Meetings

[Shawn]

Hey guys,

I noticed yesterday that there was some brief discussion about moving details about meetings into the private forum. This has since disappeared; not being a dues-paid member, I’m not sure if it’s was deleted, or if it WAS moved to a private forum. But it got me thinking some more about the whole meeting thing, so bear with me...

As it is now, the most that is ever posted, publicly anyway, about the meetings is a rough roll call on who will be going, and then a couple posts after, thanking the host, etc.  I guess I’m curious as to what goes on at the meetings, other than drinking. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against getting together and drinking beer. But usually the point of being a paid-member to a club (other than the perks of grain ordering, etc.), is to have information sessions, demonstrations, tastings, etc. Now, maybe this all does go on at your meetings... but if this info is posted in a private forum, how are us non-paid members supposed to know what we’re missing?

I know that this club is still at a beginner-stage, and that it takes time to build up, which it appears to be doing. But, for example, the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers in Calgary (yes, I know a much bigger city, but they started with 2-3 members as well): they have monthly meetings, at the same set spot, where paid members attend and participate in a lot of what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. What is going to occur at each meeting is openly posted on the website, the monthly newsletter is available to anyone, and everyone is invited to openly attend. Because the location is not a private home, the address is of course made known. With everything going on and being provided, they DO ask for a 5$ “guest fee” for non-members... which you get taken off your membership fee if you decide to join. Makes sense.

As I said, I’m not a dues-paid member... there are several reasons for this, one of which is because I work every second Saturday - the Saturday that the meetings are held. Now, I understand that technically you don’t HAVE to be a member to attend a meeting, and Richard and others have offered to move a meeting to an opposite Saturday if I wanted to attend. Much appreciated for the offer, by the way. But with everything else that I have going on right now, I’m probably not going to go out of my way to join/attend meetings when I don’t know what’s going on at them. The several people I’ve met over the past year or two have been great guys, so this is definitely nothing personal.

In the end, this is really just a suggestion; I'm only one person, so I don't know if any other current non-dues-paid members feel the same way... but if your goal is expansion of the club, and opening of more activities, I can't help but feel this would be a good step to take.

Thanks,
Shawn

[chrismccull]

I am a new member and thus far have been impressed with the talent on this site.  I attended the last meeting and was able to ask a lot of questions to several members which will help make me a better brewer.  Most of the people on this site are much more advanced than I am and can help guide me based upon their experience.  Therefore, I found it very easy to justify the membership costs.  As a matter of fact, I saved enough from the two kegs that I purchased through the club discount, that it actually paid for my dues.  

Basically, the last meeting was a gathering of avid brewers.  For me, it was an opportunity to try some all grain beer to help me decide whether or not I want to make the all grain plunge, or stick with extract for now.  I was also able to purchase some kegs, o-rings and keg lube at a member discount.  Everyone that I have met thus far have been more than willing to help and provide advice as needed.

[Chris Craig]

+1
EDIT:: +1 to Chris' post.

[Dean]

I'll do this line-by-line, because it's easier

I noticed yesterday that there was some brief discussion about moving details about meetings into the private forum. This has since disappeared; not being a dues-paid member, I’m not sure if it’s was deleted, or if it WAS moved to a private forum. But it got me thinking some more about the whole meeting thing, so bear with me...

if you were a dues-paid member you'd save yourself a lot of thinking because you'd already know the answer to your question  

As it is now, the most that is ever posted, publicly anyway, about the meetings is a rough roll call on who will be going, and then a couple posts after, thanking the host, etc.  I guess I’m curious as to what goes on at the meetings, other than drinking. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against getting together and drinking beer. But usually the point of being a paid-member to a club (other than the perks of grain ordering, etc.), is to have information sessions, demonstrations, tastings, etc. Now, maybe this all does go on at your meetings... but if this info is posted in a private forum, how are us non-paid members supposed to know what we’re missing...

if you're curious then pm someone and come as their guest. You already stated that you know the point of being a paid member to a club, what more do you need? If we posted a video of our next meeting would you consider that proof enough to consider coming to one? We've already offered to move the date to suit your schedule, pick you up, bring you as a guest, give you the floor to share some experience and knowledge, share our brews with you, and drive you home ...yet you say you're still not sure you want to come to a meeting because the details are in a private forum and not available to you?

