This sounds like an excellent idea. Perhaps we could
coordinate nationally for one specific Saturday or
Sunday. That might get some national news attention.At 02:18 19 April 2004, Lennie The Lurker (JohnD) wrote in message news:... In my area clubs are having a hard time due to decreasing
membership.I can offer a half dozen things that I've never seen
triedconsistantly, and they don't depend on waiting for
any nationalorganization to move, or depend on a commercial concern
that is moreinterested in their own survival.Get permission first, go to as many parks as you can
that you knowpeople visit, set up a SIMPLE glider, not something
that has a panellike a 747. If there's another activity happening
at the time, somuch the better, but set up someplace where you won't
interfere withthat activity. You don't want to try to intercept
everyone, only bewhere you can be seen and heard by people that had
enough interest to come and look.You don't want to send the club, (or commercial operation's)
hotshot,or the guy that won't fly anything below (insert L/D
here), send anaverage pilot, armed with enough paperwork to be able
to answer mostof the questions. Send two of them, easier to put
the plane together,and you might have an audience while you're doing it.
(2-33 or Lark,bad choice, small committee needed.)Sure, someone's going to have to give up part of a
day, or a day, butthe next week it will be someone else's turn to do
the same thing. Ifthe first time gives no results, keep trying, once
is usually notenough. I've been doing it for thirteen years in amateur
astronomy,but we've been having a slow growth of people that
come back everyweek now. We've also had a slow growth of people that
come back withtelescopes of their own, ('Can you help me with this?')By being consistant, and by being there, we bring in
converts, butthen we also realize that at night, there isn't a lot
of competitionfor the audience. We also work with the park admin,
and have postersall over the place saying when and where we are and
at what time. (Usually sunset.) You also have to tie in with an
activity theyunderstand, such as 'Hmmm, birdwatchers, constellations
that are namedafter birds,' (Corvus, Aquila, Cygnus) and do anything
you can to grabtheir interest, if only for a few minutes. We've even
been known tocapitalize on the mysticism practiced by Tycho or the
dedication ofKeppler, depending on if we're talking to serious students
or UFOfreaks. You have to be flexible, have some knowledge
of what they'reinterested in, although just enough to know a little
on the subject,and above all, be willing to answer question after
question, eventhough it may seem like you just answered the same
thing fifteenseconds ago. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, YMCA, School
groups, we welcomethem all, fully knowing that gaining even one is unlikely,
but wedon't know when that one will show up. LIke soaring,
we can't affordto miss that one.In the thirteen years, we've seen our number grow from
just the two ofus to the seven or eight that we can count on seeing
on a halfwayconsistant basis. That's what two can do, think of
what could be donewith a dozen clubs doing the same thing, and I'm not
a member of anyclub. As we get people from all over, we don't know
how many lookedup the local astronomy club when they got home, but
it's nice to thinkthat maybe we did make a difference.If anyone can tell me why it wouldn't work with soaring,
I'd beinterested in hearing it.