----- Original Message -----
From: "Malcolm Cadman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] The forgotten half
Thanks to both Malcolm and John for their contributions. Quanta has a number
of subgroups but we know very little about them and I wonder how active they
are.
When I did my survey of Quanta members four years ago I noted that they were
not evenly distributed across the country but appeared in clusters. In most
cases the cluster was where there was or had been an active subgroup.
I visited Birmingham last year in connection with the Midlands show and it
was a very different group from what I had imagined. Simon Goodwin is its
chairman, but in practice rarely attends. In reality it is a group of about
4 people who like to meet in a pub twice a month to talk about everything
including the QL. Once a year the high spot is the AGM which about 8 people
attend and Simon gives a presentation. Interestingly Simon has done a lot of
work for Quanta but is, on a matter of principle, not a member.
I have no hangups about a group of people meeting in the pub this way, but I
wonder if there may be a lot of people in Quanta who are no longer active
QL-ers but like to remain a member out of gratitude to the QL. I picked up
something like this happening in Italy in Davide Santachiara's report of the
Italian show in QL Today. Well worth a read! What can Quanta do to serve
this sort of member?
May I just go off at a tangent to pay a tribute to Simon Goodwin? He has
twice done presentations for me at shows. He makes many demands but always
delivers the goods. People think that his presentations are off-cuff, but in
fact he is an absolute perfectionist who will spend something like 8 hours
preparing for a one and a half hour presentation.
In QL Today I have written an article about viability, which I hope everyone
will read. This is not so much about Quanta as about traders, but I raise
the question of black box users.
Traders are currently the link between the black box users and the rest of
the QL community and as trading diminishes there is a danger that this group
will become more isolated and neglected than they are at present. How can
Quanta reconnect with the black box users?
I have always felt that Quanta did not grasp the opportunity of John
Southern's survey four years ago to admit to black box users that we were
failing them. Do our officers see themselves as leaders or servers and can
they admit to Quanta's shortcomings?
I seem to remember someone on this group - I think my old friend Mr.Tubbs -
once wrote that the chairman had written in an editorial how honoured he was
to have been chosen as the leader. He went on to point out that a leader
should have asked a question "How can I serve you?"
Sorry a long mailing, but I think rightly so,
Best wishes,
Geoff
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