I have been an NSS member for close to 30 years...and to date have been to a
full convention once...and parts of a convention twice...and I would say that I
am a very dedicated member despite not fully "drinking the kool aide" every
summer.
I would enjoy attending more conventions...but would rather spend my vacation
time in other ways. I think it would be great if portions of the convention
were webcast for us dedicated "other" cavers.
Perhaps we should elect directors that share the vision or desires of the
members.
And...I agree with Mr. Ediger; the TSA would well advised to consider how we
can leverage technology to better suit the needs of our geographically diverse
membership.
Bill Walden <wdwal...@windstream.net> wrote:
BLOCKQUOTE { PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px } DL {
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PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px } A reply to William Hart Russell:
The NSS Convention moves around enough that it is within a day's drive for
most of us every few years. My family has always made it a vacation - a week at
convention and a week touring.
I don't believe that digital interaction can ever replace personal
interaction and hands on experience. I continue to look forward to the NSS
Convention every year that I am able to attend.
That said, I do agree that a caver does not have to attend conventions to be
a dedicated NSS member.
Best regards,
Bill Walden
----- Original Message -----
From: William H. Russell
To: Philip L Moss ; texascavers@texascavers.com
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] NSS Convention
>
>
> I am looking forward to the day when the NSS Photo Salon is shown
> live on my 65 inch LCD TV in my living room, along with the
> exploration
> programs, and video salon, etc.
>
>
> David Locklear
>
The opinions offered below are my own.
I hope the NSS never shows the photo salon or any other convention
activities live. NSS membership retention (not recruitment as many would
have you believe) is way down. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the
NSS Convention had attendance that was equivalent to 20% of the
membership. Since 1976, the largest convention has been equivalent to
14% of the membership and many have been under 10%, although at least one
flaw in my model is the fact that membership retention did not plummet
until 1995 (Does anybody know what it was the NSS did in 1995 or possibly
1994 to so disaffect its members?) It is my opinion that membership
retention is affected strongly by personal interaction among the members.
Convention attendance is one of main things that separates a committed
member from a magazine subscriber. The NSS can not thrive by having any
number of subscribers to the NSS; there are way too many activities that
the NSS depends on volunteers to run. Voting generally tracks the
attendance at the previous convention.
I believe that conventions are the glue that holds the NSS together and
we need more glue, not less. The more one can get the benefits of
convention without attending and having the personal interactions of
actually attending, the poorer the NSS will be. People who routinely
attend NSS conventions are more likely to volunteer their time, donate
their money, and vote for Directors.
Philip L. Moss
Former NSS Director and recovering speleopolitician
philipm...@juno.com
On the other hand perhaps the decline in NSS retention post 1995 is
because the NSS directorate is holding on to a rosy nostalgia of driving across
the country to meet their friends at a convention as the glue that holds the
NSS together; while the general society is moving to digital interaction.
Cavers along with everyone else increasingly see little need for everyone to
gather in one place; and perhaps, given the time and expense as even
counterproductive. Retention in any group is affected strongly by personal
interaction between the members, but having to drive across the country to do
this would appear to be a strategic weakness.
In the digital age one should not have to attend a convention to be a
"committed member." It might be to increase retention we need to find
directors that are more comfortable with digital interaction. They will spend
the time and energy to make the digital NSS more than a magazine subscription.
Bill Russell
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