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In lugnet.lego, Jake McKee wrote:
<snip>
>
> Sound like a good plan? Thanks in advance for your help with this!
>
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Community Liaison
> LEGO Community Development
First don't sweat the disenfranchisement. Seriously. I mean don't go out of
your way to annoy people in the group, but if 99 club members want Mindstorms
competitions and 1 guy wants to have an Aquazone show, then make 99 percent of
your activities directed towards Mindstorms. There are times when you may
encounter a person who could be deemed as 'high maintenance'. Be honest and
forthright--clubs are suppose to be fun and relaxing for everyone--if there's a
'wrench' causing issues, then approach the person and be honest--polite,
diplomatic, but honest. If they leave in a huff, that wasn't a very mature
reaction and in the long run, your club will be better off.
Maybe I'm just used to the way rtlToronto does things, but I find that it works.
Throw things out for the group to do and who shows, shows. Not too many worries
either way (though I'm sure Chris and/or Calum may have had concern over a few
of the organized events in the past--"will there be enough people?" "will
things go off without a hitch?" "Will Dave show up and break something again?")
There are organizational points to specific events, such as train/hobby shows,
but the monthly dinners are pretty much a "whoever shows/whatever happens"
night.
Beyond that, do what interests the group, and things usually expand. I know
that since our first 'real' train show at NMRA which we had to contact the NMRA
organizers, we've been getting offers from other hobby/train events asking us to
attend. As well, (and Calum can verify this or shoot me down, stating that I'm
misremembering), after having our robot competitions, the library in which we
have them has approached us to do scheduled robot shows, and they'd give us the
room for the day.
So without too much effort (the motto of rtlT ;) ), word does eventually get
out. More people start wanting to be part of the group, and things 'build' from
there. That's the best bit I find about belonging to rtlToronto, always finding
new fans of the brick.
It's only taken what, Calum, 6-8 years? Eh, that ain't too bad... :)
Oh, and charismatic organizers. Almost a must in any FOL club. Too bad we're
lacking in that dept. ;)
Dave K
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hey Jake,
Dave had some good ideas.
to throw in my 2 cents.....
the # 1 thing you need is leadership. PERIOD!!!
you can have a great bunch of guys, but if you don't have that one (or two)
person(s) to actually say, HEY the meeting is this
friday, or if you do not have the person who gets off his butt and actually
books the library and pays the $$ to have the show,
then all the web space in the world will not help.
2. actively solicit for your members. rtlToronto started off as me, and calum, and jeff. and that was because I saw that
calum had a toronto based e-mail address. do not be humble, if you think
someone might be in your area, send a polite note
and ask if they are interested in meeting up.
2.a. When you do meet, start off at a neutral public place. coffee shop,
restaurant. and try to get separate cheques. not
everyone might be able to afford the lobster bisque dinner, BUT might still want
to come out and talk lego. (this has the
added benefit of not having to ever worry about the new guy leaving without
paying his share of the tip)
2b. avoid the first few meetings in someone's house. you are still strangers
after all. (I've met Lar++ I would not want him
in my home.)
(smirk - hi lar)
3. to begin, your group is just a hand full of guys. keep it that way. don't
worry about charters, and nominations for second
vice presidents.... this is your hobby. don't get bogged down with the
politicking.
3a you will never be able to "force" your group to be something. its best to
let it evolve. your "leader" can try to guide it in
a direction, but that is only as good as his leadership skills.
4. the less your group has to worry about money the better off you will be.
5. a web space is a great easy way to introduce new people to your group. but
it is not the be all and end all.
6. to add more members to your group, you need to do public events. train
shows, robot games, castle wars... whatever.
with every public show one or two people will meet you and become interested.
(that's how we met dave, and we still cant
get rid of him)
smirk -- hi dave
6a your first "show" can be nothing more then the 4 of you in a rented library
or community center "room" and everyone just
brings a few MOC and just "PLAY"
7. TIME. all this takes time. (years)
8. I can be hired to be your leader.... and if you order now, I'll throw in
Calum, and a subsection of the web page.
:)
Chris
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In lugnet.lego, David Koudys wrote:
> diplomatic, but honest. If they leave in a huff, that wasn't a very mature
> reaction and in the long run, your club will be better off.
I think this is important. Lego may be a common ground, but not everyone will
fit into a group. And it isn't your goal to catch everyone. We know there are
at least ten or more Lego fans in Toronto who don't come to our events--because
they like Space or Starwars or Castle. Everyone in rtlToronto at base is a
robot builder, even though some like Dave, me and Derek like Train too.
> Maybe I'm just used to the way rtlToronto does things, but I find that it works.
> Throw things out for the group to do and who shows, shows. Not too many worries
> either way (though I'm sure Chris and/or Calum may have had concern over a few
> of the organized events in the past--"will there be enough people?" "will
> things go off without a hitch?" "Will Dave show up and break something again?")
That freaked us out in the beginning, and sometimes reoccurs from time to time.
Then you come to an even with twenty entries over two games (C4 and MarblesV4)
and you feel a lot better. Early on Chris figured it out: If you ask a bunch
of people when to have an event, they'll never decide. The organizer sets the
date, if you can make it, great, if you can't too bad.
Also, people have varying priorities. If I set an event date, and good robot
builders can't make it, then I have a problem. If I set an event date, and some
whiny castle builder says he can't make it in from Wawa, too frickin bad.
> attend. As well, (and Calum can verify this or shoot me down, stating that I'm
> misremembering), after having our robot competitions, the library in which we
> have them has approached us to do scheduled robot shows, and they'd give us the
> room for the day.
Yeah, we've actually been approached by a few libraries and organizations now.
BTW, get ready to drive to Scarborough for rtl17 :)
> It's only taken what, Calum, 6-8 years? Eh, that ain't too bad... :)
Like Dave says, it takes a long time to build a group. I think it was at least
four or five until we hit really our stride.
>
> Oh, and charismatic organizers. Almost a must in any FOL club. Too bad we're
> lacking in that dept. ;)
(rimshot)
Calum
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