Well, this is a nice surprise. After a 4 years + hiatus, I was re -elected as Chairman of the Rhode Island Science Fiction Club, an organization that some close friends and I founded 32 years ago! Quite frankly, I am greatly humbled.
First, a huge thanks to outgoing Board Members: Ian Kingston, Chairman; Calvin Watts III, Vice Chair; Maddy Kingston, Treasurer; and Barbara Kingston, Events Chair. Your leadership and enthusiasm gave us some fun, creative events and meetings, and is greatly appreciated. They've told me they're not going anywhere, and I look forward to sharing more Club adventures with them.
Now, what to do now that I am in the 'hot seat' again? What can you expect from this slate of Board members for 2019-2021? It's a collaborative effort, but two issues pop up for me:
1. Find a way to increase our membership. I see a huge advertising campaign ahead of us. We've self identified as the 'best kept science fiction club in Rhode Island.' That has to change. If you do a Google search for science fiction clubs in R.I., we show at the top of the list. Let's expand on that.
2. Provide a series of Meetings and Events that will please our diverse age group. RISFC members started with Baby Boomers, but we also have Gen X, and Millennials in the mix. Baby boomers like me (I'm 60) are at the stage where we like to sit around, eat, and discuss everything from the number 42, to why there's too much TV to watch. The other age groups enjoy actvities that are very social, they use their phones for everything, and prefer events that give them meaning, like charity work. That's the balance this new Board will have to deal with. Not an easy task, but very do-able
.
So 'Chief Concerns' once again becomes 'Chief Concerns, the Chairman's Column'. The only thing I can guarantee on my part, is that being a member of the RISFC is going to be tons of fun!
First, a huge thanks to outgoing Board Members: Ian Kingston, Chairman; Calvin Watts III, Vice Chair; Maddy Kingston, Treasurer; and Barbara Kingston, Events Chair. Your leadership and enthusiasm gave us some fun, creative events and meetings, and is greatly appreciated. They've told me they're not going anywhere, and I look forward to sharing more Club adventures with them.
Now, what to do now that I am in the 'hot seat' again? What can you expect from this slate of Board members for 2019-2021? It's a collaborative effort, but two issues pop up for me:
1. Find a way to increase our membership. I see a huge advertising campaign ahead of us. We've self identified as the 'best kept science fiction club in Rhode Island.' That has to change. If you do a Google search for science fiction clubs in R.I., we show at the top of the list. Let's expand on that.
2. Provide a series of Meetings and Events that will please our diverse age group. RISFC members started with Baby Boomers, but we also have Gen X, and Millennials in the mix. Baby boomers like me (I'm 60) are at the stage where we like to sit around, eat, and discuss everything from the number 42, to why there's too much TV to watch. The other age groups enjoy actvities that are very social, they use their phones for everything, and prefer events that give them meaning, like charity work. That's the balance this new Board will have to deal with. Not an easy task, but very do-able
.
So 'Chief Concerns' once again becomes 'Chief Concerns, the Chairman's Column'. The only thing I can guarantee on my part, is that being a member of the RISFC is going to be tons of fun!
