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What has gone wrong with the club,is a question I ask my fellow long time members.This may seem a silly question to a lot of you,we have a lovely flying site,club hut and a full membership.I joined the club about 50 years ago,OK some of you may think that I am a silly old fart,I wont argue that point.We used to all muck in to get jobs done,social events were popular,Christmas party,BBQ, simple fly for fun competitions and once a month club nights.A newsletter kept everyone informed of events.We enter the 21st century and have a web site as a means of comunication and for all Pauls hard work and Ian before him,the site can only be as good as the content provided by members and it neads to be read.One club member arrived on a Sunday afternoon to fly his pride and joy,only to be confronted by about 30 cars,50 people of all ages and sexes,it was our annual BBQ.He had not looked at our web site.
We now seem to be a collection of mini groups,sometimes grouped by the type of models that we fly,but usually by the days we fly.Because a large proportion of our member are either retired,or self employed,we can fly 7 days a week.We have the Tuesday,Friday,Sunday group then the Saturday,Monday and so it goes on,but the sad part is the groups do not ,as a rule,intermix.
I have seen club members on numerous occasions,arrive,unload a model,fly,pack model away,go home,all without talking to another person.I find that attitude rather sad,the one which says “I pay my sub to fly”,do they ever ask,who mows the patch,trims the hedges,clears the path,the club hut,gets water,coffee etc,I could go on and on.A vibrant club should be a lot more that “I pay my sub to fly,not socalise”.
One of the reasons for the “unpack,fly,
pack,go home” brigade is ,I think, the advent of the foamie,yes,I have several,they do what it says on the tin,fly.No need to discuss flying charisaristics,c of g location,you can be in the air in 5 minutes,have a 5 minute flight and be back home before your misses or the boss (usually one in the same) finds out.
I am sorry to say that I dont think that things will change,it is I who will have to accept that face to face conversation is fast disapearing,even my grandchildren talk to their mom,who is in the next room,via a mobile phone.Barrie Burton
P S the club committee know nothing of this letter and as it will be posted on our web site I doubt that many of you will read it,
Barrie B
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Barrie
Your post makes sad reading. Though I have moved and can no longer attend regularly I still keep up to date with the club and indeed am in regular contact with a number of members and have infrequent ‘chats’ with others, yourself included.
You’re quite correct that for a website to remain effective it needs regular updates and inputs from the members – it isn’t something the webmaster has much control over. He can add news from the committee, items of interest such as the recent Spektrum airware update to version 2.03 or information such as the recent law changes about to come into force at the end of November but he still needs the help and support of the members – or they need to make posts such as you have to stimulate discussion or disseminate information that may be of use to other members. One quite effective means of improving communication between members is to set up a club WhatsApp group where members can check if others are flying on a particular day or at what time but I’m not sure that this would be particularly effective at WMF because of the club dynamics.
It is inevitable that groups will develop as each individual usually has a routine that means certain days suit them more than others. What is crucial is that if another member turns up on a day that isn’t their ‘norm’ they are made to feel welcome and included into any socialising – something I always tried to do when I attended. Winter club nights, monthly BBQ’s, an Annual BBQ, fun competitions all help bind a club together and are important as well as that welcoming approach to all members. However, members have to choose to participate in these events for them to work. As you know, it takes an effort to plan a schedule of winter meetings, that if poorly attended is demoralising for those setting them up and embarrassing to the speaker if there are only a few in attendance.
Equally well we shouldn’t knock those committed to serious flying who don’t want to sit drinking coffee and chin wagging. They have every right to pursue their hobby as they wish as long as they are polite and respectful of the other members who in turn should do the same. My experience was that those who enjoyed committed flying were perfectly happy to share workload and would be happy to talk and discuss aspects of flying and share their experience if approached. The fact that they may not feel the need to socialise is their choice.
It is very annoying and frustrating to those doing the ‘work’ around the club to see others not do their share or offer to assist. Unfortunately there will always be those who don’t consider putting anything back into the CLUB they belong to and are blind (either deliberately or unconsciously) to the efforts required to make the club run smoothly. At the very least I think every member owes it to their committee, who look after the club welfare throughout the year, to turn up to the AGM.
I loved WMF when I was a member and miss the comradeship and fun I had there. I hope that the club continues to prosper and that members recognise the superb facilities the club has to offer and make the club a fun one to belong to.
Best wishes to all
Ian
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