I know that this club is still at a beginner-stage, and that it takes time to build up, which it appears to be doing. But, for example, the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers in Calgary (yes, I know a much bigger city, but they started with 2-3 members as well): they have monthly meetings, at the same set spot, where paid members attend and participate in a lot of what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. What is going to occur at each meeting is openly posted on the website, the monthly newsletter is available to anyone, and everyone is invited to openly attend. Because the location is not a private home, the address is of course made known. With everything going on and being provided, they DO ask for a 5$ “guest fee” for non-members... which you get taken off your membership fee if you decide to join. Makes sense.?...

this is not Cow Town, what is going to occur at each meeting may or may not be posted on the website, we don't have a newsletter yet, and anyone can get some details from a member and come as their guest. We ask for no guest fee - we ask for a membership fee should you decide you'd like to join us. We don't have a fixed public venue, we don't have enough membership yet to be able to pay rent ...if the 20+ registered users on this board who are not FCBA members joined then we'd likely be able to afford rent and do the same thing as Cow town ...see where I'm going with this yet?

As I said, I’m not a dues-paid member... there are several reasons for this, one of which is because I work every second Saturday - the Saturday that the meetings are held. Now, I understand that technically you don’t HAVE to be a member to attend a meeting, and Richard and others have offered to move a meeting to an opposite Saturday if I wanted to attend. Much appreciated for the offer, by the way. But with everything else that I have going on right now, I’m probably not going to go out of my way to join/attend meetings when I don’t know what’s going on at them. The several people I’ve met over the past year or two have been great guys, so this is definitely nothing personal....

so you're saying that the private/public status of the meeting announcements has absolutely nothing to do with your decision not to attend one. right, thanks for clarifying that.

In the end, this is really just a suggestion; I'm only one person, so I don't know if any other current non-dues-paid members feel the same way... but if your goal is expansion of the club, and opening of more activities, I can't help but feel this would be a good step to take.....

sorry for being blunt but the fact that you're only one person has nothing to do with whether or not we act on your suggestions - it's more the fact that a non-dues-paid member has no vote with regards to the decisions of this club. that said, we do listen to suggestions and if they're good ones we certainly discuss them - but if you don't come to a meeting you'll never see that either  

Any other new members agreeing or disagreeing please post up

[Shawn]

That's a lot to reply to, and either I didn't write my post clearly, or it was taken the wrong way.

I never said that I expected newsletters, pre-planned meetings, etc. before I would pay to be a member. What I was getting at was that if any of this stuff was going on, maybe it should be made public so that non-paid members would know what they were missing. But I don't know what I'm missing meeting-wise, b/c I've never been. And if anything meeting related is in a private forum... I feel like this is going in a circle now.

And this has been addressed before, and the answer that I've seen is "that stuff is discussed in the private forum". So, you're telling me I have to join to see what's in the private forum, or what goes on at a meeting? In that case, I'll take what's behind door number one...

Anyway, the point of this post had to do with yesterday's brief and then gone discussion. I was just suggesting that meeting info is kept public, to keep the non-paid people up-to-date as to what's discussed with the club, maybe that whole getting-homebrew-transfer-legalized thing...

"a non-dues-paid member has no vote with regards to the decisions of this club." I know I have no vote... thanks for clarifying. If it came across that I was trying to change anything with this club, then I apologize. As I said, that's not what this post was about.

[Kyle]

There are alot of issues in this thread I will address a little later, but for all involved, keep in mind the exec is aware of the dual needs to make the club interesting to new people through public content and yet to provide members-only areas for day-to-day club business.

[Dean]

That's a lot to reply to, ..

you started it ...hahaha

I never said that I expected newsletters, pre-planned meetings, etc. before I would pay to be a member. What I was getting at was that if any of this stuff was going on, maybe it should be made public so that non-paid members would know what they were missing. But I don't know what I'm missing meeting-wise, b/c I've never been. And if anything meeting related is in a private forum... I feel like this is going in a circle now...

Shawn, several people here have all but begged you to come to a meeting, myself included so I personally don't get "I don't know what I'm missing meeting-wise". Agreed, it's a catch-22, albeit a self-inflicted one - come to a meeting to see what goes on at a meeting/I won't come to a meeting until I know what goes on at a meeting

And this has been addressed before, and the answer that I've seen is "that stuff is discussed in the private forum". So, you're telling me I have to join to see what's in the private forum, or what goes on at a meeting? In that case, I'll take what's behind door number one......

nope ..you have to come to a meeting to SEE what goes on at a meeting, you have to listen to what other members tell you in order to know what goes on at meetings. You have to take someone's word for it once in a while    Door #1 is always an option, we won't be offended, we're done begging

Anyway, the point of this post had to do with yesterday's brief and then gone discussion. I was just suggesting that meeting info is kept public, to keep the non-paid people up-to-date as to what's discussed with the club, maybe that whole getting-homebrew-transfer-legalized thing... ......

Point taken. something like a homepage/newsletter/local home brewing announcements. you'll have to trust that these very points have been thought of/are being discussed/in the works/etc ...these discussions don't take place in the public forum ...but we've already beat this horse, yes?

