Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulletwagon
Great comments and I agree with all of them. If survival and expansion of a club is the goal, attracting youth is the key – and the challenge. The evolution of youth culture development and the activities that hold kids’ interest have changed. There are many exceptions, but in general, teenagers and young adults do not work on cars, boys do not play sandlot baseball, nobody makes model cars or airplanes, and kids spend most of their free time indoors rather than outdoors. Not to say this is wrong, it is just the new normal.
|
I'm not saying that I disagree with your comment in red, but my differing thoughts are based on me being involved in the Model-A hobby for all of my life of nearly 60 years. My father was a co-founder of the Houston Model-A club in 1964 when he was 32 years old. Dad started collecting and restoring Model-As a few years prior to that date. From my observations in these 55 years of being around the Model-A club, Model-A club participation has
never been a Youth hobby however it has always survived as each generation 'aged out' and new 'older people' stepped in to fill the void.
I do agree with you regarding involving youth ...however, my view is that it is not the responsibility of the Model-A club to get youth involved in Model-As, but it is the responsibility of a (grand)parent to involve these youth in Model-As
outside of the club. Do it on a level that the young person builds a bond or an affection with the car itself, --and not the club. The reason I am in my profession today is because as a kid, I spent time with my father and so I was involved with Model-A. Because my passion was formed with me as a kid working beside my mentor, I later turned my father's hobby into my living. I dare say that Steve Becker was a product of the same environment. IMO, the key to growing the Model-A hobby is not getting young people involved as a member on the club level. The key is making the club something that attracts someone/anyone to want to participate with that group. It will never matter whether that participant is young or old as long as they are having fun. Face the obvious, most young people become old, and the older we get, the more our desires and interests change. The Model-A club has always attracted older participants, but the people who were kids back in the 60s (-who had no interest in Model-As back then) have become Model-A owners of today. Many Model-A owners of today have no mechanical background or experience ...and this does not curtail them from being involved in the hobby.
My belief is, -show me a club that is losing club membership or participation, and you likely will find a club that is stale and lacking in leadership. Make it a venue where a hobbyist makes it a priority in his/her life to participate, and the enthusiasm of those participants will make the club grow.