Sometimes people in geocaching clubs disagree. Sometimes people disagree violently! Sometimes you have to think to yourself: How could I create the perfect geocaching club where everyone would be happy and smiling? If that is your goal, here are a few tried and true suggestions to help you in your quest!
1) Make it local.
The less people have to travel, the more likely it is that they will show up to your events. The fact that only 3 people show up to your CITO and 2 show up just to sign the log is no problem. After all, you own this club and it's all good.
2) Restrict your membership.
Rabid members in your community can stifle free expression by attacking anything or anyone they disagree with. This will be no problem for you since, after all, everyone will agree with you - why else join your group. A good way to control members from joining en masse is to require approval from current members who will vouch that a proposed member is a "good fit".
3) Recruit from an established geocaching community.
You usually know some of these people already and it is easy to pick and choose the members that you want to "seed" your own club. You can trust these "seed" members to recruit others that share your goals of being "elite".
4) Make sure that you make and enforce rules or codes of conduct.
Once you allow an open and democratic process to occur, you invariably run the risk of it heading in an unanticipated direction. If you have implemented suggestions 1 - 3 successfully, enforcement of rules becomes - unneccessary!
5) If you have discussion boards, make sure no "outsider" can read them!
While this has the potential to stunt membership growth, you maintain control and the illusion of "eliteness".
---
Following these few, simple suggestions can almost guarantee that your organization will soon blossom to become one of the "elite" geocaching organizations in your state. Good luck!
If you have other helpful suggestions for building a successful geocaching club, feel free to share your ideas in the comment section.
1 comment:
Off to a good start! Remember, you are not "excluding" certain people, you're simply not "including" them!
"I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. " Dave Barry
Post a Comment