Re: Increasing membership?
Yes, basically I see a vacuum of enthusiastic volunteers in organising the above said activities, which are all great ideas. Many of the older birds here are starting to lose steam, and since there's no restriction on who can organise what, since in this aspect it's pretty rule-free, why dont like-minded ppl group together to form committees which can organise track days (already running), monthly meetups (already there), BBQ sessions (usually among closer friends), island-wide drives (legal implications), treasure hunt (great idea, but need manpower), tech talks (link already established), annual dinners (happening soon).
There are so many great minds out there, and if everybody can pitch in a little bit, then there'll be more activities for us to participate.
I see the monthly meetup as a great opportunity where people can group together and exchange ideas, form committees, do planning, and take up registration of these events.
Perhaps, we should have booths (made of those foldable table/chairs) with signages on various discussion groups, and volunteers can come up and help to contribute to the management, if not, just sign up for participation.
Money is another issue. money is needed for almost all activities, and usually it's done at cost to the per pax participation (like annual dinner). But it can also be touchy. A totally transparent system can help instill confidence in whichever management committee that are set up.
However, for all the time and $$$ that ryan and alvin has pumped into making this forum run, at the very least, they cannot be financially worse off than before they started this thing. So some $ should also go back to them for compensation, for the never-ending support they have contributed for this forum too.
So, what does an increment in membership and size mean? It means the same small groups of people cannot possibly sustain enough activities to keep it active all the time. This also means, we have to sub-con out such activities management to enthusiastic volunteers.
Perhaps on this note, Ryan can come out with certain guidelines and ideas, sticky them on event management, and let the volunteers come out and execute them. Frankly, with our jobs, families, love life and sex life, there really isnt much time left for these individuals to run every single thing.
With the above done, means more activities, more drawing power, more group togetherness, and therefore, a higher possibility of increased membership, and this forum can grow in strength. More and more sub groups must be encouraged, and since more often than not these groups have "leader(s)", these individuals can lead their groups to more activities.
Perhaps, once or maybe more times, a year, all of these groups can come together for a mega event, all under the umbrella "BMWSG" group. (must book indoor stadium, like that)
And once this structure, this web, is firmly established, we can start to gel with other car clubs even. Much can be done, and much potential can be reaped from these ideas, but the first step, would be to garner more volunteers, and then, all of us can have a proper, low cost, social club with common interests, and everybody can stand to gain from this.
Isnt it fun?