Agreed and you're correct that there are a lot of little projects that are conducted "by one or two people that could be included in a larger project".
This has been one of my biggest and oldest pet peeves, going all the way back when I was a new member at the DFW Grotto. These less than well-publicized (read "secret"?) trips to caves that only a chosen few ever hear about or get invited on. Surely, there's a way to keep the amount of folks attending to a reasonable level while still being inclusive to other cavers, new or experienced. I don't recall ever conducting a project weekend that was not publicized and the number of folks who attended was always manageable. If you want only 6 or 8 cavers, say so! Inclusiveness equals interest, participation, enthusiasm and a healthy TSA/Grotto. Cliquishness equals poor/no camaraderie, disinterest, and a loss of members. The UT Grotto has been very good at getting new cavers underground, primarily at Whirlpool, which is an excellent beginner cave. The Longhorn Project, which I am in charge of, was a blast, before and after ICS and helped get a lot of new cavers underground, primarily from and a big thanks to the Aggie Grotto! If you have a "Grotto Only" trip, surely you can advertise it on CaveTex and allow a few more other cavers from cave poor areas of the state (read "DFW") to attend. If you want to limit the size, say so, but, Publicize, Publicize, Publicize! Mark From: S S [mailto:back2scool...@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 12:27 AM To: texascavers@texascavers.com Cc: texascav...@yahoo.com Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Ask Not What You Can Do For The TSA... We need more caving trip events to local caves....Whirlpool, Airmans, Blowing Sink, Organized Digs?..Hard bargin. I don't think there are enough trips to keep people interested. Digs are always a good project and a great way to move a ton of material in a small time. Surely there must be some projects out there being worked on one bucket at a time by one or two people that could be included in a larger project. VOlonteers love projects... ________________________________ From: mark.al...@l-3com.com Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:30:06 -0500 To: Texascavers@texascavers.com CC: texascav...@yahoo.com Subject: [Texascavers] Ask Not What You Can Do For The TSA... But, what can the TSA do for you! Michael Cicherski emailed the TSA officers this query and we all would like to solicit your (constructive and positive) ideas, improvements, likes/dislikes, and things you would like to see the TSA do. From Michael: What can we (the TSA) do for the remainder of the year to make a difference? Is there anything that we can pro-actively to show the TSA is the premier caving organization in the State? How can we make the TSA the "place to go" for all things caving? I will be up front and say that I have no answers to my own question. It is more of a question that we need to ponder as we move into the summer months. With the exception of the Texas Caver and TSA Convention we are relatively dormant during these summer months. Perhaps we could have 2 -4 training classes at TCR in October. Workshops limited to the first 25 cavers on such topics as cave photography, vertical beginner, vertical advance, cartography beginner, cartography advanced. We currently have around 150 members and it has fluctuated around there since I have been an officer. The officers and I are interested in building more excitement and enthusiasm for the TSA, which will then bring in more members. I just attended a superb climbing class conducted by Lloyd Turnbull and the Cowtown Grotto. These are the type of things we're interested in promoting and conducting. So now is your chance! Rather than listen to me browbeat y'all about needing material for The TEXAS CAVER (which, I still do!) get your thinking caps on and send us some feedback! If you would like to volunteer to head something up, don't be shy about that, as well! I will be out of commission for the next couple of days getting a couple of kidney stones annihilated, but while you're sending me money, flowers, candy, and best wishes, think about ways we can improve the TSA. We're all in this cave together! Thanks! Mark, Ellie, Michael, and Denise
