I have been a member for a relatively short period of time, about a
year or so, I have been to only one COA meeting since I arrived in
the US in 2003 and that was in Mobile, AL (2006) where I gave a
presentation, lead a field trip and won the Category L shell display
and had a bit of fun with Harry Lee at the auction. I did enjoy the
meeting I got to meet several people who were names from conch-l etc
and I got to meet some now good friends here in the Chicago area. And
I was overwhelmed by the amount of material available and my very
limited funds but I still found some nice things.
I think a major issue at least for me is the relative expense of
attending, I do not see the need for the meeting to be in a fancy
hotel in the middle of a major city such as Boston, Orlando, Mobile
etc where hotel rooms and convention space are relatively expensive
compared to an area outside the main city etc. If people want to see
the sites of say Boston then that could be one of the field trips. I
always want to be able to collect new things so I will nearly always
choose such trips.
I think charging a small entrance fee for people who have not
registered either for the whole meeting or some smaller portion is a
very reasonable thing to do as Carole pointed out this happens at
numerous other functions. I think the argument that if is not free
that fewer people would attend is a little spurious, especially when
it is couched in terms like we could miss the next "Bill Fenzan or
Stephanie Clark" because it has been my very limited experience both
here and in Australia that this is getting less and less likely as we
push more into the world of iphones and virtual reality. Not to
mention that collecting anything such as shells is becoming more and
more socially unacceptable often based on very poor information, but
removing say sand dune vegetation in coastal Alabama and Florida for
beach front development is OK then things are only going to get
worse. As there will be less areas accessible, therefore less
habitat, more species/populations added to lists, expatriated or
extinct, more regulations, less people interested in collecting etc etc.
Another issue is the general age of attendee's, at 45 for example, I
am one of the younger members of the Chicago Shell Club and based on
the Mobile COA most attendees were much older. And unless something
turns around then there is only one way this is going. So who knows
what COA will be like when I am 70, but I hope it is still around in
some form.
My two and bit cents worth.
Stephanie
At 04:46 PM 27/07/2010, you wrote:
>All of those things are being done. COA brochures appear at most
>shell shows, participating museums, etc. I would think something
>more innovative is ripe for trying. Do any of the COA membership
>work for non-profit associations? How do you promote your
>association with your target audience?
>
>At 05:37 PM 7/27/2010, you wrote:
>>Thanks Rich, for sharing some of these ideas
>>
>>COA has some potentially very easy and inexpensive simple ways to
>>cross-promote our hobby and our organization, for example
>>
>>Could any information on COA be shared via institutions such as the
>>Shell Museum on Sanibel? could brochures or other materials at that
>>institiution or others give information on organizations or clubs to
>>join to learn more about shells? maybe they do that already.
>>
>>(I dont mean to single out the Bailey Matthews Museum but on a rainy
>>day in Sanibel during winter the amount of potential COA members
>>going through there must be huge)....
>>
>>Steve
>>
>>On 7/27/10, worldwide <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> > Marcus, Bill, and others,
>> >
>> > COA has many constraints in what it can and cannot do, i.e.
>> auctions, since
>> > it is registered with the IRS as a non-profit organization. Not that a
>> > cyber-auction is much different than a convention auction other than the
>> > logistics, such a venture should not be construed as a business
>> venture. I
>> > am not sure the type of IRS non-profit classification COA is registered
>> > under, but their are many other complicated tax issues that need to be
>> > investigated before such a venture is even discussed.
>> >
>> > The other point still being missed is that COA is not a Florida
>> > organization; there are many members outside of Florida. Again,
>> right from
>> > the start, the conventions were to travel across the country to give
>> > everyone an opportunity to participate and to find new members. If
>> > conventions become confined to Florida, then there is a good
>>chance that the
>> > Bill Fenzan's of the country might never have an opportunity to
>> learn about
>> > COA.
>> >
>> > I received a private email today from someone who suggested that COA spend
>> > more of its monies to go out and promote shell collecting and the
>> > organization in other ways. To this person it seems that COA is promoting
>> > to those who already know about the organization. I am not in
>> any capacity
>> > to know what COA is doing to that end, but just keep saying to
>>yourself, COA
>> > is a national-international organization. That is how it was
>> founded and I
>> > certainly hope that it stays that way. COA tries, but cannot be
>> everything
>> > to everyone.
>> >
>> > And don't forget, if profit is the only modus operandi, then COA's
>> > membership will suffer and dwindle in the long run. COA must
>>find new blood
>> > and nurture closet collectors. It's time COA reinvest in itself
>>by promotion
>> > through various means country-wide and overseas. The COA Award given at
>> > competitive shell shows around the world, the shell conventions
>> so far held
>> > within the contiguous 48 states, and of course, the COA magazine are the
>> > main-stays in doing that. Maybe its time to investigate other avenues to
>> > seek out the uninitiated. With a growth in membership comes the
>> > opportunities and funding that COA needs to prosper. Again, the
>>closed door
>> > policy to make COA more profitable today will hurt it tomorrow.
>> >
>> > Whew!
>> > Rich
>> >
>> > At 04:39 PM 7/27/2010, you wrote:
>> >>
>> >> As a collector who buys a lot of shells, I like the ideas that Marcus
>> >> offers.
>> >>
>> >> If high-quality shells are offered on an auction site with proceeds going
>> >> to pay for common use space at the next convention, I would be encouraged
>> >> to use it. As a caveat, though, I need to say that the shells would have
>> >> to be ones I want for my collection. Challenges to this approch would
>> >> include: finding a steady supply of shells that are of high quality,
>> >> finding the right person or persons to run the operation, and apparent
>> >> oversight of the process. The weak links in auction sites are that the
>> >> best shells are seldom auctioned and some do not invest in
>> building trust.
>> >>
>> >> The idea to keep the convention in Florida also has appeal. If the
>> >> majority of COA members live in Florida, this make sense. If an
>> >> appropriate building is found to house the bourse and other activities, I
>> >> would not mind if it was in the same place. As Marcus says, there would
>> >> need to be a way for different people to run the convention so the locals
>> >> do not get burned out.
>> >>
>> >> Earlier this year, I attended the Paris Shell Show and the Antwerp Shell
>> >> Show. Both have large bourse operations which seemed to me as big as a
>> >> COA convention. Perhaps the folks that put on these events can be
>> >> consulted for ideas? I was not charged to enter the Paris show, but did
>> >> have to pay 2 euros (about $3 at the time) admission in Antwerp. Both of
>> >> these events are mainly the bourse, with displays of shells,
>> drawings, and
>> >> few other activities. I had a great time at both.
>> >>
>> >> Bill Fenzan
>> >>
>> >> Norfolk, Virginia, USA
>> >>
>> >
>> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To
>> > leave this list, click on the following web link:
>> > http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email
>> > address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list.
>> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
>>To leave this list, click on the following web link:
>>http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
>>Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
>>click leave the list.
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
>To leave this list, click on the following web link:
>http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
>Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
>click leave the list.
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephanie A. Clark
Executive director
EKOsystems Services LLP
6535 N Mozart St, Suite 3F
Chicago, IL, 60645-4339 USA
Mobile 1 (205) 310 9942
email [log in to unmask]
email [log in to unmask]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
