I have seen a number of posts recently on the issue of perhaps paying folks to do certain jobs within the club. This is on the heals of a series of suggestions last year of projects, changes and programs proposed by various members (and non members) with the expectation that others would do the work. Not all suggestions have fallen into these characterizations, but many have.

I suppose what I am writing here is a missive on what to consider when suggesting a new idea or making a recommendation to the board. Please, this is my opinions only, and I do not speak for the BOD of the CCGTCC, or for any other person. I fully expect that many folks (a few who I may even respect ) will disagree with a specific point here or there. That is the beauty of an open dialogue.

The way to go about addressing an idea may vary depending on the type of idea it is. A minor suggeston should be directed to the relevant club official if possible, but if in doubt, addressing it to the BOD generically, or to the club president, will get it directed to the right location. When in doubt, make the suggestion on the club website, most if not all of the club officials read that board regularly (as I think they should), and I imagine that if a specific suggestion is made there, the relevant official will get a heads up if necessary.

An example of a small suggestion I made last year (I doubt I am the only one who made it-in fact I believe Shoop also advocated such a gesture); casually in a couple of emails, I commented to friends, that I wish we did more for those members who had passed. I was encouraged to say something to the board. I emailed then President Mike Skelton, and suggested we should consider a moment of silence at the banquet. It was not the first time I had emailed Mike, and appreciated the fact that he always responded (eventually). In this case he was supportive of the idea, and had passed it to the person in charge of the banquet (which was Wayne-some thing I had not known). Wayne did in fact include a moment of silence at the banquet, something I hope is continued this year.

A point about club officials- I mean more than just the BOD. There are a number of very dedicated hard working folks who hold assorted jobs in the club, and they may be the person to direct your idea to. But regardless of whether it is the club president, or the smallest officicial out there (which I believe is Mike Pasternack ), they are all volunteers, and as such, have lives, jobs, children (?), and other things going on, so be patient getting a response. Interestingly, many of my emails to club officials get responded to by club counsel, whats with that?

Larger ideas require more than just an email. As anyone knows, whenever an idea is expressed or suggestion is made, you’re likely to see a post from Archie asking who is going to pay for this, who is going to do the work. This often gets an Archie a reputation of being a stick in the mud who is opposed to change, and can be very aggrevating to those who make suggestions. Archie may be a stick in the mud, and he may be opposed to change, however, I have changed my view regarding these two responses.

Remember, Archie is a one of the absolute originals members of the club, serving as president for many years. As such, he found the answer to the question who will pay for it, and who will do the work usually was Archie Black. It is easy to make a suggestion, it is hard work to carry it out, and it may cost money to do so. And even the best ideas need to contemplate those two issues. When he asks the question, he is telling you that you need to be able to answer that (or ultimately deal with that) in the process.

One other factor to consider when dealing with Archie, he is representative of a number of long time members who thought thru a lot of the long term standards of the club. These would include the club mag, the convention, the constitution, the ethics rules, and many more areas. As such, they are going to hold the belief that they considered most every aspect, so while a tweak here and there is fine, there isn’t need for major change. There are also a number of members who have joined over the years who enjoy a certain satisfaction with the way things are done.
It is easy to understand the feelings of this group. The convention is a wonderful experience, the award winning club mag is outstanding, and the code of ethics sets a terrific standard. And membership is only 30 bucks a year, we have a surplus in the bank account, and over $100,000 in the museum fund. What is not to be satisfied about. Heck what is not to be very proud of.

So change, just for change’s sake, won’t go far with some. That does not mean that a good idea should not be fought for, but one should not expect their idea to necessarily receive a welcome reminiscent of Julius Caesar’s return to Rome. It may feel more like his last visit to the Senate. But respecting where these feelings come from will make it much easier to deal with this potential hurdle to a new idea.

