There has been many initiatives to ‘raise enthusiasm” The Beyond 3000 being a recent one.
The nett effect over the last 7 years has been negligible at best. There are two things that will work 1. Every member makes sure they take personal responsibility to add one new member a year and makes it happen. 2. A centralised marketing budget of more than $750,000 per year over 3 years The two together might see a sustainable membership of over 4000. How to be sustainable things also have to change at the club level, as clubs are less and less attractive to potential new members due to social shifts in the main. The things that attracted people to clubs in the past are no longer attractive, the effective of social change. There is no easy win here, anyone who thinks so has not been involved in trying to make large improvements at the actualisation level > On 30 Jan 2017, at 11:13 am, Teal <te...@internode.on.net> wrote: > > Agreed. > > An organisation that relies on (a lot of) volunteer work to function is > basically depending on members' enthusiasm and commitment to that > organisation, and to the activity that the organisation is there to > facilitate. If the public face of the GFA is griping and grumbling about said > membership, all that really does is undermine both of those essential > factors, while making the group look unattractive to non-members. Lose-lose. > > The shrinking memberships issue is a bigger one than can be solved by > individual members. I personally have dragged friends along to the airfield > for AEFs and waxed enthusiastic to everyone I know about the joys of soaring; > the same can be said for many many other GFA members. However, we can't tie > people to gliders until they agree to join. They have to *choose* to do that > themselves, and so far nobody that I've dragged up to the airfield for an AEF > has made that choice. When I asked them about it later, I've gotten feedback > along the lines of "I loved it! I'm definitely going to learn to fly in the > future, but right now I don't have time". I'm not sure what I can do about > that, personally; but I'll certainly keep on trying. > > As for the larger problem... gliding is not exactly high-profile among the > general population. Would addressing that with some promotional advertising > be worth considering? I have little in the way of marketing skills, but > surely some GFA members might have some expertise that they could bring to > bear on this issue. Maybe the GFA could produce more promotional items like > bumper stickers or tshirts or whatever that could be put out in front of lots > of eyes and attract attention? I recently put a "Women In Gliding" bumper > sticker on the bumper of my car, and it's already attracted some comment from > acquaintances when I'm out and about. Or maybe we could organise a > nicely-produced promotional DVD with attractive gliding videos and basic "who > to contact if you want to find out more" info, and arrange to have it > distributed as a freebie in, I dunno, some wider interest sporting magazine, > or cereal packets, or at the post office, or whatever seems plausible. > > Is there any mileage to be had in using relatively simple methods like this > to make gliding a bit more visible out there among the general non-aviation > population? > > We need to be RAISING enthusiasm, not quelling it. > > > Teal > > On 30/01/2017 10:20 AM, Ulrich Stauss wrote: >> >> From the GFA Facebook page: “Due to complaints from a vocal few who oppose >> the facts the last post had been deleted at their request. It's s sad day >> when the noise of a few drown out the facts however unpalatable they maybe. >> We cannot move forward until we accept where we are and recognize the need >> for change in the way we see the current situation and change can only >> happen with hardwork, burying our heads on the sand because we don't like >> what we are hearing will achieve nothing.” >> >> Do we really need the dirty washing of one (or more?) frustrated individuals >> displayed on the public shopfront window of the GFA? How is that going to >> come across to (prospective) members and the general public? How >> embarrassing for the organisation and insulting to the volunteers who carry >> it. >> >> This is stuff that needs to be sorted out in the board room, not in public. >> Just floating ideas (in such a negative tone at that) and expecting the >> membership to jump to it is a public display of bad leadership (and in my >> view as good as a resignation letter). Putting meat to those ideas and >> implementing change in an enthusiastic manner is what is needed instead. >> >> Ulrich >> >> *From:*Aus-soaring [mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.base64.com.au] *On >> Behalf Of *Ulrich Stauss >> *Sent:* Sunday, 29 January 2017 22:55 >> *To:* 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' >> <aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au> >> *Subject:* [Aus-soaring] GFA Negative Advertising and Censorship? >> >> Has somebody in GFA Marketing and Development lost their marbles? >> >> The attached post essentially blaming the membership for “not getting off >> their collective butts” continues a string of similarly negative posts >> mainly on Facebook and has prompted quite a few comments from upset members, >> several of which - including mine - were removed and at least in my case I >> am now blocked from the GFA page. >> >> The same happened to me in response to my remark/question I posted in the >> thread below which I had initially posed in an FB comment on the WGC2017 >> Benalla page: the comment was deleted and I was blocked from the page. >> >> Rather than blaming the general membership for not magically implementing >> ideas that somebody may have floated at some stage how about some effective >> leadership and change management from whoever posted these rants and blocked >> me from the pages (I am assuming “they” are both the same person). >> >> It would also be a good idea to add the name of the person responsible to >> anything they post on behalf of the GFA. >> >> Just my thoughts. >> >> Ulrich >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Aus-soaring [mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.base64.com.au] On Behalf >> Of Ulrich Stauss >> Sent: Friday, 20 January 2017 13:36 >> To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' >> <aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au <mailto:aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au>> >> Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Worlds coverage >> >> Does anyone know why the live streaming comes online at the end and not >> already for the Opening Ceremony? >> >> Also, what were the problems initially? The organisers seem to think that it >> was "Due to technical issues, Australia's ancient Internet system" (which I >> think is not good form to post on a public and official web forum) and >> offered another link. >> >> Both streams now seem to work well though at least for me: >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLmdBix3H_E >> >> http://player.5stream.com/16094 >> >> Ulrich >> >> -----Original Message----- >> >> From: Aus-soaring [mailto:aus-soaring-boun...@lists.base64.com.au] On Behalf >> Of Casey Jay Lewis >> >> Sent: Wednesday, 18 January 2017 13:06 >> >> To: Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia. >> >> <aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au <mailto:aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au>> >> >> Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] Worlds coverage >> >> Another John Styles rant I suspect. >> >> Carries a lot of anger that one. >> >> CJ >> >> iPhone Transmission >> >> > On 18 Jan 2017, at 10:33, Richard Hatch <rhatch...@gmail.com >> > <mailto:rhatch...@gmail.com>> wrote: >> >> > >> >> > Can anyone enlighten me to the comments posted from the GFA and the >> >> > WGC in >> >> relation to the sponsors yesterday. Seemed pretty weird and childish. They >> have been deleted now I see. >> >> > >> >> > Ritch >> >> > _______________________________________________ >> >> > Aus-soaring mailing list >> >> > Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au <mailto:Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au> >> >> > http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Aus-soaring mailing list >> >> Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au <mailto:Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au> >> >> http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Aus-soaring mailing list >> >> Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au <mailto:Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au> >> >> http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Aus-soaring mailing list >> Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au >> http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring > > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au > http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.base64.com.au http://lists.base64.com.au/listinfo/aus-soaring
