Hello,
I usually do not write or respond to posts in this email group, because I
am relatively new to caving and am still in the learning process. However, as
this discussion keeps popping up in my inbox, I decided to share my opinion on
this issue. My goal here is not to lambast anyone or anything, but to share my
experience that possibly is representative of some others' experiences with the
intent/hope of positively effecting change. A little background: I have been
actively caving with the Greater Houston Grotto for about 3 years now. I joined
our grotto, paying dues the first year after being welcomed and equipped to
cave by a terrific leadership and community. I began supporting TSA and TCMA
during the latter part of that first year or my second year? after learning
about what they do to support caving in Texas. I only joined the NSS this year.
Why so late on NSS membership? For me personally, it was because I could
see no need nor did I understand the reason(s) to support this national
organization. If you have been around the caving community for a long time,
maybe you have had this knowledge or some sense of responsibility towards this
organization for a long time. As a new person, I did not. Honestly, it took me
a while before I could even remember what NSS stood for. Maybe I'm slow(but
that's a different issue)?
If the NSS is an entity that should have or deserves our monetary support
as cavers and it desires relatively new cavers to be a part of that
organization, then I think there is a communication problem. From my experience
(& maybe this is isolated, but from the emails I don't think that it is), the
message of why the NSS is important?, what it does that benefits rank & file
cavers?, how it impacts caving nationally?, etc... needs to be more effectively
communicated to new people, like myself. Otherwise, why should I support it?
Why should they support it? Why should we care? However, if I see & understand
the importance of something like I did with our local grotto, like I did with
TSA and TCMA, then, I will put my support behind it. I honestly don't think a
lot of new cavers are getting this message.
I'm 47 which means I'm still in a generation which joins things, but their
are generations following mine that have been shown statistically to not be
joiners; for whom, actually joining an organization, showing up regularly, and
supporting it monetarily aren't a priority. You may disagree with that
mentality, but it's a reality. Look around you at local churches, Shriners, and
other volunteer organizations, and you will see they are struggling with this
issue. Rules like, "people can be grotto members and not be an NSS member for
up to a year. After that, they are expected to join the NSS or stop being a
grotto member," I don't think really work with my or these generations. I/we
check out caving because we are interested in exploring caves. We stay, because
we find it fun & rewarding; both the sport and the relationships we've built.
We join, because we have a connection to it & to our group, and want to see it
grow. We don't do any of these things, because we are forced into doing them.
Our grotto has been steadily growing, due to terrific leadership and caring
community, and I don't see us just kicking people out after a year, just
because they aren't NSS members. I'm the treasurer, and I'm not going to report
my fellow cavers if they don't pay their yearly dues. I don't think rules like
that will support future growth. So, I think it is that much more important to
have a clear & engaging communication/education strategy in place, if you want
their support for now & in the future.
I don't like posts that just gripe, but offer no solution. Here is my
suggestion. Feel free to discard out of hand, write off, modify, or use. Maybe
there could be work done to get out some materials that are easy to digitally
distribute and inexpensive like PowerPoint files or something similar that
grotto leaders could effectively use annually(or more often) during a grotto
meeting to communicate the importance of the NSS to their new members. A
presentation which shows how the NSS relates to them, and benefits them locally
& nationally. A presentation which has some cool video, quality pictures, and
interesting facts that shows off the work the NSS does all the time. If this
was easily accessible, engaging, and done on an annual basis at least, I think
support for the NSS could possibly grow with new members. If this is already
available and I just don't know about it, I apologize. If that is the case
though, I would suggest working on promoting and distributing it more, because
I haven't been exposed to it, as of yet. Personally, I am glad that I joined
the NSS, and I am very much looking forward to attending my first NSS
convention this year in Nevada. I wish the best, both now & in the future, for
the NSS and caving, as it is a sport and a people that I have come to value in
my life. I hope you understand that it is in that vein that I write this
letter. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Scott "Scotch" CogburnGreater Houston GrottoTreasurerNSS#67258
On Thursday, May 12, 2016 12:19 PM, Diana Tomchick via Texascavers
<texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote:
Oops! A typo—I meant to write, “If I donate $900, can I get 9 contiguous
bricks with an engraving.” I don’t actually have $9,000 to donate to charity in
one year.
Diana
**************************************************
Diana R. Tomchick
Professor
Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214A
Dallas, TX 75390-8816
diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu
(214) 645-6383 (phone)
(214) 645-6353 (fax)
> On May 12, 2016, at 11:44 AM, Cave Tex <texascavers@texascavers.com> wrote:
>
>> The form for signing up for Team 404 is at
>> http://caves.org/donate/HQ_Donation_Form.pdf.
