Clubs are dead. Just look at the age demographics of most clubs The membership is mostly your fathers age assuming your at least 65. The last club I was a member of I was the youngest one in the room and I was 60 at the time. Amateur Radio facebook groups have replaced the traditional ham club and the best part is you don't have to listen to the opinionated old farts spout of about subjects totally unrelated to amateur radio and I no longer have to keep up my CPR skills. The truth is most amateur radio clubs have been on life support for a decade or more.
Tom- a great article and it so perfectly describes any social group. I'm on;ly in one ham club bur 2 ski clubs, the US Coast Guard auxiliary ( were civilians), not government, a former board member as well as a general member of that club, eyc, etc,etc. I see it also in the board of my house of worship. They all have the same issue. To many click members that are in for self gandoisment and not for the membership. All had thins for me to take advantage, which I did, with many of the board not wanting to hear suggestion or make any changes; they felt everything was great.
Indeed, "clubs" everywhere have this issue, from the big "service clubs" to the small hobby clubs. People just aren't signing up, and those who do are retired. I'm not sure, however, whether this is an attitude/priority change among younger people, or if it's just becoming too hard to be involved in civic life. When those clubs were busy with younger people, you had plenty of single-income families, jobs that actually ended at 5pm, and kids who could be kids and still be successful after high-school. Those are still possible, but most of us seem to be far too busy on the multi-career and 24x7 child raising duties to have much time for civic participation or hobby groups. That's the part that gets squeezed out. Fortunately, one of my kids wants to be an engineer, so tinkering with electronics gets to count as parenting for me, and I get a second pair of hands too! I can volunteer for events with the club occasionally, but signing up for anything with ongoing, regular responsibilities? That doesn't even sound attractive.
Being a member of a club for 37 years and an officer for 30 years, the worst part is having only a handful of members that do all the work. Most people come to be entertained but provide no commitment to helping the club with the work load.
Our club elects the same people all the time. The board does things without the members vote. A few people run the club from day one & are not elected. I left for a year & only renewed as it was cheaper than ARRL increased membership. Yes the club has good people. I do object to the club getting too close to the Boy Scouts. They kicked us out of the club shack at BSA & wanted $35 a year per individual for liability insurance to protect BSA & not individuals I refused it
My "home club" suffered from much of what was mentioned above and so much more when I first became involved in amateur radio almost a decade ago. To make things worse, there was a "clique" of like 6 people. If you weren't one of them... you & your opinion didn't matter. It was even to the point that they'd have "secret society" meetings (they called them "Executive Committee meetings") minutes before the regular club business meeting... allegedly to discuss what would be allowed to be discussed at the regular meeting. If a topic wasn't pre-approved during this EC meeting, then it would NOT be allowed to be brought up at the regular meeting. Oh, and NO regular member was allowed in these meetings! PERIOD!
With some persistence and the threat to the aged clique's health during the "pandemic", club leadership has now changed hands and changes to the club have taken place. In my opinion, the club has greatly improved... there are no longer any "secret society" meetings... ALL meetings are open to the membership and most are open to the public. We have added "Tech Night" where we work on and discuss each other's projects. We have also added a monthly exam session!
When I first joined there was two events you could talk about each year. One annual public service event and Field Day. Now, we have a few public service events we help out with and also participate in more "contests" than just Field Day.
Besides events, our relationships with the local emergency managers & their offices have grown and we now have a youth committee who is actively working with other youth organizations in the area.
Anyway, I guess my point is that clubs can change and that I would encourage everyone to be patient and persistent towards the goals of sharing the hobby, being open to learn as well as to teach. Being closed-minded is usually the cause of problems in the club, so... strive to keep an open mind.
I've been a club officer. It's generally a thankless task. I remember the looks on faces in the room when I agreed to stand for election, years ago. I saw relief that they wouldn't feel pressured to step up. So to you, one of the best club presidents I've had the pleasure to know, I tip my hat and say thank you, thank you, thank you. While I have relief painted all over my face, that relief translates to: our club is stronger and we are made better by your leadership, and I am relieved and pleased to be part of such a group. Thank you Ben.
