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| Message Subject: Are Club Seminars Obsolete? | |||
Jeff Blanck |
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| As a long time active member of a Muskies, Inc chapter I can't help but notice a change in the sport over the years. One thing that has progressed over the years is the success of Musky Shows across the map. The quality and quantity of speakers is top notch combined with an atmopsphere that includes boats, lodging, baits and anything else a musky hunter could want. Many of us can't wait until the Chicago Show, Rockford Show, Mn. Show, etc. I believe that this combined with the information available on the internet has had a major effect on local club fund raising seminars. It's pretty hard to compete with a large show with multiple speakers that has a $10 entry fee. That's a very fair price for any show that has so much to offer. When a chapter or club hosts a seminar as a fund raiser the entry fee for that night will need to be around the same $10 price just to break even for the speaker fees. At least that applies for the smaller chapters. The fund raising options after that are pretty much limited to raffle proceeds. The members usually support the club but the non-member dollar is hard to come by when they weigh the options of where to spend their money during boat show season. As we sit and dream about opening day of 2009, I would welcome any ideas or input as to what the public might like to see at a local club seminar/meeting to draw support for the club's upcoming objectives. What do you like to see? What frustrates you when you get to a seminar/meeting? What are you willing to pay for door fees? What raffles prizes draw you to buy a ticket? These are just some of the things we as club organizers need to know from members and non-members alike to continue to keep smaller clubs operational. I feel there's still a need for local clubs and the benefits they provide for a community, but it's definately getting harder to draw a crowd to raise the funds needed to complete each year's objectives. I welcome your input and thank those that support your local fishing clubs. Good luck on the water next season. Jeff Blanck/Flatlanders Chapter of Muskies, Inc. | |||
| happy hooker |
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Posts: 3156 | I am one of the people that arrange speakers for the Twin Cities chapter we have a speaker every month or about 10 a year,,,we have a pretty high turnout at meetings but we have had over 40 plus years to build things,,,however what I think may be hurting seminar attendance is "everybody wants to talk about double tens" its everybodys favorite bait including the guides/speakers,,Im getting to the point where I contact someone and request that they have to spend only part of their seminar on this,,They work!!! but I think people have heard it allready | ||
| dtaijo174 |
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Posts: 1169 Location: New Hope MN | Make sure beer & food are available. | ||
| snaggletooth |
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Posts: 147 Location: Milwaukee, WI | Hi Jeff, For your Oct or Nov. meeting, you might try hiring a good marine mechanic from a local boat retailer to give a presentation about winterizing procedures. There is usually a decent split between guys who do-it themselves & guys who just hire mechanics. The mechanic can use his time as an opportunity plug his shop's services and there would likely be lots of questions from the do-it yourselvers. Advertise it in the sports page of the local newspaper one week in advance & you may get a fair number of non-members attending too. Chuck Christofferson (former Flatlander) | ||
| Lightning |
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Posts: 485 Location: On my favorite lake! | Many of the chapter meetings are on weeknights. I would suggest maybe trying a weekend morning or night. I think people are longer hours and making less ,at least that is what I am hearing and seeing from my customers around the country. Many of the topics I have heard recently presented by speakers are repeats or info you can find in magazines. The repeat info might be turning some people off. I agree with snaggletooth a seminar on do it yourself themed seminar would be intersting. Agood one might be on how guides equip their rigs. Or a If- Then question and answer. The best seminar, I went to was a audience question and answer with a few guides. It was terrific because you could ask exactly what you wanted and many attendees brought up questions that helped as well. | ||
| esoxaddict |