[Kyle]

Shawn is right in noting that we are a young club, and thus in a period of transition from a very small group of guys to a more formalized organization. I have been looking at the Cow Town Yeast Wranglers website among those of several other home brew clubs to see how they run their affairs as we work to make FCBA better. We have done several hands-on workshops and tutorials in past meetings and one of the most popular has been the one on yeast starters.

We are moving towards the following format for meetings:
1. Club business
2. Workshop (for example, using Belgian beers in desserts)
3. Conversation and beer tastings


Overall, these are the goals of the club:

? Purchase Power: Providing group purchase power to enable procurement of supplies and ingredients that might otherwise be more expensive or less obtainable.

? Trading: Enabling the sharing of craft supplies amongst members, for the benefit of members.

? Expertise Building: To facilitate the growth and dissemination of brewing knowledge among club members

? Social Networking: Providing venues for members to share, improve, and enjoy their craft, including not only an online venue but also an in-person venue through bi-weekly meetings.

? Promoting the Craft: Fostering a local brew community that respects members no matter their level of experience or approach to brewing.

? Promoting Responsibility: Encouraging moderate, safe, and responsible enjoyment of craft beer

? Promoting Community: An overall ethos of sharing and co-operation

[Shawn]

Dean,

Begged me to come to a meeting? I'm a superstar!

No, I know we've had the discussion before... and, like I said, the reasons are multiple that I don't go, mostly to do with my schedule. I never intended for this to be a "prove to me why I should come" type of thread, but yes, we won't beat that horse again.

"nope ..you have to come to a meeting to SEE what goes on at a meeting, you have to listen to what other members tell you in order to know what goes on at meetings."

Now, you DO have to admit that is contradictory... I'm always willing to listen...

[Dean]

I agree Kyle, and Shawn has a lot of good points here.

I think that the lion's share of his concerns would be better addressed with the making of the entire forum private. My reasoning is this ...a private forum forces the need for certain information to be posted to a home page, information that includes just about everything that shawn brought up. Non-members would then see everything that they log on to see and wouldn't have to be innundated with our private affairs, affairs in which they have no interest being involved (otherwise they'd be interested in membership)

[Chris Craig]

I agree Kyle, and Shawn has a lot of good points here.

I think that the lion's share of his concerns would be better addressed with the making of the entire forum private. My reasoning is this ...a private forum forces the need for certain information to be posted to a home page, information that includes just about everything that shawn brought up. Non-members would then see everything that they log on to see and wouldn't have to be innundated with our private affairs, affairs in which they have no interest being involved (otherwise they'd be interested in membership)

I think making the whole forum private would be ok, but we'd have to do more with the site to entice new members.  I know that if the whole forum was private, I probably wouldn't have joined.  

It could be as simple as a wiki to house information about the club, recipes, diy projects, some meeting minutes possibly.  

Thoughts?

[Dean]

Dean,

Begged me to come to a meeting? I'm a superstar!

No, I know we've had the discussion before... and, like I said, the reasons are multiple that I don't go, mostly to do with my schedule. I never intended for this to be a "prove to me why I should come" type of thread, but yes, we won't beat that horse again.

"nope ..you have to come to a meeting to SEE what goes on at a meeting, you have to listen to what other members tell you in order to know what goes on at meetings."

Now, you DO have to admit that is contradictory... I'm always willing to listen...

Do you REALLY want every pm you've ever sent posted on this public forum? Someone else tried to go down that road a while back and it didn't go well for him

contradictory? that depends on what you're trying to accomplish with this post, doesn't it.  You're a grown man, you shouldn't need to be told that in order to see what goes on behind closed doors you need to be in attendance. If you're stubborn and still don't want to see for yourself who's been there tells you what goes on ...well, you may just have to listen to what they tell you

anyway, I'm done playing this game with you. Come to a meeting ...if not, door #1 is over there ----->

[Shawn]

Ha, I don't care if every PM I sent is posted. I certainly haven't sent any offensive PMs, to you or anyone.

But anyway, I agree it's time to move on... gladly. I really didn't think a suggestion would end up like this...

[Richard]

This is a private club, not some government organisation that has to try to please everyone. We cater to our members, and those non-members who are interested will find us more than willing to talk their ear off about the club and its benefits (which to me, includes the other members and their talents).

I came in rather late to this one, granted, and I've got very little to add on top of what's already been said.

Chris: we actually already have a wiki! We will soon be moving to a joomla frontend with the mediawiki and this forum behind. For now, check out wiki - a barren landscape of nothingness because as yet it's not been filled. We're hoping after the re-shuffle that it'll become more of a focus

I should add that the wiki has been defaced all to hell by spambots, so will need a reset. The internet often seems like one big game of giving just the right amount of privileges.