[TheForge] How can we attract new members to our ABANA Affiliate?

[J. Petrila]

I'm not exactly sure how to entice more people.   Getting the word out
seems to be the best thing and having people who are active in the group
itself.

Seems often times there is a core group and as we age this core suffers..

Hooking people who are local and dedicated to the craft is a good one.

In my older age I try to be involved in more than 1 group though I still
work 3 jobs.   ABANA, NEB (new england blacksmiths) and the CBG
(Connecticut blacksmith guild).

I love to demonstrate and teach so try to go to as many "Fairs" and events
to show my support.

It only takes that one spark to ignite someones internal fire.
JLP Services Inc
6 Kenwood Dr
Rutland, MA 01543-1215

1 (508) 667-5498


On Tue, Apr 16, 2024 at 4:44 PM Bruce <freemab222 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Our Affiliate has been losing members for some time now.  We're down to
> about 1/4 of our maximum membership.
>
>    - I blame some of this to the effective discontinuation of our
>    newsletter, but that, in turn, was largely due to our inability to get
>    volunteers to help out with it.  (We do have a volunteer editor, but he
> is
>    busy with a new house and shop and hasn't had time to put together a
>    newsletter for some months.)
>    - It was partly due to our switching from a printed newsletter (which
>    was inordinately time-consuming and very expensive to print and mail)
> to an
>    emailed PDF newsletter -- which seems not to get the same response.
>    - The pandemic was also a kick in the teeth as we had to temporarily
>    suspend all meets, a situation that lasted about two years.
>    - Our board has discussed this matter repeatedly, but we've found no
>    solution.  One or more of our board created (and presumably maintains) a
>    Facebook page, which they tell me has some popularity.  (I don't do
>    Facebook, so don't know firsthand.)  One suggestion was that we accept
>    membership dues online, but we were never able to find a means to do so
>    that would work for us.  Our dues are still only $20 per annum, so I
> doubt
>    that that's an issue.
>    - Our previous claim to fame was weekly open forge meets (which
>    continue), a few toolmaking workshops per year, occasional
> demonstrations,
>    and anvil-repair workshops every few years.  The last demonstration we
> held
>    -- knifemaking -- drew an audience of five souls, myself included
> (i.e., a
>    washout).
>    - We still answer calls for demonstrations or open-forge meets, but
>    these are down to only two per year.
>    - I rather suspect that the problem may be related to the number of
>    people of an age to get interested in such a craft -- there were a lot
> more
>    when we organized than there seem to be now.
>
> I frequently answer questions online "how do I get started blacksmithing"
> (but not from locals), so I know there's some interest out there,
> somewhere.  How do we get such folks to show up?
>
> Bruce Freeman
> NJBA
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