[KL7AA] [NARS] [tdxs-list] Meeting and greeting new hams and visitors at our club meetings

Wed Jan 12 16:00:56 EST 2011

First contact with new licensees is with VECs.

My experience was good every time I took a test. Clubs, events and opportunities 
to be a VEC were mentioned each time.

The tactic I prefer is to get the potential new ops in the hot seat and keying 
down with a mentor. At the ARRL RTTY Roundup, I had advertised it well in the 
newsletter and at the monthly meeting. I emphasized the training aspects and had 
a great response. A license test occurred that day and we had a new tech and a 
general upgrade come to the station immediately after the test. Plus we had 
three existing members try their hands at RTTY for the first time, several 
others chose to observe.

That's my tactic, smaller groups, hands-on hamming. Give them a tour of real 
radio **without** being over technical. The motivated ones will show up. Big 
intros with mysterious scary people are demotivating for many people.

Rich - AL4S
rich at gillin dot us
907.884.1404

________________________________
From: Allen R. Brier <n5xz at earthlink.net>
To: Bill Stietenroth <k5zty at juno.com>; kz8e at wt.net
Cc: clarc at clarc.org; nars at mailman.qth.net; tdxs-list at tdxs.net; 
ak-contesters at googlegroups.com; ctdxcc at kkn.net; kl7aa at mailman.qth.net; 
bvarc at bvarc.org
Sent: Wed, January 12, 2011 10:13:19 AM
Subject: Re: [KL7AA] [NARS] [tdxs-list] Meeting and greeting new hams and 
visitors at our club meetings

While neither you nor I can speak for what the guy did or didn’t do, I do
know that sometimes joining a new group can be intimidating and it is often
difficult for new people to speak up due to shyness or whatever. Thinking
that first time visitors must speak up probably results in the loss of a lot
of potentially valuable members.

Allen Brier N5XZ / KL5DX
1515 Windloch Lane
Richmond, TX 77406-2533
281-342-1882
713-705-4801 (Cell)
n5xz at arrl.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Stietenroth [mailto:k5zty at juno.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 8:04 AM
To: kz8e at wt.net
Cc: n5xz at earthlink.net; clarc at clarc.org; nars at mailman.qth.net;
tdxs-list at tdxs.net; ctdxcc at kkn.net; kl7aa at mailman.qth.net; bvarc at bvarc.org
Subject: Re: [NARS] [tdxs-list] Meeting and greeting new hams and visitors
at our club meetings

Earl didn't walk into that TDXS meeting room and go over and sit in the
corner and wait for the welcoming comittee to take him by the hand and
introduce him to the group either. 
I've heard this lament dozens of times before, and the facts be known, the
complainer probably didn't make any effort to let someone know he / she was
there. When I go to meetings, I never know everyone in the room and I don't
go around the room asking everyone that I don't know if they are new to the
group. Newcomers have to speak up at least a little.

Bill, K5ZTY

---------- Original Message ----------
From: <kz8e at wt.net>
To: <n5xz at earthlink.net>
Cc: clarc at clarc.org, nars at mailman.qth.net, tdxs-list at tdxs.net,
ctdxcc at kkn.net, kl7aa at mailman.qth.net, bvarc at bvarc.org
Subject: Re: [NARS] [tdxs-list] Meeting and greeting new hams and visitors
at our club    meetings
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 08:13:59 -0800

Making potential new members feel welcome at meetings is the job of every
member.  Especially in groups like TDXS where becoming a member is not just
a matter of paying the dues.

As a contester I sought out the TDXS when I moved to Houston.  I was made to
feel very welcome.  In fact, within 2 weeks of moving into my apartment N5RP
opened up his station to me for the WPX CW contest.  The only two conditions
were don't screw Faux Pas (their dog) and don't pee in the pool.  I
restrained myself since it was my first time at his station.

Even though I wasn't a member I felt like one of the guys.  Actually, I got
to do everything that the members did except pay dues, vote, and hold
office.  Though I probably could have held office if I had pushed it.  I was
treated so much like a member that it came up one day to everyone's surprise
that I wasn't, so my membership application was finally rushed through.

Contesting and DXing are generally solo pursuits but the clubs can make them
into social activities and make the potential member feel welcome.

N8SS

--- n5xz at earthlink.net wrote:

From: "Allen R. Brier" <n5xz at earthlink.net>
To: <bvarc at bvarc.org>, <clarc at clarc.org>, <nars at mailman.qth.net>,
"'TDXS Reflector'" <tdxs-list at tdxs.net>, <ctdxcc at kkn.net>,
<kl7aa at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [tdxs-list] Meeting and greeting new hams and visitors at our club
meetings
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:05:40 -0900

All,

I received the email below as a result of asking for suggestions and
speakers for the upcoming 2011 Greater Houston Hamfest. I am purposely
blanking out the originators name, call, address, phone number and club he
visited by x's. 

This is very sad because this is not the first time I have heard this from
new hams or potential members. I heard the very same thing from a ham in
Sugar Land who visited BVARC once. I have to admit that I don’t try
hard
enough myself to greet the new hams, and spend most of my time talking with
old friends that I don’t see in person often enough. But we need to
make
more of an effort to "meet and greet" the newer hams and visitors at our
club meetings. We all know how hard it is to get new members and it is
vitally important to make our new hams feel welcome and to stay in the
hobby. I urged this ham to go back and give the club we went to another
chance and I hope he/she does. We need this to keep our hobby alive and
prosperous. So next club meeting, please seek out these new hams and
visitors and make them feel welcome. Better yet, initiate a program in your
clubs to seek out all new hams in our communities and offer elmering and
assistance. It is easy to get a list of hams by zip code from the ARRL and
notices of new and upgraded hams. Perhaps a new position of officer should
be made specifically for this purpose. Devote a meeting or a few minutes of
each meeting for this. I think some clubs already so some or all of this. I
think we'll all be pleased with the results.

PLEASE CROSS-POST THIS TO OTHER REFLECTORS AND COPY TO AS MANY CLUB OFFICERS
AS POSSBIBLE.

73,

Allen Brier N5XZ / KL5DX
1515 Windloch Lane
Richmond, TX 77406-2533
281-342-1882
713-705-4801 (Cell)
n5xz at arrl.net

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxx xxxxxxx 
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 9:09 AM
To: n5xz at earthlink.net
Subject: RE: [xxxx] Open forum slot for 2011 Greater Houston Hamfest

Dear Mr. Brier

My name is xxxxx xxxxxxx (X5XXX) and I received my Technician license in
April of 2008 and then my General thirty days later.  I attended several
meetings of my local ham club (XXXX) for several months but it has been over
a year since I attended any more meetings.  To my dismay, I was never
greeted by anyone introducing me to other members and never felt that my
experience in ham radio was anything but amateur.  And that I didn't quite
stand up to some of the standards and experience that others had.  I walked
away feeling a little dejected. How about a member giving a speech about how
to welcome new hams to the association and how to make them feel welcome in
this world of communication.  I believe this would go a long way in
maintaining and promoting amateur ham radio.

xxxx xxxx
xxxx xxxx
Houston, Texas  
(281) xxx-xxxx

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