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Posts: 8822 | Yes and no... Over the years, we've had just about everyone you can think of -- Greg thomas, Hulbert, Lee Tauchen, Tony Grant, Richard Colin, Jim Saric, we've got Bucher coming up in Jan, Howie Meyer next year, and many many others. It's the same faces you see at the shows. I'm not sure about other chapters, but I believe we are one of the larger chapters (FRV #39), and that might have something to do with the quality of our lineup. I admit, I'm a bit dissapointed when I see a name we've already seen before, especially when it's basically the same presentation they do at the shows. It's kind of a "been there done that" experience at that point. I believe great strides could be made if the clubs had a more accurate idea of where the membership spends their time and what they really want out of the seminar speakers. (Hint: if only 10% of the club fishes where that guide is from, only 10% will really want to hear his presentation) I also think a lot of the fault lies with the speakers themselves -- if your seminar is all about promoting your guide service by showing pictures of all the big fish caught in your boat, well.. that's nice, but I want something I can take to the water. All in all, what the clubs can do (and ours does very well) is communicate witht he membership and listen to what they want. But in the end, as a member, It's YOUR club. Muskies Inc is YOUR organization. You need a responsible, dedicated Board of Directors, and you need leadership, but it's the membership that makes the organization. If you don't show up at the meetings, don't ask questions, don't make your voice heard, don't participate and contribute whatever you can? There's only so much your leadership can do, and even less that international can do. We have a great club because we have great passionate people in the club. Raffles? Let's face it -- the more stuff you have the less stuff you need. I throw in $20 for raffle tickets either way, because the money goes to support something I enjoy. It's $20 well spent. I'd like to see more custom one-of-a-kind basement builder stuff given away. (How many depthraiders does one person need) But there again -- good club = good stuff in general. Edited by esoxaddict 12/31/2008 12:29 PM | ||
| dtaijo174 |
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Posts: 1169 Location: New Hope MN | snaggletooth - 12/31/2008 9:52 AM Hi Jeff, For your Oct or Nov. meeting, you might try hiring a good marine mechanic from a local boat retailer to give a presentation about winterizing procedures. There is usually a decent split between guys who do-it themselves & guys who just hire mechanics. The mechanic can use his time as an opportunity plug his shop's services and there would likely be lots of questions from the do-it yourselvers. Advertise it in the sports page of the local newspaper one week in advance & you may get a fair number of non-members attending too. Chuck Christofferson (former Flatlander) Good idea. I would attend that! | ||
| KARLOUTDOORS |
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Posts: 956 Location: Home of the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs | My thoughts are varried. Speaker sat your monthly meeting are and should ony be a "part " of your meeting. Your club business and commerraderie (sp?) should be the bulk of your meeting. Some speakers could give you two plus hours of generic or "re-run"material whereas other perhaps even lesser know speakers provide 45 min. of great material. As a club you need to be sure that your speakers/topics fit your club. Varriety is a MUST. Lakes vs rivers, Casting vs trolling, Spring vs fall. Top water vs cranks, Ont. vs Ky. Various maintenance for th "DO it yourselfers", Lure building. As I said varriety is a MUST. Know what your speaker will provide before booking. I understand a particular speaker can draw a larger crowd and can be viewed as a fund raiser but there I feel you are crossing the line between a regular meeting and something larger than that. Our club/chapter once had a speaker to discuss post/preseason reel maintenance. he went on over an hour of plugging his business. Someone would ask a what if this/that....he'd offer no explaination of how the problem may have ben caused nor how to resolve the issue yourself but he did tell us "thats something I could fix for you. Just send it in." This might apply also to a boat/motor mechanic etc as they surely would love th business but I felt very short changed on that night especially since I booked him....."leson learned I guess" One good way of screening and networking is to attend other clubs/chapters meetings. Dont overlook local DNRs, Coast Guard & Aux., and universities (where fisheries biology is a couse of study) as sources for speakers. I know its not easy as I have been there and done that. I'll never throw stones but always offer input. Karl Edited by KARLOUTDOORS 12/31/2008 2:32 PM | ||
| JBlanck |
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Posts: 144 Location: Loves Park, IL | These are all awesome ideas and comments. I like the ideas about mechanics, locator explaination and other non-guiding seminars. It's too easy to get caught in a "speaker" rut. We have had success in the past from members speaking about what works for them but it's hard to get members to speak when they have stage fright. This is good stuff. Keep them coming. Jeff | ||
| Troyz. |
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Posts: 734 Location: Watertown, MN | We even had a chiropractor do a seminar on proper stretching for the back and body to help you along. Pretty informative Troyz | ||
| Derrys |
