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[CBQ] BRHS Vitality (Action Item)

To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CBQ] BRHS Vitality (Action Item)
From: "Lee Edgar" <litehousekeeper@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:40:49 -0000
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Charlie/All

It is good of you to champion call for spurring the growth and membership of 
BRHS ~ all excellent points and suggestions, more so I believe they are 
critical.

It appears to me that BRHS has fallen into the difficult circular dilemma 
wherein it needs a strong growth in membership and activity to sustain the 
Society; however, the impetus of such growth is largely dependant upon the very 
financial & volunteer support which comes from increased membership ~ ie. "need 
money to make money."  That said, I respectfully submit that development of an 
E-Zine must be done in a manner such that it does not divert time and resources 
from the Bulletin, Zephyr, calendar & meet planning, which have stretched the 
few volunteers/coordinators thin for some time.

There is no question in my mind that enhanced membership benefits will add 
great value & appeal to existing and new BRHS members.  The Milwaukee Road 
Historical Assn recently went out on a limb and invested considerable funds to 
grow their publications ~ as hoped, investment in the now 1/2" thick (& 
quarterly) Milwaukee Railroader was quickly rewarded with greater membership 
retention & growth.  However, the ability for BRHS to follow-suit is very much 
dependent upon the support which comes from a greater membership base.

In my humble opinion, the first step in accomplishing this must be to shore up 
the existing publications & events:

1) Make timely publication a top priority
2) Enhance (increase) the already exceptional content of publications
3) Revitalize Meets w/new locations & activities

I recognize this too requires a greater dedication of resources, sadly, often 
resulting from the same select few; however, it needs to happen somehow.  Given 
that points 1 & 2 would demand unreasonably more from a very few dedicated 
members, in my opinion the foremost opportunity to energize the BRHS will be to 
BUILD UPON THE RESOURCES OF OTHERS in a focus on point 3 ~ ie. JOINT MEETS.

For the life of me, I do not understand why the idea of sharing expenses & 
doubling the size/attendance/offerings of a Meet with another group of fellow 
railfans consistently falls prey to nay-sayers, even when several members from 
each organization have volunteered to take the reigns and make it happen.

A joint meet is simply a WIN-WIN ~ attendance is multiplied and costs are 
shared, thus resulting in the ability to feature many more appealing events 
that would not otherwise be possible.  Railfans gain exposure to more material, 
new friendships, larger swap meets, vast modeling ideas, varied clinics, etc.  
Just imagine the Hill Road societies combining resources for a joint NP/GN/Q 
meet in a common city such as Twin Cities ~ reserve SPUD, charter an 
observation or dome in/out of Chicago ~ such are but a few of the many 
possibilities when pooling resources.  Best of all, coordinating such a 
monumental meet will energize the membership of each society and foster 
sustained growth/participation which would in turn support these enhanced 
operations. 

WHY NOT!?!?

As one of the youngest participants in BRHS, I'd like the Society to be around 
for many more years.  I hope that those at the helm will take notice and 
schedule a big & exciting joint meet in 2010 to get the boost BRHS needs.

Lee Edgar


PS: My compliments to the meet organizers who in recent years continue to put 
together good shows with the limited resources at their disposal ~ just imagine 
if there were greater membership & finances to support the event.
JOINT MEET 2010!!!

Thanks for sharing your soap box Charlie.



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