Clubs are dead. Just look at the age demographics of most clubs The membership is mostly your fathers age assuming your at least 65. The last club I was a member of I was the youngest one in the room and I was 60 at the time. Amateur Radio facebook groups have replaced the traditional ham club and the best part is you don't have to listen to the opinionated old farts spout of about subjects totally unrelated to amateur radio and I no longer have to keep up my CPR skills. The truth is most amateur radio clubs have been on life support for a decade or more.
Individuals and groups that fail to evolve are condemned to become the skid marks on the lavatory floor of history !!!
Clubs are not dead at all. It really depends on the club's leadership. Clubs in my area (Orlando, FL) are thriving, with well over 150 members.
Tom- a great article and it so perfectly describes any social group. I'm on;ly in one ham club bur 2 ski clubs, the US Coast Guard auxiliary ( were civilians), not government, a former board member as well as a general member of that club, eyc, etc,etc. I see it also in the board of my house of worship. They all have the same issue. To many click members that are in for self gandoisment and not for the membership. All had thins for me to take advantage, which I did, with many of the board not wanting to hear suggestion or make any changes; they felt everything was great.
Ernest Kraus
KD2EAV
Indeed, "clubs" everywhere have this issue, from the big "service clubs" to the small hobby clubs. People just aren't signing up, and those who do are retired. I'm not sure, however, whether this is an attitude/priority change among younger people, or if it's just becoming too hard to be involved in civic life. When those clubs were busy with younger people, you had plenty of single-income families, jobs that actually ended at 5pm, and kids who could be kids and still be successful after high-school. Those are still possible, but most of us seem to be far too busy on the multi-career and 24x7 child raising duties to have much time for civic participation or hobby groups. That's the part that gets squeezed out. Fortunately, one of my kids wants to be an engineer, so tinkering with electronics gets to count as parenting for me, and I get a second pair of hands too! I can volunteer for events with the club occasionally, but signing up for anything with ongoing, regular responsibilities? That doesn't even sound attractive.
Being a member of a club for 37 years and an officer for 30 years, the worst part is having only a handful of members that do all the work. Most people come to be entertained but provide no commitment to helping the club with the work load.
Our club elects the same people all the time. The board does things without the members vote. A few people run the club from day one & are not elected. I left for a year & only renewed as it was cheaper than ARRL increased membership. Yes the club has good people. I do object to the club getting too close to the Boy Scouts. They kicked us out of the club shack at BSA & wanted $35 a year per individual for liability insurance to protect BSA & not individuals I refused it
My "home club" suffered from much of what was mentioned above and so much more when I first became involved in amateur radio almost a decade ago. To make things worse, there was a "clique" of like 6 people. If you weren't one of them... you & your opinion didn't matter. It was even to the point that they'd have "secret society" meetings (they called them "Executive Committee meetings") minutes before the regular club business meeting... allegedly to discuss what would be allowed to be discussed at the regular meeting. If a topic wasn't pre-approved during this EC meeting, then it would NOT be allowed to be brought up at the regular meeting. Oh, and NO regular member was allowed in these meetings! PERIOD!
With some persistence and the threat to the aged clique's health during the "pandemic", club leadership has now changed hands and changes to the club have taken place. In my opinion, the club has greatly improved... there are no longer any "secret society" meetings... ALL meetings are open to the membership and most are open to the public. We have added "Tech Night" where we work on and discuss each other's projects. We have also added a monthly exam session!
When I first joined there was two events you could talk about each year. One annual public service event and Field Day. Now, we have a few public service events we help out with and also participate in more "contests" than just Field Day.
Besides events, our relationships with the local emergency managers & their offices have grown and we now have a youth committee who is actively working with other youth organizations in the area.
Anyway, I guess my point is that clubs can change and that I would encourage everyone to be patient and persistent towards the goals of sharing the hobby, being open to learn as well as to teach. Being closed-minded is usually the cause of problems in the club, so... strive to keep an open mind.
Ive had the same thoughts as the original writer.....
I've been a club officer. It's generally a thankless task. I remember the looks on faces in the room when I agreed to stand for election, years ago. I saw relief that they wouldn't feel pressured to step up. So to you, one of the best club presidents I've had the pleasure to know, I tip my hat and say thank you, thank you, thank you. While I have relief painted all over my face, that relief translates to: our club is stronger and we are made better by your leadership, and I am relieved and pleased to be part of such a group. Thank you Ben.