger.