I took the liberty to set up a group on Flickr called "Twin Cities Model Ships". I'm hoping it will facilitate more communication between the groups and attract some potential new members.
 
Here's the link to the group:
 
http://www.flickr.com/groups/tcms/
 
I've got a couple other ideas for getting the club some more members, but I want to see how this one goes...
 
Let me know what you think...
 
--Kurt

I appreciate your reply! I've been thinking about your comment of "Too little - too late". I agree that this forum is all but dead. I've been trying to be more optimistic in general, so I haven't completely given up hope for EMYC just quite yet...but I'm fading fast.
 
At Tuesday night's meeting, Al reiterated that he won't be Commodore. He was disappointed that nobody stepped up to the plate to take over the post and he said "I think the club needs to be taken in a new direction." Unfortunately, I'm not sure that the majority of the club's members actually want new members, particularly anybody under the age of 60, or for that matter change of any kind.  
 
I'm hoping that Al will provide some perspective about a possible path forward before he steps down. Maybe that will be a wake up call to the members...
 
--Kurt

Guys, I hope you don't give up on the EMYC yet.  Your comments about the membership not wanting new members, especially under the age of 60, is rather unfair.  All of the members would welcome new people, but it has been very frustrating to figure out how to attract them.  If you have any ideas, please put them down or bring them up at the meetings!  I believe this is one of the most important pursuits we can undertake!  As far as current member attitudes, especially in reference to the "old guys", I have never been confronted by any member that has not been totally friendly and willing to discuss anything.  I am a fairly new member, but I am no spring chicken, either. I also have a twitch....
 
I would love to see new members!  The trick is, how do we attract them?  Unfortunately, I do not believe there exists as much interest today for scratch built modeling when there are so many fine ready-to-run boats on the market.  Current interests seem to be more towards hi tech.  Things have changed.  More activities would be nice - Any suggestions??    
 
The parade of boats attracts alot of people, many of which sign up for membership, but most disappear never to be heard from again.  Apparently, their interest is just a flash in the pan.  What can we do to get them involved?  I guess we just have to keep trying - Be more active on boating nights - Welcome those observers that are interested - Increase our communication efforts.....

I appreciate your comments, and agree with much of your frustration. I do want you to know that I consider this a serious problem, and do hope to pursue some improvements.  I also wanted to assure you that we are listening.  As far as rude comments overheard, I am hoping that it is largely a case of misdirected "dry humor" by a few thoughtless individuals.  Generally, most people that attend meetings are positive, and are there because they are interested. Unfortunately, out of the sizeable membership we have, only a small number actually are active, and regularly attend meetings. This indicates to me that some positive organizational changes could improve participation. At any rate, your suggestion of surveying other clubs for ideas is an excellent idea. Your offer to help is greatly appreciated. If you come across specific activities/ideas by other clubs, please point them out to me!  Incidentally, as a result of the recent election, I am in a good position to encourage any new ideas, and would be most happy to see this club refreshed in a positive manner.  I really appreciate that you are interested enough in this club to put down your thoughts and disappointment so we can possibly do something to improve the EMYC for everyone!

Over the last few months I've been working on "group reprioritization" for my lab organization. Basically I'm realigning people and activities so that we're moving the business forward. Along the way I've found some good tools and made interesting discoveries that could be beneficial to EMYC. I would be more than happy to help lead some discussions/investigations.
 
In order to prevent getting bogged down in details and keep things moving we need to keep the core group small (5-6 people tops). I recommend that there be 1 or 2 current officers, 1 or 2 former officer, a long time member who's never been in office, and a newbie (me!). If possible they should have interests that cover a wide range of R/C boating activities.
 
We could probably use a few extra people outside the core to help with information gathering (research on other clubs, talking to current and former members, etc).  
 
If at all possible I'd like to get things rolling on this soon for a few reasons. I've got to burn a bunch of vacation, so I'm off from December 15 through January 3. We could present the preliminary findings at the January meeting for group feedback and action item assignment. Hopefully by the end of March we could have some plans ready to roll out before the pond thaws.
 
Send me a message with the best way to contact you outside of the EMYC website and we can discuss this further.
 
--Kurt

I attended the planning meeting last night, but I'm not too sure about how to interpret what happened. There were good ideas exchanged, but it seemed like the structure was "do not speak unless spoken to". I didn't get much impression that my presence was valued beyond requests for what I could provide to the group using resources from my job and wife's business.
 
The meeting ended with following comment from a board member: "I don't care about about increasing membership numbers, I just want to have fun with the guys we have."  
 
At this point I'm unclear about my future with EMYC. I've actually revised this message 3 or 4 times since I originally posted it as I have thought more about it. I'm waiting to see how the meeting minutes and action plans presented to the larger group play out before I make any firm judgments.
 
I like RC activities, and have tried trucks and planes in the past, but I'm attracted to the craftsmanship and more public nature of boating (instead of hiding out at a remote field or at a track in back of a hobby shop). From my perspective there seems to be too much focus on the categories of boats (racing sail, scale, FE). Some of the projects I've been considering don't fit in any of those specific areas (I have some ideas on boats that would be best described as wood hull, but more of a stylized approach using marquetry/parquetry designs and other "artistic" or aesthetic techniques than true scale or FE or sail for the purpose of racing).  
 
I'm still interested in RC boats as part of my recreation activities and I'll probably renew my membership for 2010, but I'm not sure what my level of involvement will be or if I will rejoin in 2011.
 
If the board would prefer that this message not remain posted for general public viewing they have my permission to delete it. I understand that some may view my posting these positions on the groups public forum may not be appropriate. My intentions were to provide my perspective, not pass judgment. I apologize if I've offended anybody.
 
If you have specific questions or opinions about my comments please let me know. Send me a private message or e-mail through this forum if you feel the discussions should be more out of the eyes of the public.
 
 
--Kurt

Good post Kurt!!  You mean they haven't made you Club President yet? You have a lot of good ideas and you are probably the "Life-Presever" that the club needs. Yes, memebership is the Key to success..  The Club has everything else - Venue,facilities,location/etc.   And, even if it's true that the guys just want to have fun with the guys they have; they may be shooting themselves in the foot.  These guys just want to run their boats & have fun together. They really don't want to mess around with all that Club red-tape. They would probably prefer to have someone else run it for them, but I'm guessing that they don't have that guy that'll do that for them & not "Rock the Boat" if you get my meaning..  So, they just muddle through to keep it afloat..  Then someone like you or I come along to change things. They don't want that - and this is the reason for the resistance..  Maybe it's better-off   Make your decision & stick with it..  Maybe you might want to join the club I went to: (TCMBC)
Whatever your decision, Don't let your passion die..

The Dues are due January 1st of every year and that covers you up through December 31st of that year.
The ideal would be to renew in January every year.