Video Club Closure

[Frank Maxwell]

Today I hear the sad news of a well established video club closing. In one aspect i'm fuming that the older members had blinkers on. When I joined I could see several things wrong. When I pointed them out I always got the same answer.. That Is How We Do It. Plus my attack on films and video's shown was the wrong way. I did organise a new members campaign, but I was asked in a nice way to leave before I could implement the task.

I wrote several e-mail and apologised on certain issues but it seems it was more important to close the club with blinkers on.

Had I been invited to the A.G.M I could have helped to keep the doors open. As I'm involved with many people who are interested in the amateur video format.
They could not see that one has to move ahead with the times and advertising can only help so much.

The irony of me writing this is I was asked by a member to come and join the club and help. But he never told me how to go about doing it.

What a waste of knowledgeable talent. I hope the few members who had their heads in the cloud are happy?

One thing what has taken off and the club could not see this and that is Video Software Editing on P.C and Apple.

I may have offended the club by saying what I said, but I'm fuming and sadden the fall of a wonderful club.

[col lamb]

With a bit of effort Frank out of the ashes.

Stay still, stagnate and die or evolve!

[Dave Watterson]

Sometimes it has to be that way. The old club has to close before a new one can start up. Many members will transfer to the new club, but the stick-in-the-mud older ones will probably not. No great loss, perhaps.

Every club should have a definite plan for a succession of leaders. When an officer retires there should be at least one good candidate in everybody's mind. But without that, people stay on in their committee roles because "no one else is offering" ... until they are too tired and fed-up to contribute much.

[TimStannard]

But where does the suitable candidate come from. The reason I'm still chair at Staines (I said I'd do three years - one to learn, one to innovate, one to fix what I got wrong) is simply becaue there is no-one else prepared to do it.
At last night's meeting I think we identified another reason clubs are dying:
When you have new members, it is perfectly acceptable to repeat evenings you had two or three years previously - no doubt updated, but broadly the same, as there are fresh ears upon which the words of wisdom of the old hands can fall (and this keeps the old hands involved). Without a changing membership, repeat evenings become unacceptable. Either we cover the same ground and fewer and fewer attend or we become more esoteric and fewer attend (and potential newcomers are put off).