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| I'm not quite sure I'm following you on this. Are you looking for ideas as to what would draw attendance to your club's monthly meetings, or looking for ideas on how to raise money for your yearly projects and/or things you'd like to pursue? My Muskies Inc. Chapter hosts a yearly banquet, such as Ducks Unlimited, or Pheasants Forever. We have done it for about 40 years, and sell tickets for $35.00. We usually sell over 300 tickets and end up raising around $15,000.00 per year to fund the stocking we do and other projects. We've had speakers at our monthly meetings, such as Pete Maina and some other big names. We don't charge anything to attend our meetings, even the ones with speakers, and we pay the speakers we get. We budget money to account for our speakers, but don't attempt to make money from our monthly meetings. Not sure if this helps you or not. Good luck in 2009. | |||
| Guest |
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| Jeff I don't think they are obsolete, but it is time for many chapters to innovate. I agree that the re-run speaker material is getting old. To avoid indicting anyone specifically I'll add that every speaker wouldn't feel so much like a re-run if speakers that get paid would attend some professional presentation classes to improve their skills. Many are free like www.toastmasters.org The FRV Chapter has at least one meeting where they have a member as the speaker. If you are careful about selecting the member you could end up with the best speaker of the year at any cost. With the prospect of presenting in front of your highly critical peer group and leveraging the professional presentation skills many of us are required to master to build our careers, you will likely find they will also "give up the goods" if they they are personally invested in the club. The Brainerd Chapter does some very innovative things too. I understand they have game night and several other, no cost more member interactive events. I really like the idea of anything that pushes members outside their comfort zone, show up and sit in a chair to watch a speaker. It is these types of events that will be the catalyst for members starting to actually talk to each other and perhaps kick off the beginnings of a relationship by fishing together, etc. Only when this happens does the chapter start to feel more like a club of guys that want to do things together IMHO. | |||
| Muskie Treats |
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Posts: 2384 Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | This post reminds me that we need to do a "Lake Map Mixer" again. Take out your map book, make a copy of the map and a copy of the lake info. Mix them up and hand them out. The one with the map needs to find the one with the lake info. Have 3 questions they need to ask each other and have them turn it in for a raffle. I think that many expect speakers. I also think that many are sick of them too as many of them give the "use long rods & superline , cowgirls/bulldawgs, figure 8, blah,blah, blah. One word: DUH! One thing speakers need to do is figure out who their target audience is. Here's a question: What type of activities would people like to see at meetings? I was thinking of maybe a "Build a bucktail" night or something to that effect. Anyone have any other ideas? | ||
| john skarie |
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Posts: 221 Location: Detroint Lakes, MN | We've had lots of different types of speakers, both the "muskie pros", such as Dick P, Mark Windels, Pete Maina, Jack Burns, Lee Tauchen, Jeff Anderson to name a few. We've also had other MI members and some from our club. Dave Mendel from St. Cloud showed us how to clean and lube reels. Bob Strand, former regional manager of the MDNR and "visionary" of the MN muskie program talked to us at length about the history of MN muskies, the present and his take on the future. Brett Waldera, our own muskie guru gave perhaps the best "meat and potatoes" muskie talk we've ever had. Point being, the latter 3 speakers were virtually free, and the among the best we ever had IMHO. JS | ||
| CASTING55 |
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Posts: 968 Location: N.FIB | As far as raising funds for the club,what about a tourny at rock cut in the early spring,that might attract quite a few people from madison also. | ||
| Jeff Blanck |
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| Derrys Actually, I'm looking for both. I think that the larger musky shows and the internet basically give a fisherman the best bang for the buck as far as seminars go. The internet gives all the in depth reading someone could want. As I see more responses come on this thread, along with conversations with club members, it appears that the same old seminar at a club meeting is starting to get old, so new ideas for meetings are needed. Many times speakers called in to local clubs won't get too specific during a seminar because they are about to give that same seminar at the big show. I'm sure that these ideas could be used by many clubs besides the Flatlanders. I do believe, however, that the smaller clubs struggle a little more than larger clubs with more members for both attendence and fund raising. The more members a club has, the more ACTIVE members a club can have and the