Victoria Quay is very large now
We have a wonderful club which is attracting a lot of new members. We have 44 right now, and others are interested in joining. We love that. But it produces real problems. It has become difficult to get a speaking spot on the Agenda.
We have 4 prepared speeches each meeting which means only one speech every three months if the positions are shared out equally. Members learn by doing and getting positive feedback for their efforts. Progress for all members, and importantly for new members, is becoming quite slow.
Some members have become discouraged and are not attending very often. We miss them and they are missing out on the benefits of Victoria Quay membership.
The Overflow Meeting
At our business meeting on Wednesday, June 19 this week I will be proposing that we run a second meeting twice a month on Thursday evenings at the Bowling Club. It will be on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month at the same time – 6 to 7.30 with supper afterwards – and with the same style Agenda as we currently have, but with a greater emphasis on workshops for training in speaking skills.
Who can attend?
All Victoria Quay members and visitors will be able to attend either the regular Wednesday evening meeting or the Thursday evening meeting. Some may sometimes attend both meetings in the same week. The meetings will count as full meetings in our meeting number schedule.
What about Club Officers?
Our Club Officers will still be those elected next Wednesday evening during our business session. I will handle the Agenda for the Thursday evening meetings, while the Agenda for the Wednesday meetings will be the responsibility of whoever is elected this Wednesday.
Opportunities, Opportunities, Opportunities
The Overflow meeting will open up a set of opportunities for our members
- Extra chances for speeches, evaluations, and other meeting roles
- Practice for assistant officer roles. We will need help to set up the meetings – that’s an opportunity to be a Sergeant at Arms. We will need help to publicise to the Fremantle and surrounding suburbs the extra opportunities the Overflow meeting gives – that’s an opportunity to work as a Vice President Public Relations. We will need help to welcome visitors and perhaps sign them up as members – working as a Vice President Membership.
- The roles of assistant President, Treasurer and Secretary wont be required for the Overflow meetings.
What will it cost the club?
The Bowling Club venue charge is $75 per meeting. As well there is the cost of supper, which currently is about $25 a meeting. We don’t expect the Overflow meetings to be as strongly attended as our current meetings, so the supper cost will be less than that. The total maximum will be less than $100 a meeting, which is less than $200 a month. That would come to about $2,000 a year.
We can afford it
Currently we have about $7,000 in the bank and after some rather heavy expenses in June coming from our subsidy to members who attended the Convention I estimate we will have more than $6,000. The full extra cost of the Overflow meetings would be possibly just a bit more than $2,000 in a full year. We can afford that.
New members generate some income to the Club, because our major expense of the venue hire stays the same. A new member costs the club about $70 when they join, but our new member charge is $130, so new members add to our bank credit. We have always been strong financially. We can take on the Overflow cost without any problem financially.
What are the benefits of Overflow meetings?
- Members and visitors have two extra opportunities each month to work on their communication and leadership skills
- Some members who may have been discouraged by the difficulties of getting onto the Wednesday night Agenda may be encouraged to maintain their membership when the six monthly renewals come due in September
- We may recruit new members who can’t attend on Wednesdays, but can on Thursdays
Attend the business session on Wednesday, June 19
You will get a chance to express your opinion about this proposal at our business meeting.
In the meanwhile, if you have queries, you can ring or email me.
Posted by David Nicholas DTM
Victoria Quay Webmaster
Vice President Membership
0401 011 212
