Club Meetings

[Bill21]

Are any of you are involved in the running of a wood turning club? How do you decide what demo’s and other things to present on a club night. Do you ever ask the membership what they want to see etc?

If you’re just a member of a club would/have you been asked what you’d like to see?

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Bill I am the chairman of my local club and apart from a short period when someone else took over I have been in the post since the club formed about 12 years ago. I see the decision about demonstrators from both sides of the coin because as a professional turner part of the way I earn my living is through demonstrations.
     At my club it is usually the committee that decides who we invite but we do take into consideration comments and suggestions from our members. Sometimes who we have is determined by how much they cost but other times it is by how good they are or how different they are. The AWGB demonstrator lists along with the lists on the RPT website are a valueable source of demonstrators. As a club we are lucky to have some very talented members and so we also get them to "do a turn" aswell.

[Twisted Trees]

As a club member not on committee and not involved with much that the club does, I find that the monthly meetings consisting of a demonstration you can hardly see, with 10 minutes of finding a seat plus a 10 minute break makes the club very unfriendly and unwelcoming. I have been  a member for years and seldom bother to attend as despite being a member for years I know nobody and speak to nobody a nod and a hello while looking for a seat or queuing for the toilet does not make a welcoming atmosphere. I know this is partly my fault being a bit deaf in crowds doesn't make me a great socialite!

Each year when subs are called for I wonder why I bother, but I like the fact a club exists even if it is unwelcoming. So I pay up and determine to make more effort, but it hasn't worked yet. then I find out that events happen that I am unaware of, and I just stop going until the next time I determine to make an effort.

Demonstrations are good for the demonstrators circuit, but are poorly used to dissuade me and others I know from wanting to attend. A better balance of social and demonstrations is I understand a feature elsewhere.

[Wood spinner]

As a club member not on committee and not involved with much that the club does, I find that the monthly meetings consisting of a demonstration you can hardly see, with 10 minutes of finding a seat plus a 10 minute break makes the club very unfriendly and unwelcoming. I have been  a member for years and seldom bother to attend as despite being a member for years I know nobody and speak to nobody a nod and a hello while looking for a seat or queuing for the toilet does not make a welcoming atmosphere. I know this is partly my fault being a bit deaf in crowds doesn't make me a great socialite!

Each year when subs are called for I wonder why I bother, but I like the fact a club exists even if it is unwelcoming. So I pay up and determine to make more effort, but it hasn't worked yet. then I find out that events happen that I am unaware of, and I just stop going until the next time I determine to make an effort.

Demonstrations are good for the demonstrators circuit, but are poorly used to dissuade me and others I know from wanting to attend. A better balance of social and demonstrations is I understand a feature elsewhere.

Blimey , So many negatives not sure I should bother replying ,But I will ,  Do you expect the Club to become part of you ? or should you become part of the Club ?
Re events you don't know about , Surely the Club sends members emails of a syllabus re Club events ? It's good that you support the Club by joining every year , Any Issues / suggestions you have send in a letter asking if these can be addressed , Keep your chin up and be positive is my advice ( for what it's worth )

[bodrighywood]

Whilst none of us can expect every club meeting to be what we like your description is of a club that needs seriously looking at. I belong to the same club as John and have to say that there is always a great amount of work put into making the meetings as entertaining and instructive as possible. We have recently somehow attracted a number of new members. made efforts to be involved in various charities etc and despite the fact that, like many clubs. the average age is older than we'd like we do have an active membership.  Maybe a big sort out needed at yours T T

Pete

[Bill21]

Thanks for the input on this folks, much appreciated. I asked the question as I don’t remember anyone asking the members what they’d like to see and what they like about or expect to get from club visits. Most seem to appreciate the demo by our club demonstrator. I know some others like the social aspect of speaking to other like minded people. I was wondering if a simple questionnaire might help engage the membership but I’m not sure how many would fill it in and return it.

[David Buskell]

I am the chairman of our local club We like many other clubs, have experienced issues in trying to bring membership levels up to pre-Covid levels. Our program for 2022 is therefore full of the usual faces so as to hopefully bring people back.

We have in the past sent out surveys to ask what things members would like. The responses we received were a good mix of external demonstrators, club members deonstrating and club nights (a free for all!). Our program doesn't reflect this at the moment but we will review things for 2023.

