SierraScape March 2013 - August 2013
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by Tom Ballard and Bob Gestel
Contributing Members

The discussion of getting younger people into the club has been here before and has come back for another round of discussion. Hopefully these discussions will bear fruit. What do we need to make the future bright? We need young people.

That being the case, how do we get them? What do we offer to attract them? We have to attract their parents with learning programs, fun learning programs. We have to do whatever it takes to interest younger people. It is not all about what we want, it is about what they will enjoy now and use in the future to carry on the mission of the club. What we need here is the interest of all the leaders and all the members, working to do this together.

We could start with the goals of the national club, mix in the goals of the local club, then mix in a wish list from the members. We are a business, we are selling a product, we are selling people on the idea and the commitment of a great outdoors through conservation. But, if what we are putting in front of the people is not of any interest to them, we will lose them, and we will have to close our doors. We must stop for awhile and address this issue. What we are doing is not working. We need change. This is a great time for it to happen.

In the short time since this subject has resurfaced, lots of great suggestions have been submitted. We hope this is just a start, and not the beginning of the end. We have to define the purpose of the outings, then design the outings around our purpose, so that the outings will be the showcase for what we advocate.

We have to be the face of the club. We have a lot of great people doing great conservation from within the club, but in the end, it is the outing people who are the visible element of the club that most everyone sees. We have to make the outings be the best that it can be. Which will require work, but it can be done.