>
> I downloaded this form with the intention of directly donating money rather
> than signing up for Team 404 (I thought, “why prolong the agony by giving a
> paltry $25 per month, when I could just give a lump sum and be done with
> it?”) and I see that there is a provision for
>
> "Buy-A-Brick – For each $100 donation, we will laser engrave your message in
> a brick for all to see. The bricks will be used for a patio area, walkways,
> or other ornamental features."
>
> and
>
> "Buy-A-Block – For each $50 donation, we will designate one block in the
> outer wall as “your block.” The block map will be on display in the new NSS
> Headquarters and kept as a permanent record."
>
> This made me scratch my head and wonder, “Why have I not heard about this
> fund raising option?”, because I was more than happy to donate money to
> upgrade the student union at my alma mater (University of Wisconsin) through
> a similar ‘engrave a message on a paving stone’ fund raiser.
>
> If I donate $9000, can I get 9 bricks adjacent to each other in a block with
> a connected message? Could I get a cave map engraved on the bricks instead of
> a message? How about an Oztotl design?
>
> If the NSS wants people to donate the money quickly, they would not only make
> this feasible, they would be advertising this to their internal
> organizations. I do believe that our local grotto would gladly “Buy-A-Brick”,
> and I suspect that other Texas I/Os would be interested, too.
>
> Diana
>
> **************************************************
> Diana R. Tomchick
> Professor
> Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry
> University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
> 5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
> Rm. ND10.214A
> Dallas, TX 75390-8816
> diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu
> (214) 645-6383 (phone)
> (214) 645-6353 (fax)
>
>> On May 12, 2016, at 11:24 AM, Cavers Texas <texascavers@texascavers.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> As said I would do in the last paragraph of my e-mail below sent three days
>> ago. I asked for a show of hands of who is NOT an NSS member at last night’s
>> DFW Grotto meeting. Our attendance was unusually low last night, but I am
>> pleased to follow-up and report that of the ten members present, only one
>> raised his hand that he is not an NSS member. I read my paragraph below out
>> loud and frowned at him, which brought a laugh. We went on to discuss Team
>> 404 and the new headquarters.
>>
>> Cavingly,
>>
>> Bill Steele
>> cwilliamste...@gmail.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10 May 2016 at 7:40, Bill Steele via Texascavers wrote:
>>
>> This would be a good opportunity to bring up something that most grottos
>> seem to have a misunderstanding about. Numerous grottos believe that members
>> don't have to be NSS members unless they are in a leadership position in the
>> grotto. This is incorrect. This came up at the NSS Board of Governors
>> meeting in Bend, Oregon in March.
>>
>> The rules are written so people can be grotto members and not be an NSS
>> member for up to a year. After that, they are expected to join the NSS or
>> stop being a grotto member.
>>
>> Here it is the relevant snippet regarding IOs (Internal Organizations, i.e.
>> grottos, surveys, etc.):
>>
>> 5. The membership of IOs shall conform to the following requirements:
>>
>> A. All persons who serve on the governing board of an IO must be a member
>> of the NSS except in the case of Surveys where representatives of state
>> entities or other conservation organizations may serve on the board
>> regardless of their NSS membership status.
>>
>> B. Full membership in IOs shall be open only to embers of the NSS.
>>
>> C. IOs may, at their option, have members who are not members of the NSS
>> and who are limited to a year or less on this status.
>>
>> D. Membership in grottos (or chapters) shall consist of at least five
>> members of the NSS who have designated that grotto as their Primary
>> Affiliation.
>>
>> E. The formal name of a Student Grotto shall indicate that the organization
>> is a Student Grotto (or Chapter), etc.
>>
>> Section C is the relevant section. So we should encourage grotto members to
>> become NSS members.
>>
>> The NSS needs to raise money now to refinance the mortgage on its new office
>> building in Huntsville, Alabama. Please go on and be committed to caving if
>> you are a caver, and if you are not an NSS member, now's the time to join.
>>
>> And if you are a NSS member, then join Team 404. I am a member of Team 404.
>> If 404 cavers allow $25 a month to be directly withdrawn from their bank
>> account, the mortgage payment is met. All above that pays down the mortgage
>> all the sooner.
>>
>> Tomorrow night I am giving the program at the DFW Grotto meeting. Before I
>> do, I'm going to read the above about being an NSS member and talk about the
>> benefits of membership. I may even paraphrase JFK and say, "Ask not what
>> the NSS can do for you, ask what you can do for the NSS." You can admit that
>> caving is a main interest of yours, become a member of the NSS, and join
>> Team 404. I'll ask for a show of hands of who is not an NSS member. And I'll
>> frown at those who are not.
>>
>> Cavingly,
>>
>> Bill Steele NSS 8072 (joined at age 16)
>>
>>
>> --
>> Alex Sproul
>> NSS 8086RL/FE
>> NSS Webmaster & Acting IT Chair
>> www.caves.org
>>
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>
>
> ________________________________
>
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>
>
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>
>
>
> The future of medicine, today.
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