more funds are raised for the club's objectives. Participation can be hard for a club with fewer members as burn out occurs with the consistantly active members. They get the "the few of us are doing everything" blues. New ideas spawn new active members. Obviously, location of a club is a major factor for attendence, participation and club size. The closer a club is to musky waters or larger populated areas, the bigger the membership. The chapters like Headwaters(Eagle River area), Capital City(Madison), Fargo-Moorehead(Minnesota Area), Fox River Valley(Fox Chain and Chicago), etc. have a much larger source of ideas, participation and fund raising than smaller off the beaten path chapters/clubs. I'm hoping that enough good ideas, like the ones we are already seeing, show up here to help keep this sport fresh for all those that enjoy it. I don't want to lose participation from the same old Dbl 10 discussions. Believe me, I will be taking ALL these ideas back to our board to discuss for upcoming meetings and I hope others do to as this issue is heard from many chapters/clubs. Thanks and keep them coming. Jeff | |||
| john skarie |
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Posts: 221 Location: Detroint Lakes, MN | Jeff; As far as fundraising goes, I think the easiest, most effective way for a smaller chapter is to have raffle tickets for a drawing where you don't need to be present to win. i.e., have a ticket where you can win one "big" prize, like a 4-wheeler or a trip to a resort for 4 guys etc. Also have a few smaller ones, like gift-cards to Cabela's or somewhere else that may give you a good deal. Ideally you get it donated or for very little cost. It's much easier for members to sell those types of tickets. JS | ||
| Hunter4 |
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Posts: 720 | Hi Jeff, I'm a member of the FRV chapter and I sit on the board of directors. I absolutely agree with ESOXADDICT wrote and quite honestly I'll take what he wrote and present it to our speaker director who happens to be Todd Minor. I think board that listens to its membership is key. I personally like to hear from guys like Jeff for the simple fact that he is a quality member who is a quality angler that is extermely involved in the club and in the advancement of the sport. I think I can safely speak for Todd on this when I say he loves the feed back from folks like Jeff and others. Good or bad information from the genral membership is the only way a clubs board of directors can make whatever changes in the club that are wanted by its membership. One great way to obtain information from the clubs members is a poll or a question on your website's home page. We take that information and talk about it all the time. I wish I had a nickle for every e-mail that I've reiceived over the last four years just regarding our speaker schedual. I would finally be able to get that new Tuffy. As a small note John Skarie makes a great point about the informational folk like Brad and Bob. Some of the best and most enjoyable speakers are not the big boys who wind up promoting the crap out of their products or services. Todd Berg spoke a year ago at our club meeting a year ago. I don't think a day in the boat went by without me thinking about his words and presentation. Very powerful and poinent. Another guy that impressed me with his presentation or seminar was Phil Guttman. An awesome talk about LOW and other bodies of water. He had a very fresh perspective on all things fishing. It made me feel very proud to be in the same club as him. Dave | ||
| archerynut36 |
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Posts: 1887 Location: syracuse indiana | my club chapter 49 webster musky club, we have usually one speaker a year.. at our december meeting. and i have always said i wish we could do one everymonth like some of the other clubs do.. but most of them are in area's that alot of members can come and join in.. we have 167 members and alot of them are quite a drive from here and once is a year is better for them. but if our members would be more intrested in having speakers every month they need to let us know, with what the speakers cost and such we would need good turnouts. to be able to pay them... just my 2 cents....bill | ||
| mskygyd |
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| I've done several seminars for local clubs on building your own baits and they have been very successful. I have one coming up on Wed. Jan. 14th for the Muskellunge Club of Wisconsin. As a seminar speaker - I find it challenging to present fresh material. Some topics I cover include seminars on fly fishing for musky,fishing unfamiliar waters and one on fishing pressured water (which I will be doing at the Milwaukee Muskie Expo). I try to make it to other guide's seminars to make sure I am not repeating what has been recently presented. As far as fees go - I have been known to donate the fee to the club to go to stocking muskies. Expendable income is tighter these days - the making of your own double ten bucktails, ChattleBaits , leaders etc. draws some interest. Club seminars are not obsolete - they just need some fresh topics. | |||
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