Subject:
|
Meeting Protocols?
|
Newsgroups:
|
lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf
|
Date:
|
Mon, 9 Apr 2001 05:12:14 GMT
|
Viewed:
|
808 times
|
| |
|
|
Far be it from me to dictate how the club should be run, since we don't
even have formal club leadership. But I did want to share my observations
about the recent meeting, as well as to restate some of the ideas that have
been voiced over the past two years by club members, so that newer member,
and visitors alike will have some background for the current discussions.
In the past, we've had parts trading sessions, and some show and tell.
We've only had "called to order" club business sessions at three meetings
out of nine, but there were three other meetings where someone had wanted to
have a club talk, but we didn't start it early enough...once parts
trading/selling starts, it's impossible to get even partial attention from
some of the members (and I'm guilty of this as well. :-(
We've also found that when you bring models to show off, you really can't
participate in the parts trading/selling once the doors are opened to
visitors (unless you don't care if your models are handled, broken, moved,
or (in two cases) have pieces go missing. Once the doors open, you really
need to pay a majority of your attention to your models.
So, in order to provide the ability for folks to have a chance to address
club members, we planned to start with the following 'order of events';
1) members enter through the library, and get the room ready (30 min)
+ make sure the exterior windows are closed
- members can use the exterior doors to bring stuff in
- exterior doors should be closed unless members are using them
+ set out at least 8-12 tables for folks to use
+ if trains are expected, set up a circle of tables
2) members get to set up their displays, models, etc. (30 min)
+ other members can take pictures, chat, etc.
+ this pads the time for members who arrive late...
+ private, pre-arranged trades can also be exchanged at this time
3) Anyone wishing to present business to the club? (30-60 min)
+ if you wisgh to address the club, get there before 11 a.m.!
+ bulk parts trading and selling should wait until after 11 a.m.
- Sellers should ask the group if anyone has club business first
+ Uncle Dan has been very good about asking before selling! :-)
4) Lunch is usually from 12-1p.m.
+ we *can* bring food into the room
- prepare to be neat; bring stuff to clean up any mess you may make.
- some folks bring brown-bag lunches and drinks, others go out.
+ many folks use this time for buying and selling parts.
5) Exterior doors and window blinds are opened at 1 pm
+ we post signs on the exterior doors, windows, and interior doors
+ the public is welcome to drop in between 1p-4p
+ Any signs you make about the meeting should list the public hours
6) The public portion of the meeting ends at 4p.m.
+ Folks usually befgin packing up their displays at 4-4:15
- we need to be out of the room by 5p.m.
- we should put away any tables that we brought out
+ listing 4p.m. as the closing time means folks don't feel hurt when
they arrive late, and find us packing up.
We are, as a group, getting better about getting the word out to the
general public about the meetings. Mark Benz mentioned our meeting to two or
three papers, and we know of at lest three families that came because of a
mention in the Argus. I'm hoping that we can also get listed on the Bay
Insider calendar for our next meeting (once we figure out when that will be. ;-)
As a result of the media exposure, we can expect more drop-in crowds.
Since the crowds usually mean some number of kids being dropped off
unsupervised, while the parents use the library. Many of the kids don't
speak (or understand) English well, so posting "please don't touch" signs
doesn't help, and we'll need to be more watchful. This means that folks
selling parts need to make sure kids don't mix their parts with someone
elses pile. It means that folks diplaying models must watch out for folks
that might try to handle delicate models. (Some youngsters can be pretty
rough with toys, and not realize that they might have to be careful. Even if
they have LEGO, they build and destroy models all the time...)
Personally, I like having the public come to our meetings. But, I like
having a club-only portion of the meetings, so that I don't have to worry
about watching my models while I look at other folks models, or dig through
a pile of parts that someone has brought to the meeting to sell. I think
splitting the meeting into two parts makes since, and the segments listed
above represent a fine-tuning that has been ongoing for two years.
I welcome your feedback on this issue, whether you are a member of the
club or not. (I imagine that *I'll* give a bit more weight to 'local' folks
who are more likely to come to the meetings. :-) Feel free to reply to me
directly, or to the LUGNET SF list. Let us know what you think, and we'll
try to shape the future together. :-)
-Z-
|
|
Message has 6 Replies:
 | | Re: Meeting Protocols?
|
| Hi all, I pretty much agree with Zonker. The Argus postings have listed the hours as 1 to 4 pm. I brought the Duplo last time just so the smaller kids would have something to play with. I do think it was somewhat hidden though by the overabundance (...) (24 years ago, 9-Apr-01, to lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf)
| | | Re: Meeting Protocols?
|
| (...) [...] I think this is a great suggestion. I also want to echo Mark's idea of sharing the supervision of the models so we don't all have to watch our own stuff all the time, once the public starts coming in. I'm a new member and the last (...) (24 years ago, 9-Apr-01, to lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf)
| | | Re: Meeting Protocols?
|
| As I remember, there were moveable doors that could be pulled out to separate Fukaya into 2 rooms. Maybe we could use those during the first half of the day to keep the public out, with a few people out watching the creations while the rest handled (...) (24 years ago, 10-Apr-01, to lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf)
| | | Re: Meeting Protocols?
|
| I agree wholeheartedley with all these suggestions and think they form an excellent starting point to establish some structure in our future meetings. I think it's something we need to work on. I really like Paul's suggestion that we divide the room (...) (24 years ago, 11-Apr-01, to lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf)
| | | Re: Meeting Protocols?
|
| (...) <snip> The call of the brick.... ;-) The suggestions made all sound good to me, as experience has dictated many of them. One thing that concerns me is if we use the partition segments supplied with the room, we can't see what's going on behind (...) (24 years ago, 12-Apr-01, to lugnet.loc.us.ca.sf)
|
8 Messages in This Thread:
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