One other hurdle to a new idea is our tax status. We can’t just meander into anything we wish. In fact it is important to note we are by definition an organization dedicated to education.
One issue that keeps coming up, especially of late, is paying a person to do specific tasks. This suggestion comes in primarily one of three forms: paying a person to serve as an administrative director, while having volunteers serve as the defacto official, the AD (or whatever title you choose) would do the actual administrative work; paying an individual to do an existing job currently handled by a volunteer, such as webmaster, convention chairs, museum curator, editor of the club mag, treasurer, and even membership officer; paying administrative staff persons to handle the actual work of the club, seemingly a combination of the two previous suggestions.

The opponents of these ideas raise the same basic issues in response; lack of funds (this usually leads to a debate about raising dues), which position or jobs should be paid for, and the club’s relative size. I think the arguments of finances and club size hold sway here. Raising dues is not an option, at least not at this time. The recent increase cost us members, and created some harsh interchanges. It had been 10 years since dues had been increased, and it only went from 20 to 30 bucks. I think increasing dues to pay a person, regardless of potential benefits would be a firestorm that would ultimately have a long term negative impact.

The club is also of a size where hiring folks to do jobs (whether currently done by a volunteer or new) seems excessive. We are a relatively small club, in a relatively niche hobby. We will not get every person in the hobby to join the club (assorted reasons which have been discussed elsewhere), and the potential size of the hobby is limited. My concern would be if we became large enough where we needed to have paid staff to administer the club, then covering salaries (and insurance and office expenses etc) would become a priority, if not the focus, of the club. Right now the hobby, and our fellow members is our focus.

An alternative may be for an independent person to develop a business plan, set up a service to members. The club could then include that proven service to members with a corresponding increase in dues, or offer the service to its members for an additional fee. I believe this is commonly referred to as outsourcing. But this strays a bit beyond the intent of this missive.

If this sounds like I am discouraging new ideas, far from it. I think we need to make many changes. If a person has a suggestion, make it, lots of suggestions lead to lots of changes in the club every year. If making a significant suggestion, especially one that requires money, or a lot of work, or both-or for that matter challenges fundamental ideas of what the club is about, be prepared to deal with the challenges that will entail.

I suppose that many members of the club might suggest taking your idea to the “planning committee”, so I will include it. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have qualms about the PC committee, beginning with I am confused as to the purpose and intent of the committee. I am friends with many members of the committee, and respect their intelligence, I have also been asked by a couple of good friends who are not on the committee, but are leaders in our club, to refrain from judging the committee till it has had an opportunity to show what it can do.

I also have to acknowledge that Margolis came up with the idea, and did the work to bring it to fruition (even with naysayers like me challenging the idea). But it is there, and if you have an idea, please take advantage of it, help them help the club, and in the process, maybe prove me wrong.

CHECKLIST OFOPTIONS FOR NEW IDEAS:

*email applicable club official directly with your idea,
*email the club president or another board member,
*post the idea on the club website

(go to www.ccgtcc.com -the same site will include email addresses for club officials),
*contact Steve Margolis, or another member of the planning committee.

REMEMBER:

*be prepared for questions regarding cost, or who will do the work (especially relevant for larger projects),
*be prepared to answer questions of how this is better than what we have, or what is the benefit of adding this new,
*the bigger the idea the more opposition there will be to it. The more folks the idea touches, the more opportunity

to find opposition. But it also provides an opportunity to solve additional issues, and create support,
*remember club limitations (especially as they relate to finances and membership size),
*if you are making a suggestion with the expectation or belief that someone else will jump up and do all the

work, don’t be surprised if your idea dies on the vine (and look in the mirror if you want someone to blame),
*finally, when making a suggestion, keeping in mind that our hobby, and the club, includes folks with a diverse set

of backgrounds and financial situations. Not all folks have the same access to technology, and what may seem

like a few dollars to some, may be the difference between affording to maintain a membership and not to another.

Thank you for your time, and to all of those who think about how to better our hobby and the club, thank you for your efforts. I encourage everybody, when engaging in discussions of how to make the club better, or the hobby for that matter- to be civil, respectful, and positive. Argue the issue, not the individual.

And for you old timers, remember we will constantly have new folks coming in, with new ideas. Some will be good, some won’t. These newbies will also have questions, many you will have heard before- re answering, or re having those discussion is part of the educational process the club is supposed to be part of.