General Category > General Discussion
How do clubs need to respond in modern ‘Web’ era?
Paul Hannaby:
I think the first thing clubs need to do is to consider the needs of the people they are trying to attract. Some seem to ignore that and just run things for their own needs. For example, if you want to attract either youngsters or working people, you need to have meeting times either in the evening or at weekends. The clubs also need to consider why people come to the club. Not long back I was talking to someone new to turning and I suggested they found their local club. The response was that they visited the local club and asked about some tuition and guidance, to be told "it wasn't that sort of club"! Perhaps more clubs should have a training / mentoring programme to encourage and support newcomers.
Dave Wraight:
As chairman of my local club(first year nearly over and one more year to go) I set out to try to make a difference, we don't go in for club competitions but actively encourage members to 'show and tell'. The most recent evening was Chairman's challenge - earlier in the year I had carefully wrapped 40+ smallish pieces of wood gleaned from my own workshop and woodpile and raffled them off(no charge). the task was to either produce an item from the wood or incorporate it into something else. Our members really rose to the challenge after some friendly jibes about pieces of wood only suitable for matches(among many others). We had boxes and finials, lamps and xmas decorations, egg cups and eggs, fruit and bowls to put it in. This one task had fired the imagination of so many members. Being August many members were on holiday so I am hoping for more pieces when we meet in September. This is something you do not get on the web - the sharing of ideas and practical solutions.
Two of our members stand out from the evening - one being a young lady (only a year into turning) who ended up with a log from the woodpile - two carefully crafted items - egg and egg cup which she stood up and carefully described how she had turned and finished. The other was a older man who has belonged to the club for many years - he now has dementia but he had accepted the challenge and turned a small box with lid on his home made lathe based now on a Makita drill(the original B and D drill has been consigned to the bin! These two among others would not have an outlet for their work or ideas without the club - yes You Tube has its place as do various online groups but nothing compares to standing up amongst your peers and talking about your work.
willstewart:
One thought - my club has started a competition once a month for a defined just-made item (bud case, decorated plate etc.) with a bottle as a prize. I am amazed by the number and quality of entries, and it is great discussing pieces with makers. We already have an 'items made since last meeting' table but the competition has livened this up. We should maybe put pictures of pieces on the website.
John D Smith:
Thank you Simon I do understand where you are coming from at the moment we have 4 young members under 16 and 5 lady members these are good members with regard to the youngsters as I said previous they move on not always because of lack of interest other challenges come along in their academic careers.
Regards John
GBF:
--- Quote from: John D Smith on August 10, 2019, 08:06:11 PM ---
Thank you Simon I do understand where you are coming from at the moment we have 4 young members under 16 and 5 lady members these are good members with regard to the youngsters as I said previous they move on not always because of lack of interest other challenges come along in their academic careers.
Regards John
--- End quote ---
And Girlfriends and Boyfriends
Regards George
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