We have always been a welcoming club but have lost our way a little bit over the last couple of years. We're now getting back on the right track. My committee and I spent a lot of pre-demo time mixing with guests, new members and existing members.

First item in House Notices next week will be "Welcome to the new members and guests here with us tonight"

David

[Paul Hannaby]

I do the programme for my local club. We ask our members every year what they want to see. We incorporate a few demos by our own club members and some by visiting turners. Lately, it has become more difficult to find enough turners to demonstrate as some have stopped doing demos altogether.

We also include one month with a wood related craft that may not be conventional woodturning which our members find interesting. In the past we have had pole lathe turners, spoon carving, ukelele maker, marquetry, pyrography, chainsaw maintenance, chair making, timber technology, stick making and other such things.

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

TT I sincerely hope you are not a member of my club as that description is not recogniseable. (meant in the nicest way). We have a very proactive committee which means that we have taken advantage of the AWGB Covid grants award and of a grant from our town council which meant we were able to upgrade our visual aid equipment.
With the best interests of our club members we looked at what we had and how we could enhance it. On club nights now when there is a demonstration we project two images onto the wall but more than that we have the ability to zoom in for a close up shot on each camera and that is done by the camera operator but also audience members can call out for a zoom in or zoom out. As a club we actually have people designated to be meeters and greeters just to make new members welcome, we did this because most of the committee are tied up trying to get the evening organised as quickly as possible.
We do sometimes have to queue for the toilets but we cannot do anything about that unless we started meeting at a larger hall but then that would cost more and we would have less money to spend on club activities.
I was never a club person but I have to say I have made some good friends through our local club and perhaps it is worth putting yourself out there a little bit more as I am sure you have friends in your club but you just haven't met them yet.

[Twisted Trees]

No, not your club, and everyone in my club is extremely welcoming and friendly, but there is no time allowed around the demo for that for that to grow into a cohesive group.

The queue for the toilets comment was not a complaint, in fact some of my longest conversations are in the queues. Just pointing out that 10 minutes break gives no real time to the members. I know a paid for demonstrator and AV kit needs to be maximised, but my experience is that in my club that is at the cost of the club becoming a unit.

[Richard Peers]

As a committee member of my club for many years, I know there is a balance to be struck at meetings with professional demonstrators - the club has paid a lot of money to get them there, so they want to make the most of their time. This is often at the expense of social interaction between members. Fascinatingly, this problem has been solved by of all things, the pandemic: we were forced to hold on-line meetings, and have kept these going as weekly events in between the face-to-face monthly meetings. This has allowed for hours of social interaction, while still giving plenty of time for the paid demonstrators to do their stuff.

TT, perhaps you could recommend this option to the committee of your club?

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

From the other side of the coin the paid for demonstrators all wish to give value for money. I do remember demonstrating at a club once (or starting to demonstrate) when a member of the audience asked a question,the answer then led to another question and a short demo of what the question was about (i forget now) but this went on all night and i never got to do the demo I had prepared for. Once time was up I started to pack up and many members of that club came up and said it was one of the best nights ever! So different clubs and different people want different things from their club.
 We had our club meeting last night and once the notices were done with there was a buzz about the place. We had two lathes in operation, one showing skew chisel use and the other thread chasing. We also had a small group learning how to set up the cameras and projectors and a table with members showing some very impressive jigs and fixtures. Club night is what you make it.

[bodrighywood]

From the other side of the coin the paid for demonstrators all wish to give value for money. I do remember demonstrating at a club once (or starting to demonstrate) when a member of the audience asked a question,the answer then led to another question and a short demo of what the question was about (i forget now) but this went on all night and i never got to do the demo I had prepared for. Once time was up I started to pack up and many members of that club came up and said it was one of the best nights ever! So different clubs and different people want different things from their club.
 We had our club meeting last night and once the notices were done with there was a buzz about the place. We had two lathes in operation, one showing skew chisel use and the other thread chasing. We also had a small group learning how to set up the cameras and projectors and a table with members showing some very impressive jigs and fixtures. Club night is what you make it.

Had one or two like this and personally find them much more fn all round. Worst are where you do your best to demo to a cast of men falling asleep or glaring at you for a couple of hours LOL.

Pete