Our commodore stands down at the end of the year so talk is of who might replace him. What do you think makes a good club commodore and what should the membership expect of him?

Ir depends on what the club needs... Is it running well, healthy membership, or on the slide? in the first case, a safe pair of hands who has an air of authority and sets the "atmosphere".  If it's the second, you need a change agent with ideas to reverse the downward cycle.  In the first case, probably a member of the existing committee, in the second possibly a new broom...

You need a great committee all pulling their weight, short meetings and growing any club as the priority, none of us are getting any younger.

Safe is the way to go I think at present. We have some enthusiasm which can be channelled but most of the members have been on the committee at some point. We get some spectators who show an interest but have not converted these into members. Maybe the biggest challenge is the weed!

That's an intriguing topic with some great points!

I’ve recently taken on the role of Commodore at the Space Coast Model Sailing Club here in Florida. Our committee consists of just four members, including myself, and we have a wonderful membership of 31 people.

Over the past few months, I’ve been focusing on my vision to modernize the club. This includes implementing some essential infrastructure changes, such as a new constitution, a club sailing policy, and negotiating a new agreement with the park authorities to secure the continual use of the lake.

In just the first year, our committee has accomplished a lot, and I’ve been driving these efforts while always being open to new ideas and keeping our next goals in sight. Hopefully the membership will embrace the changes and allow me to continue in the role next year?

JT

Edited September 11Sep 11 by John Taylor

Additionally, to my above comment, I do find the majority of the club membership some what muted. It is difficult to gauge if in their opinion, me or we as a committee are fore-filling their expectations? I regularly talk to people at the lakeside, but they are the usual sailors that race each week. Therefore, you always receive similar opinions or conversations.

I guess being proactive instead of reactive is the safest course of action in this job?

JT

7 hours ago, John Taylor said:

Additionally, to my above comment, I do find the majority of the club membership some what muted. It is difficult to gauge if in their opinion, me or we as a committee are fore-filling their expectations? I regularly talk to people at the lakeside, but they are the usual sailors that race each week. Therefore, you always receive similar opinions or conversations.

I guess being proactive instead of reactive is the safest course of action in this job?

JT

Proactive sounds a good position. As you hint at, reasonably easy to know what the Regulars think, but sometimes those who don't like something don't say anything - they just attend less :(

What did you do on "constitution" and "policy"?

Colin

Thank you for your question! As I mentioned earlier, my goal has been to modernise the club since many of our policies were outdated, some dating back to 2004. We've spent a lot of time this year refreshing the club's website, as it often contained old information. I believe the club's website acts as the online front door for potential new members, who will quickly form an opinion during their first few minutes of browsing. That's why it's crucial for the website to be fresh and up to date.

Regarding the constitution, I've taken inspiration from the clubs I belong to in the UK and implemented some effective ideas. I've been fortunate to experience different scenarios with various clubs across the north and south of the UK.

When it comes to the sailing policy, I believe that all sailors should follow a minimum standard of fair racing. While having fun at the lakeside is important, the club in the past have introduced racing concessions that affected sailing standards, this is not acceptable to me. Challenging the culture in bedded will be difficult. (Have fun, but race fair!)

It's clear that making all the desired changes quickly is not practical. This year has been focused on building infrastructure and updating documents and websites. Next year, my focus will be to make improvements at the waterfront. However, with the upcoming AGM, there’s a chance that the new policies may not pass, and I could be voted out by the end of this year. (Who knows?)

I invite you to explore the Space Coast Model Sailing Club website at your leisure, you can find some of the polices within the Club Documents page!

Regards

JT