[PVRCNC] Chapter Meetings

[Henry Pollock - K4TMC]

Bill,

Good idea to assess our meeting process. I do enjoy the round-the-table
discussions, learning what others are doing contest/radio-wise that does
not make it in an email on the reflector.

I have always found it difficult to work the club meetings into my
schedule. When working full time, prior to our Zoom format, I was often
out-of-town or had family commitments so could not make the meetings. The
times I did make an appearance during the period at Manchesters, I always
enjoyed the meetings and the food. It was only a 10-minute drive from my
north Raleigh home.  Now that I have moved to south Cary, the drive to
either Manchesters or Hickory Tavern is over 20 minutes, sometimes worse
due to traffic issues. I have no issues with the Hickory Tavern food.
However, the acoustics in the meeting room are not pleasant; too much glass
and the entrance door opens to the full restaurant's noise level.

Regardless of any changes, my family commitments often get in the way of
making the meetings. The past year has been tough, the XYL has fallen twice
this year, and we pick up our twin grandsons from pre-school and keep them
for a few hours before returning them to their home, Monday - Friday. By
5:30pm I am ready to just sit down and relax.

73,
Henry - K4TMC



On Fri, Sep 6, 2024 at 10:32 AM Bill Axelrod via PVRCNC <
pvrcnc at mailman.qth.net> wrote:

>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Bill Axelrod <bill at axelrods.org>
> To: PVRC NC <pvrcnc at mailman.qth.net>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2024 10:31:51 -0400
> Subject: Chapter Meetings
> Folks,
>
>      Recently, we have seen a s steady decline in the number of us
> attending our monthly meetings in person.  Last night there were only four
> of us in the room - and that raised a good discussion and a series of
> questions about our monthly meetings.
>
>      In this fairly lengthy email I would like to lay out that discussion,
> the questions raised during the meeting, and some of the ideas suggested
> and solicit your thought, inputs, and sugestions
>
>     I ask that you all read the following and share us your thoughts,
> ideas, etc about how our chapter should proceed.  I especially would like
> to hear from those of you who live in the area but do not regularly attend
> our meetings in person.
>
>      First a bit of history.  Pre-COVID we met monthly up at Manchester's.
> We usually had 12 - 15 members attend those meetings.  Once COVID hit,
> Manchester's closed as did all other meeting places and we switched to Zoom
> meetings which were also well attended.
>
>      After the COVID pandemic ended many of us started clamoring for
> re-starting in-person meetings.  And so we did.  Manchester's re-opened but
> steadfastly decided to not host meetings like ours.  We went on a search
> for a new venue.  Eric, NR4O, recommended the Hickory Tavern in Cary.  They
> were a good choice.   And so we restarted in-person meetings with a hybrid
> Zoom meeting to include those of us who live too far away to reasonably
> come to our in-person meetings.  These meetings work well.  But...
>
>      We're not getting much attendance.  Aside from that being very
> disappointing, it is patently unfair to the folks at the Hickory Tavern.
> They give us use of their private room at no cost each month.  The room can
> fit 25 or more people and could be earning even more revenue for them.
> They dedicate a server to support us, even if we barely fill one small
> table.
>
>      So, my first question to y'all is:  What should we do about it?  We
> could do nothing and  continue our present practice.  We could go back to
> Zoom only meetings.  We could hold in-person meetings once a quarter and do
> Zoom only the other two months?  What do you think?  Any and all ideas you
> may have are desired.  PLEASE!
>
>      Another related question concerns our monthly guest speaker program
> and the length of our meetings.  A number of us have opined that our
> meetings have grown too long with both a guest speaker and our "around the
> table" chat.  Should we cut out the guest speakers?  Only have something
> scheduled (maye) four time a year?  What do you think?  Please comment on
> that also.
>
>      Again, especially for those of you that don't routinely come to our
> in-person meetings, please share your thoughts, ideas, preferences, wild
> hairs, or other opinions and let's see how we can meet our wants and needs.
>
> QRV.
>
> Thanks and 73...   Bill K3WA
> ReplyForward
> Add reaction
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Bill Axelrod via PVRCNC <pvrcnc at mailman.qth.net>
> To: PVRC NC <pvrcnc at mailman.qth.net>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Fri,  6 Sep 2024 10:32:15 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: [PVRCNC] Chapter Meetings
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