[SBE] activating inactives
chscherer at everestkc.net
chscherer at everestkc.net
Thu Jun 19 11:33:50 EDT 2008
Gary:
You are completely right. I have also personally witnessed this situation as well.
There are no easy solutions, I know. Feel free to post this. I know lots of people will agree with you, and we may not actually solve anything, but it is a good discussion topic.
Chriss
----- Original Message -----
From: Garrison Cavell <gcavell at cavellmertz.com>
Date: Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:00 am
Subject: Re: [SBE] activating inactives
> Chriss
>
> I don't know whether the following is a permitted post on this
> site since it
> isn't purely technical, but I thought I'd lob in a comment to what
> seemed to
> be an emerging thread.
>
> I've been through this sort of issue (chapters fading or becoming
> inactive)with similar entities, like IEEE local chapters, local
> NSPE chapters, and
> other organizations, so you could conclude, thankfully, that this
> is not a
> unique "SBE issue". Rather, it is a universal problem that has
> impactedalmost every volunteer entity and professional
> organization. So I guess
> there's a bit of good news in this - SBE is not in and of itself the
> problem.
>
> The bad news is - it has become increasingly hard to keep people
> interestedand involved - and particularly if it requires people to
> leave their homes
> and workplaces to "come out" to any event. From my perch, it would
> appearthat this problem really started occurring over 5-8 years
> ago, but I am not
> entirely sure why.
>
> My best guess is that an increasing lack of personal time, growing
> familypressures, work demands, and little support from employers
> add up to almost
> no spare time for members. Attrition in our ranks hasn't helped
> any either.
> There are fewer of us (one engineer - a half dozen stations or
> more) so a
> group of any size, even in a larger metro area, would have to draw
> from a
> larger territory - compounding the problem.
>
> Curiously, good technical programs often (but not always) bring
> people out,
> but as you know, it is difficult to hit a "home run" every time.
> And chapter
> member interest can be diverse, so keeping it relevant for
> everyone (so
> folks will keep coming out and supporting the chapter) is a big
> challenge.
> The successful local entities (or any sort) always seem to have a
> core group
> of folks who are enthusiastic and seem tireless. More than likely,
> they have
> been the "glue" for the entity for years. The problem here is that
> a few
> retirements, relocations, or deaths can pave the way for a group's
> demise.Getting newer members involved and interested in helping to
> "row the boat"
> can be very tough (and especially if the "core" does not "let go"
> and give
> the newbie's a chance, but I digress).
>
> So I can offer no solutions, other than to encourage people who are
> interested in reactivating a chapter (and care about what a local SBE
> chapter can do for their part of the world) to: 1) try to contact the
> members in the region to determine what might be interesting for
> chapteractivities, services and programs, 2) determine what times
> of day, days of
> the week, would work best for the most attendance, 3) determine
> what meeting
> frequency would be best - whether monthly, quarterly, etc., and 4)
> find like
> minded folks to form a core group that will beat the bushes for
> programs,free meeting locations, ideas for shared resources (like
> a local "idea bank"
> or common parts pool), 4) try to learn what would be interesting to
> everyone, be it technical or networking, and 5) you really need to
> bug folks
> - keep in touch- drag them in.
>
> Easier said than done.
>
> Sorry - this was well more than two centavos worth.
>
> - from a long time SBE member.
>
> -- gary
>
> Garrison C. Cavell
> Cavell, Mertz & Associates, Inc.
> 7839 Ashton Avenue Manassas, Virginia 20109-2883
> 703.392.9090 General Office - 703.392.9559 Facsimile
> 202.332.0110 Washington, D.C. Line
> www.CavellMertz.com www.FCCInfo.com
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sbe-bounces at sbe.org [mailto:sbe-bounces at sbe.org] On Behalf Of
> chscherer at everestkc.net
> Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2008 12:51 AM
> To: sbe member discussion mail list
> Subject: Re: [SBE] activating inactives
>
> Help is always appreciated, but there has not been a lack of trying.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> SBE mailing list
> To unsubscribe, go to http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/options/sbe
> _______________________________________________
> SBE at sbe.org
> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/sbe
>
More information about the SBE
mailing list