Thinking About Making A Stamp Club, What Do People Do At Club Meetings?

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On another forum, one person reported that, at their stamp club, the new guy becomes the president until the next new guy comes along.

I think that's brilliant!

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Rick. I'd say visit ten clubs and do anything but what they do.

The club I belong to in the UK holds meetings twice a month for 9 months that aren't summer. At every meeting we have a speaker talking about their collection or some aspect of it. Sometimes speakers are brought in from up to a few hundred miles away if they have a reputation for delivering a good talk, other times we get speakers from neighbouring clubs (The UK is densely populated) or from our own ranks. Sometimes we have themed nights and each member has to speak for 5 or ten minutes and show about 10 pages of stamps to illustrate the talk. I find the talks can get a bit boring at times ;but I am still going after thirteen years. The club has been running for 75 years next spring. before that there had been a region wide club, but war time difficulties meant travelling by train was discouraged and private automobiles weren't permitted. Other clubs in the area have sales and auctions at nearly every meeting, we don't and we flourish with around forty members of whom about twenty turn up at every meeting. Some members never attend meetings but belong purely to get access to the circulating packet scheme of buying stamps.The regional organisation we are part of have auctions twice a year, and there is a one day convention most years. Nothing wildly exciting but we must be doing something right to keep surviving. I don't think any members are under 50, but numbers stay steady over time.

some great ideas mentioned here....

I was president of one of our local clubs about 20 years ago; while there's no absolute right or wrong way to run things, I found some of the best tips were obtained from members I'd phone who we hadn't seen in a while. Often there were personality issues: certain members hogging the limelight/talking too much/otherwise seeking maximum attention, etc. caused other members to stay away. Sometimes it's as simple as someone needing a ride or not wanting to drive and being hesitant to ask for a lift.

A common complaint was the meeting was too slow-moving or boring. Ever see anyone snore at a meeting? It's not a good sign!! As our co-auctioneer after 20+ years I've also found members appreciate speeding up the auction or consider limiting slow-moving or overpriced auction items.

Many clubs I've been to, the business matters discussed and sometimes the programs/lectures are often longwinded; especially for prospective, newer or younger members. Consider having business matters discussed afterwards so people (especially guests) don't feel they have to hang around. Consider also having a kitchen timer for guest speakers; some just don't know when ten or twenty minutes are up and will go on, and on, and on, well, kind of like me sometimes :-)

It usually helps to allow a brief "Show & Tell" when members can pass items around while asking or discussing them. If your members are hesitant or nervous speaking formally to a group this Show & Tell is more informal for presenting material suitable perhaps for a formal presentation or program in the future if interest is strong. Again, you'll usually get much more honest critiquing, I've found, when you speak to members on the phone rather than at a meeting. Especially ones you haven't seen in a while. Ask how they are doing--you'll often be surprised at the interesting conversations and friendships you might generate.

We've found it's often a help to have members bring their old stamp literature, catalogs, and unneeded supplies (hinges, stamp tongs, and album pages/binders) for the new collector or when some of us just run out. It's often cheaper to buy in bulk or share supplies to save on shipping costs as well.

Sometimes (but not always!) our local clubs have snacks and drinks--non-alcoholic-- on special occasions or joint meetings, which often draw larger crowds. These meetings need to be publicized as such, especially if spouse and children are invited. It's fun to visit nearby clubs as well, and invite & welcome them personally to your club too!


just my 55 cents worth,

Jim Wentzell
Cobb County (Atlanta area) GA member and former president
Marietta, GA USA

The one club meeting I went to they were going to have a short presentation about the Penny Black. In the meeting prior to that (which I did not attend) they asked everyone in the club, who had a Penny Black, to bring it to this next meeting and everyone could pass them around and share them with each other. They also had a very informal auction of a LARGE worldwide a accumulation, from which I came home with 3 large containers full. Unfortunately, the auction ran too long and the presentation never came about, and I haven't been able to get back to another meeting, so far.

Our stamp club meetings are quite informal. We meet on the 1rst and 3rd Tuesday of each month September to May. On the first Tuesday we have either auctions, show and tell or presentations. On the third Tuesday we usually have circuits from the Royal Phillatelic Society to browse through and purchase.

We also host 2 stamp shows a year, normally in March and November where we invite Dealers, display some of our members collections and have an auction.

We hosted the British North American Philatelic Society's annual show in the fall of 2016 and though I was quite involved in the planning I was unable to attend due to illness. This was a challenging adventure that went quite well.

Dianne

Jim Wentzell, nice commentary!
I'd suggest for smaller clubs, a printed sheet, outlining members collecting interests, it encourages members to seek out each other for trading, swapping stamps or whatever. Cheap name tags are good.

Towards the back of this on line hobby journal specific to NY, are updates for various clubs from around the State that provide windows into their activities, which may seed you with some ideas:

http://www.stampinsider.org/

As far as places to hold meetings are concerned, check out local churches and their activity rooms, libraries, and VFW posts (the VFW in Dover Plains regularly advertises that their hall, or part of it, is available for rent). I would suggest holding the first "meeting" at a local diner, so interest and willingness to pitch in can be gauged.

The venue needs to be someplace easily accessible. One club I know of meets in a church basement; I gave up going following an accident that reduced my mobility and ability to navigate two flights of steep stairway to get to the meeting room.

I've tried to think of a tactful way to mention one other thing so will just say it; for heavens sake, try to structure the meetings to cut down on long extended periods where attendees are just sitting around doing nothing. Given what is going on in the outside world today, having a bunch of mostly 60+ guys with nothing going on to stimulate interest often will lead to places that can turn off potential members. I go to a club to escape the outside world, not to hear political BS or racist jokes.

You could time an opening to coincide with Flushing Meadow, and invite Maria Sharapova along to cut the ribbon ...

My club has a pre-meeting swap/sale/show and tell between members. Then a presentation, business reports and an auction of lots provided by the members or stamps held by the club. These days there are a lot of local collections available from inheritance and people reach out to a local club for advice. Many times they are gifted to the club.

I prefer club meetings that aren't the same every meeting. I also think planners should look closely at what they do and domembers enjoy it.

I have never been to a stamp club meeting before. I will be going to my first next week. The meeting sounds very similar to what Zepman describes, so I hope I will enjoy it.

I have no idea where the OP lives, but I would suggest the most productive experience for him would be to go to a meeting of an active stamp club, to see what they do.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a stamp club meeting is worth a few thousand words of description of what people do at one.
I'm lucky enough to live 10 mins. walk from an active club that meets every 2 weeks.

If nothing else, there is a lot of help out there for anyone who wants to start a club or put some juice into one. I suggest starting by reviewing the help available from the American Philatelic Society.

https://classic.stamps.org/You-Can-...A-Stamp-Club