Hey Jim,
It's hot and humid in New York City and I've finished my crossword puzzle and was looking for something to do. So here we go.
1) Sorry I missed you at the Convention. I miss our annual fist bumps.
2) I presume that "all the BS" refers to past posting that have been nonconstructive or contained personal attacks. I also presume that the vast majority of our membership would agree with this view. I hasten to add that your posting was polite, thoughtful and constructive.
3) I'm a big fan of our current Board. I believe President Smith when he says that they welcome new ideas and everything is up for consideration.
4) I have two disagreements with some of the ideas presented in your post. The first is that I believe that the Board has the twin responsibilities of trying to increase (or stem the decrease) of our membership as well operating the Club consistent with the financial realities of today. It may be true that, even with the best efforts, we are a shrinking hobby and prudent leadership means making hard decisions to cut expenses. Much of your post seemed to me to propose ideas that either would cut Club revenues or increase Club expenses with the potential that these ideas would increase membership. Fine if that works. If the Club were to spend thousands on a Playboy ad and it seemed to have no effect then I would probably think the Board irresponsible and not praise them for "out of the box" thinking. My understanding is that our two largest expenses are the Convention and the magazine. I would be in favor of a less expensive venue; maybe the Plaza Hotel. Maybe cut the magazine to two or three annual issues. I haven't done any analysis on what savings these moves might produce.
5) The second disagreement I have is the reluctance of the idea submitters to do much leg work. Take, for example, the idea of a cash bar. Why can't the submitter contact previous and/or past Convention Chairpersons and see what is already known? Is there a prohibition regarding a bar? What are the financial requirements of the Casino? If the bar will cost the Club money if there isn't enough business then why would one believe that that won't happen? What have been the economics of the cash bar at the banquet? You mention "take care of our volunteers." Our Board members are busy volunteers and dumping all this analysis on them doesn't seem fair. If someone does this analysis and can make a somewhat compelling case that a cash bar will either cost nothing or make a small profit and that the Board simply doesn't want to listen then that's a valid criticism. That Chuck doesn't get a detailed report on his proposal is a much weaker criticism that, I believe, borders on the BS that was earlier referred to. I'm using the cash bar as an example that extends to a number of the ideas that have been mentioned in other posts.
6) Trump says he'll build a wall cheaply and then send the bill to Mexico. If Mexico is going to pay then I think we ought to demand a really nice wall...maybe with a lot of decorative tile work. (NCR)
7) Peace.