deschmidt27
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2008
Location: Burlington, CT
Posts: 1758 |
Joe - I'm pretty sure you missed my whole point! A series of successful competition events, does not a club make! And no, you are not a member of the club I was speaking of! That "club" basically has one active member who now hosts all the events at his house. And here's where my point comes in... could he hold a membership drive, contacting all the participants of his last event? Sure! But if he contacts me, I'm going to ask him what his goal is. And if his goal is to simply hold better competition events, he's not going to win me over! There just has to be more to the sport and the clubs, than that!
You yourself, have challenged the value of hunt titles, so how can you turn around and argue that, that's the some total of the value of a coon hunters club... to put on hunts? And if that's not what you are saying, then you're likely on the same page as me!
And you are totally wrong about the loyalty question... The reason I didn't rejoin my old club, or the nearby club when I got back into hunting, was because of the TV show. As soon as I started the TV show, I started getting asked to help my nearby club by filming their events, and I figured that if I was a member I would have a hard time saying no. And I didn't want to play favorites. However, you probably did notice some favoritism for my old home club, that did get much of our attention! Let's see... I've stayed in contact with many of their members on a personal level. I've sent business to several of their members. We helped them develop their YEP training program, and I volunteered at several of them. I've sent several members their way. We filmed several of their events. And yes, I always judge and guide at their events. But no, I never paid my "dues", but I was probably more loyal than many of their actual members. In hindsight that was probably due to loyalty to a club that got me started in the sport. HOWEVER, coincidentally, that particular club does host events outside of competition hunts. And because of that, it has increased it's membership and youth involvement over the past several years. And that probably made it easier for me to play favorites. And when the show was finally dead, I was going to rejoin my old club (heck I still get their newsletter!), but of course I moved to Wisconsin.
And I don't understand your point on loyalty to the clubs who hosted the events I attended... what clubs was I supposed to be loyal to, and why??? You are a member of several clubs, but certainly not a member of every club who's hunts you attend. And in the past year or so, I've attended more clubs than you. Am I supposed to be a member of all of them? And if so, how would I demonstrate my loyalty to all of them??? And if I'm not supposed to be a member of all of them, then which ones was I supposed to join? Because the answer to that question, is the one I'm seeking. Which ones differentiate themselves and therefore will be successful clubs that members want to join?
This is no different than fundraising... clubs have to raise funds, but to continue to do so successfully, they have to use those funds for something worthwhile. And when they can demonstrate that they can do that successfully in a worthwhile manner, it becomes easier to raise more funds. Same with members... gain more members, but then do something with them!
My point was never whether I was "doing my part" for these clubs, although I do feel that I've personally invested a lot in this sport, and have attempted to make a difference! My point is what do these clubs want to look like in the future? If it's just hosts of competition hunts, then I'll do my part to help them host those events. But if they want more from me, then they have to have a plan to do more. Because I am a member of some of those other clubs you mentioned. And there's only so much of me, to go around. So if a club wants more, then they need to step up and have a bigger vision than just hosting hunts. Or they will fall short of inspiring me...
__________________
David Schmidt
219-614-0654
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|